secure
Americanadjective
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free from or not exposed to danger or harm; safe.
- Antonyms:
- unsafe
-
dependable; firm; not liable to fail, yield, become displaced, etc., as a support or a fastening.
The building was secure, even in an earthquake.
-
affording safety, as a place.
He needed a secure hideout.
-
in safe custody or keeping.
Here in the vault the necklace was secure.
-
free from care; without anxiety.
emotionally secure.
-
firmly established, as a relationship or reputation.
He earned a secure place among the baseball immortals.
-
sure; certain; assured.
secure of victory;
secure in religious belief.
- Synonyms:
- confident
-
safe from penetration or interception by unauthorized persons.
secure radio communications between army units.
-
Archaic. overconfident.
verb (used with object)
-
secures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
secured,
past participle, past
-
securing
present participle
-
to get hold or possession of; procure; obtain.
to secure materials;
to secure a high government position.
- Synonyms:
- gain
-
to free from danger or harm; make safe.
Sandbags secured the town during the flood.
-
to effect; make certain of; ensure.
The novel secured his reputation.
-
to make firm or fast, as by attaching.
to secure a rope.
-
Finance.
-
to assure payment of (a debt) by pledging property.
-
to assure (a creditor) of payment by the pledge or mortgaging of property.
-
-
to lock or fasten against intruders.
to secure the doors.
-
to protect from attack by taking cover, by building fortifications, etc..
The regiment secured its position.
-
to capture (a person or animal).
No one is safe until the murderer is secured.
-
to tie up (a person), especially by binding the person's arms or hands; pinion.
-
to guarantee the privacy or secrecy of.
to secure diplomatic phone conversations.
verb (used without object)
-
secures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
secured,
past participle, past
-
securing
present participle
-
to be or become safe; have or obtain security.
-
Nautical.
-
to cover openings and make movable objects fast.
The crew was ordered to secure for sea.
-
to be excused from duty.
to secure from general quarters.
-
adjective
-
free from danger, damage, etc
-
free from fear, care, etc
-
in safe custody
-
not likely to fail, become loose, etc
-
able to be relied on; certain
a secure investment
-
nautical stowed away or made inoperative
-
archaic careless or overconfident
verb
-
(tr) to obtain or get possession of
I will secure some good seats
-
to make or become free from danger, fear, etc
-
(tr) to make fast or firm; fasten
-
to make or become certain; guarantee
this plan will secure your happiness
-
(tr) to assure (a creditor) of payment, as by giving security
-
(tr) to make (a military position) safe from attack
-
nautical to make (a vessel or its contents) safe or ready by battening down hatches, stowing gear, etc
-
(tr) nautical to stow or make inoperative
to secure the radio
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
securementnoun
-
securenessnoun
-
securernoun
-
supersecurenessnoun
-
unsecurenessnoun
-
resecureverb
-
presecureverb (used with object)
-
oversecureadjective
-
quasi-secureadjective
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securableadjective
-
supersecureadjective
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unsecureadjective
-
well-securedadjective
-
oversecurelyadverb
-
quasi-securelyadverb
-
securelyadverb
-
supersecurelyadverb
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unsecurelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
securesimple
-
securessimple
-
have securedperfect
-
has securedperfect
-
am securingprogressive
-
are securingprogressive
-
is securingprogressive
-
have been securingperfect progressive
-
has been securingperfect progressive
Past
-
securedsimple
-
had securedperfect
-
was securingprogressive
-
were securingprogressive
-
had been securingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of secure
First recorded in 1525โ35; from Latin sฤcลซrus โcarefree,โ equivalent to sฤ- se- + cลซr(a) โcareโ ( see cure) + -us, adjective suffix; cf. sure
Explanation
Secure means safe, protected. Your money is secure in a bank. Supportive friends and family make you feel secure. Secure can also be used as a verb. You secure the sails before you take out the sailboat, which means you tie them down. If you secure someone a ticket to a popular Broadway play, you've found them a hard-to-find seat. On an airplane, you're told that in the event you need an oxygen mask, you should secure yours โ get it in place โ before helping someone else. Almost all meanings contain the idea of safety: making sure things are right.
Vocabulary lists containing secure
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 1
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com โ one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Preamble to the U.S. Constitution (1787)
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 1
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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:
"The support is there whilst you're there, so you're secure, you feel safe there," he said.
