precaution
n. countablen. something you do in advance to stay safe or avoid a problem later. It is a way of being careful before anything bad happens.
n. a measure taken in advance to prevent something dangerous, unpleasant, or inconvenient from happening.
I take the precaution of locking my door every night.
The hikers packed extra water and a first-aid kit as a precaution against getting lost in the heat.
While the risk of a fire was statistically low, the museum directors insisted on every possible precaution to protect the priceless collection from smoke damage.
From French précaution, Latin praecautio, from praecavere, praecautum (“to guard against beforehand”); prae (“before”) + cavere (“be on one's guard”). See pre-, and caution.
Often used in the singular with the indefinite article ('as a precaution') or in the plural ('safety precautions').
I did a precautionI took a precautionThe noun 'precaution' collocations with the verb 'take', not 'do'.