collateral: Meaning and Definition of

col•lat•er•al

Pronunciation: (ku-lat'ur-ul), [key]
— n.
  1. security pledged for the payment of a loan: He gave the bank some stocks and bonds as collateral for the money he borrowed.
    1. a subordinate or accessory part.
    2. a side branch, as of a blood vessel or nerve.
    3. Seecollateral circulation.
  2. a relative descended from the same stock, but in a different line.
—adj.
  1. accompanying; auxiliary: He received a scholarship and collateral aid.
  2. additional; confirming: collateral evidence; collateral security.
  3. secured by collateral: a collateral loan.
  4. aside from the main subject, course, etc.; secondary: These accomplishments are merely collateral to his primary goal.
  5. descended from the same stock, but in a different line; not lineal: A cousin is a collateral relative.
  6. pertaining to those so descended.
  7. situated at the side: a collateral wing of a house.
  8. situated or running side by side; parallel: collateral ridges of mountains.
  9. standing side by side.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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