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
"The infrastructure is excellent, the environment is safe, and so that attracts and reassures investors. It's easier for us to raise funds when we come from a politically stable country," he added.
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
“Spanish flu claims one hundred thousand lives; Americans urged to wear masks, keep safe distance.”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
“Twice I found safes outside, just on the side of the curb.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026
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
They had been stored in acid-free boxes and kept in iron safes.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2025
For weeks, they’ve been scouring their homes and cracking open their safes to retrieve vintage necklaces, family heirlooms and other expensive pieces containing the precious metal that can be melted for cash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2025
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
He is uncertain of the cause of the collision but is convinced the legislation will make streets safer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 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
"Today the fortress does not have gates. It's a digital fortress, and it will be safer than ever before," he told Gibraltar television station GBC, adding police would boost patrols of the frontier.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
I was born with the palm pattern, so I’ve seen it a million times … but it’s still safer to look at that than it is to make eye contact with Ma right now.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Rather than asking whether terraforming violates the laws of physics, researchers believe the more important questions are whether humanity should pursue it and what the safest path would look like.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
Southwest Nigeria -- home to economic capital Lagos -- has long been considered one of the safest regions in a country struggling with multiple security crises.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 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
In Los Angeles alone, preliminary data show that crime rates dropped to a historic low last year not seen since the 1960s, and that L.A. is the safest it has been in generations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
We figured that the dining hall was the safest bet.
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
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.
