safely
Americanadverb
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without harm or injury.
The travel team has arrived safely and on schedule.
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without risk or danger.
While we sit safely in our air-conditioned homes complaining, he’s driving across the country working for change.
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in a way that protects from loss, damage, or harm.
I wanted that piece of paper safely filed away, just in case I needed to look at it again.
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without likelihood of being wrong; with reasonable assurance.
I think we can safely say that the zoo expects some puma kittens later this year!
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of safely
Explanation
Do something in a careful or cautious way, and you'll do it safely. The most important thing you'll learn in a drivers ed class is to drive safely. "Travel safely!" you might call to a departing friend. You're encouraging them to avoid danger as they make their way home. You can bike safely by wearing a helmet and using hand signals, and use power tools safely by following all the rules and focusing on your work. Safely comes from safe and its Latin root salvus, "uninjured or in good health."
Vocabulary lists containing safely
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.
The park confirmed the rare Amur tiger, called Altai, remained safely in the enclosure and would not be euthanised.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Both studies are designed as randomized, placebo-controlled trials that will investigate whether CBL-514 can safely and effectively reduce abdominal fat without surgery.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Then, on Aug. 17, she and her husband set off on the first leg of what would become a much longer journey to safety, aware that not everyone made the trip safely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
An off-duty pilot travelling on the plane was then able to take the controls and land the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
But most ships managed to evade the prowling U-boats and made it safely to British shores.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
