safe
Americanadjective
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safer,
comparative
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safest
superlative
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secure from liability to harm, injury, danger, or risk.
a safe place.
- Synonyms:
- guarded, invulnerable
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free from hurt, injury, danger, or risk.
to arrive safe and sound.
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involving little or no risk of mishap, error, etc..
a safe estimate.
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dependable or trustworthy.
a safe guide.
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careful to avoid danger or controversy.
a safe player; a safe play.
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denied the chance to do harm; in secure custody.
a criminal safe in jail.
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Baseball.
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reaching base without being put out.
safe on the throw to first base.
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making it possible to reach a base.
a safe slide.
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adverb
noun
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safes
plural
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a steel or iron box or repository for money, jewels, papers, etc.
- Synonyms:
- safe-deposit box, chest, coffer, strongbox
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any receptacle or structure for the storage or preservation of articles.
a meat safe.
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(in plumbing)
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a pan for catching leakage.
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Slang. a condom.
idioms
adjective
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affording security or protection from harm
a safe place
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(postpositive) free from danger
you'll be safe here
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secure from risk; certain; sound
a safe investment
a safe bet
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worthy of trust; prudent
a safe companion
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tending to avoid controversy or risk
a safe player
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unable to do harm; not dangerous
a criminal safe behind bars
water safe to drink
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informal excellent
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as a precaution
adverb
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in a safe condition
the children are safe in bed now
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to act in a way least likely to cause danger, controversy, or defeat
noun
-
a strong container, usually of metal and provided with a secure lock, for storing money or valuables
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a small ventilated cupboard-like container for storing food
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a slang word for condom
Usage
What is a basic definition of safe? Safe describes something that is secure from harm or danger. Safe can also refer to something that is free from danger and is not risky. Safe is a secure object that is used to keep valuables in. Safe has several other senses as an adjective, noun, and adverb. Safe means that something or someone is secured. If you’re safe, you don’t have to worry about getting hurt or being at risk. The word safety means something is intended to help avoid risk or the state of not being at risk. Real-life examples: Babies are usually kept in cribs or limited to certain parts of a house so that they will be kept safe and won’t wander into danger. Eggs are kept in special containers designed to keep them safe from cracking. Athletes often wear equipment such as helmets that keep their sensitive body parts safe (or safer) from injury. Used in a sentence: The scared child felt safe with their father and mother. Safe also means something or someone avoided danger or managed to come through an event unhurt. This sense is often used in the phrase safe and sound. Real-life examples: Firefighters, police, and paramedics won’t relax or leave a scene until they know everyone is safe. Family members of people stuck in a dangerous situation hope they will be safe. Used in a sentence: Somehow, Ebony made it out safe and sound after falling into the lion exhibit. Safe can also mean that something is not risky or is unlikely to be wrong. Real-life examples: In gambling, safe bets usually have low prizes. Companies that are already very successful and financially secure are usually considered safe investments. It is a safe guess to say it will rain if you already see thunderclouds and lightning. Used in a sentence: We took the safe way home by walking together on brightly lit streets. A safe is a secure box or similar object that is designed to protect valuables from being stolen or damaged. Real-life examples: Banks and stores often keep cash locked in a safe. You might keep your cherished things in a small safe that has a lock and key. Used in a sentence: Jadyn keeps his gold coins in an iron safe hidden behind a painting on the wall.
Synonym Usage
Safe, secure can both imply that something can be regarded as free from danger. These words are frequently interchangeable. Safe, however, is applied rather to a person or thing that is out of or has passed beyond the reach of danger: The ship is safe in port. Secure is applied to that about which there is no need to fear or worry: to feel secure about the future; The foundation of the house does not seem very secure.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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safenessnoun
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supersafenessnoun
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unsafenessnoun
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quasi-safeadjective
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supersafeadjective
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ultrasafeadjective
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unsafeadjective
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safelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of safe
First recorded in 1250–1300; (adjective) Middle English sauf, saf from Anglo-French saf, Old French sauf from Latin salvus “intact, whole”; (noun) late Middle English save, originally derivative of save 1, assimilated to the adjective; cf. salvation
Explanation
If you're safe, you're out of harm's way, or protected from being hurt. These days most parents strap their small children into car seats to keep them safe. When you protect a person or an object from danger, you keep them safe. Eggs are sold in special cartons so they're safe from cracking, and drivers wear seat belts to keep them safe from being injured in accidents. Cash is kept safe in the bank. In baseball, a player is safe when they touch a base. You can also use safe as a noun, for a special box that keeps money and other valuable items safe.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Another Singapore-flagged container vessel, GFS Giselle, sustained hull damage after being hit by a projectile on Wednesday but was able to reach a safe anchorage with all 22 crew, it added.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Future studies will investigate whether blocking PD-L2 is safe and can deliver meaningful health benefits in humans.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
“It’s just so nice and safe and super family friendly,” said Zoe, 40, visiting from nearby San Bruno.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Former school board member David Tokofsky said that Franklin used to have two assigned officers out of concern for keeping the campus safe from the influence of a notorious local gang.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
“They’re locked up safe and sound in our corn crib.”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
While spy agencies have long relied on local agents for tasks that insiders can accomplish best—like unlocking doors, cracking safes and planting bugs—the new agents would do more than assist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
We crouch down on the floor in front of a row of safes.
From BBC ● May 8, 2025
Givens said he also discovered some jewelry missing from two safes that had been opened during the search.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2024
In March, investigators searching Combs’ Holmby Hills mansion emptied safes, dismantled electronics and left papers strewn in some rooms, sources told The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024
Meggie thought of the safes Dustfinger had talked about, and the gold Mo had brought tumbling into Capricorn’s church.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
We want to train models that are safer.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
As the robotaxi race heats up across the country, key players including Waymo, Zoox and Tesla claim their technology is safer than human drivers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
The breakthrough, led by Professor Jaeyune Ryu of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Seoul National University College of Engineering, could help make chemical manufacturing safer, cleaner, and more efficient.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
"We will use every effective tool at our disposal to ensure our roads are safer."
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
“People flying their cars in every direction, hitting one another. The lights are also mojoed to keep the cars from dropping if they experience technical issues. That makes it safer for the fliers.”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
“The safest way in our opinion to play nuclear is Constellation,” he told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The pressure on France has investors obsessing over a level known as “the spread,” or the extra yield on French bonds compared with the bloc’s safest investment: the German bund.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Gates similarly takes credit for making Huntington Beach “one of the safest cities in the state of California” and said it is he who is the “law and order candidate.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
But there's a debate over what constitutes the best, and safest, sodium ion battery design.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
She decided, in fact, that it would be safest not to speak at all.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