From BBC โ Oct. 1, 2026
Most workers might be secure in their job, but they are too worried to ask for a raise or to leave their current job without having another position lined up.
From MarketWatch โ Oct. 1, 2026
But representatives of Sri Lankan shipping companies say it has become difficult to secure approval from port authorities to provide any services for Iranian vessels.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Oct. 1, 2026
According to the researchers, those results illustrate how optical computation could provide a more secure and dependable foundation for some artificial intelligence systems.
From Science Daily โ Oct. 1, 2026
The deck of the Astrea was alive with action—men running to secure battle lanterns—to loosen the guns.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
By the time of his silver jubilee in 1935, the position of this reimagined British monarchy was securer than it had ever been.
From Washington Post โ Jan. 28, 2022
In general, it was not a year in which the older novelists made their reputations securer.
From Time Magazine Archive
The pony was obstreperous, and the luggage kept falling off, so the Brahman gladly accepted the offer of my assistance, and after repacking the luggage in a securer manner we got along very well.
From Among the Wild Tribes of the Afghan Frontier A Record of Sixteen Years' Close Intercourse with the Natives of the Indian Marches by T. L. (Theodore Leighton) Pennell
Alfred showed less bitterness, possibly because he felt securer in his position towards the woman whose beauty had occasioned this rivalry.
From One of My Sons by Anna Katharine Green
"You're the young lady that's missing?" the woman answered, taking a securer hold of the window-frame, and bringing her head into the room.
From Starvecrow Farm by Stanley J. Weyman
The securest hold was Adam Sandler's: his Grown Ups fell a negligible 14%.
From Time โ Jul. 11, 2010
Vickers, the securest of Otellos onstage, does not always seem comfort able on vinyl.
From Time Magazine Archive
The odds are that Poetry London-New York will not prove the securest of jobs for Tambi.
From Time Magazine Archive
Asserted one of Thatcher's aides: "It's going to stimulate the economy, and expansion is the securest form of revenue."
From Time Magazine Archive
Time fades a little even the securest dyes, and that little is just enough to reduce to flat monotones a work in which perhaps sixty thousand tones are set in subtle shading.
From The Tapestry Book by Mrs. Helen Churchill Hungerford Candee
Enerflex stock rises sharply after it secures a contract to build generators for a data center developer.
From Barron's โ Oct. 1, 2026
Littler capitalised by taking out 39 for a win which secures his place at the European Championship in Dortmund in October.
From BBC โ Sep. 6, 2026
Even if he secures it, the bigger issue is whether the players will buy in.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Aug. 22, 2026
A chip nobody else would want secures nothing, because a lender who seizes it has nothing to sell.
From MarketWatch โ Aug. 20, 2026
Octavia secures my Mockingjay pin over my heart and we step back to look in the mirror.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
ON Semiconductor also said it had agreed to borrow up to $2.45 billion in a senior secured term loan from Morgan Stanley to fund a portion of the acquisition.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Oct. 1, 2026
Earlier this week, it secured $30 billion in senior unsecured credit facilities to help it fund its plans.
From MarketWatch โ Oct. 1, 2026
If no candidate secured more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers advanced to the general election.
From Los Angeles Times โ Oct. 1, 2026
Palantir has secured multiple public sector contracts in Britain, including a £240-million defence deal signed in 2025.
From Barron's โ Oct. 1, 2026
Raizel was dressed in black and Schloss green, her collar secured with a paste brooch meant to resemble amethyst.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
The qualification requirements also include having identified at least $250 million in philanthropic support and securing two $50-million commitments for designated research programs.
From Los Angeles Times โ Oct. 1, 2026
Novig pivoted business models this year, starting 2026 with an in-house trading team before securing regulatory approval in June to operate as a prediction market.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Sep. 30, 2026
Fury's promoter Frank Warren said White was influential in securing the deal with Netflix after the fight was confirmed.
From BBC โ Sep. 26, 2026
That ties in with its emphasis on controlling information, securing data and maintaining social stability.
From MarketWatch โ Sep. 26, 2026
The troll squeezed tighter, somehow securing a grip on the helmet’s anti-friction coating, which, according to Foaly, was impossible to grip.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, ยฉ Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritageยฎ Idioms Dictionary copyright ยฉ 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
