I. col ‧ lat ‧ e ‧ ral 1 /kəˈlæt ə rəl/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
property or other goods that you promise to give someone if you cannot pay back the money they lend you SYN security :
We put up our home as collateral in order to raise the money to invest in the scheme.
—collateralize American English verb [transitive]
II. collateral 2 BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Medieval Latin ; Origin: collateralis , from Latin com- ( ⇨ COM- ) + lateralis ( , ↑ lateral ) ]
1 . collateral damage people who are hurt or killed, or property that is damaged accidentally in a war – used especially by the army, navy etc:
Hitting any non-military targets would risk ‘collateral damage’.
2 . relating to something or happening as a result of it, but not as important:
There may be collateral benefits to the scheme.
3 . collateral relatives are members of your family who are not closely related to you