safe
Americanadjective
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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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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
-
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
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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:
It added: "We genuinely want to work constructively with Neath Port Talbot council, NRW, and our political representatives to deliver a safe, biodiverse, and secure site."
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
"Keeping our country safe is the first duty of government," Streeting wrote on X after his appointment.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
The back-and-forth between Taylor Farms and regulators is the latest wrinkle that consumers have to navigate while they figure out what’s safe to eat right now.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
“Our administration will continue to ensure that every New Yorker is safe in their city — and hold accountable any who threaten that,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
So now the two boys were crouched beside a wall safe in Chip’s basement.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Argentina has a history of debasing its currency, which is why its people keep billions of dollars in coffee cans, home safes and mattresses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 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
The sources said that it appeared investigators searching Combs’ L.A. home emptied safes, dismantled electronics and left papers strewn in some rooms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2024
The three-room suite was crammed with desks, chairs, typewriters, file cabinets, and three large safes.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
The UN has called for safer routes to be established for the Rohingyas to leave.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation wants to make the corridor safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
And with “In the Mouth of Madness,” he once again evaluates the price of making great art, but this time from a safer distance.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
To be safer in the long run, the court could use not just force but a little help on the judgment front.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026
I longed to reassure both him and Fred, but knew that the fewer of the group who knew one another, the safer it was for all.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
"Suffolk is one of the safest places in the country, and Mid Suffolk District Council will continue to work with partners to reassure the community."
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
It is considered the safest option for treating pain and fever in pregnant women, as other medications, including aspirin or ibuprofen, present proven risks to the fetus -- as do untreated fevers.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Apart from the dangerously low overnight temperatures, faraway Omsk seemed like the safest place on earth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
“Ultimately, an individualized screening or monitoring process may be the safest approach, but we are still far from being able to precisely identify and intervene when an individual player may be at risk,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Natalie stood on her desk chair and put the Mariposa boxes up as high as she could on her bookcase, higher up than her laptop, where her memories would be safest from a flood.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
