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.
Because the silicon layers retain their crystalline quality, the resulting devices maintain strong performance and reliability while remaining safely within the thermal budget required for monolithic integration.
From Science Daily • May 30, 2026
UnitedHealthcare said it is conducting a rigorous and data-driven review of all pediatric prior authorization requirements in order to determine which services can be safely removed.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
“This case is about what made that crisis preventable — and about accountability for families left to carry the cost of someone else’s failure to safely maintain hazardous chemicals next door to their neighborhoods.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
Lewis also said he would like to remind those visiting Pickmere Lake to park "safely and responsibly".
From BBC • May 27, 2026
It was perfectly dry, protected as it was in Shifa’s case and nestling safely in the crevice.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
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.
