collateral: Meaning and Definition of

col•lat•er•al

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.
3. a relative descended from the same stock, but in a different line.

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.