Plural of Safe

search our site by Craig Shrives

The Plural of Safe

The plural of safe is safes.

• Some safes contain hardware that automatically dispense cash.
• Jewellers often keep their gems in the safes during weekends and holidays.

The noun safe adheres to the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English (shown in the table below).

Are You Good at Plurals?

Here's a quick test.

Getting ready...

The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals

The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.

Type	Example of Type	Forming the Plural	Plural
Most Nouns	lamp scythe	add s	lamps scythes
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z	bus dress	add es	buses dresses
Nouns ending [consonant] o	hero zero tomato	add either s or es (There are no rules for this - you have to know.)	heroes zeros tomatoes
Nouns ending [vowel] o	patio ratio	add s	patios ratios
Nouns ending [consonant] y	story penny	change the y to an i and add es	stories pennies
Nouns ending [vowel] y	storey () donkey	add s	storeys donkeys
Nouns ending f or fe	loaf safe	ves and/or s (There are no rules - you have to know.)	loaves safes
Exceptions	man louse	some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change	men lice
More exceptions	salmon sheep	some nouns do not change at all	salmon sheep

Read more about English spelling rules.

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Safe?

There is confusion because the rule for forming the plurals of nouns ending fe or f isn't straightforward. Most nouns will drop the fe or f and gain a ves. For example:

• Knife becomes knives.
• Leaf becomes leaves.

Some just add s. For example:

• Roof becomes roofs.
• Chief becomes chiefs.

With some words, both versions are accepted. For example:

• Scarf becomes scarfs or scarves.
• Dwarf becomes dwarfs or dwarves.

The plural of safe is always safes. Unfortunately, there is no clever way of knowing which nouns ending fe or f follow which rules. You have to know. (For example, you have to know that knife becomes knives, but safe becomes safes.)

Of note, the verb to save (which means to keep safe or to rescue) becomes saves in the third person present tense. (For example: He saves injured owls.)

Ready for the Test?