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.
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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
-
securableadjective
-
supersecureadjective
-
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 1525–35; from Latin sēcūrus “carefree,” equivalent to sē- se- + cūr(a) “care” ( 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 — get it in place — 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
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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:
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 ● Oct. 1, 2026
"The support is there whilst you're there, so you're secure, you feel safe there," he said.
From BBC ● 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 ● Oct. 1, 2026
He believes immigrants who were brought to the United States as children should be given a chance to secure legal status.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Working as a consultant for $40 a day, Elizebeth created and managed their secure communications system.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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 ● Jan. 28, 2022
In general, it was not a year in which the older novelists made their reputations securer.
From Time Magazine Archive
The rural section of the upper class has little promise of permanence and growth, but its urban section seems to have securer foothold.
From The Brothers' War by John Calvin Reed
In other words, life strives continuously to make its embodiments more permanent, securer, richer and more manifold.
From Morals and the Evolution of Man by Max Simon Nordau
The Spaniards, moving on to a securer place, camped to await Pizarro.
From The Spanish Pioneers by Charles F. Lummis
The securest hold was Adam Sandler's: his Grown Ups fell a negligible 14%.
From Time ● Jul. 11, 2010
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
Vickers, the securest of Otellos onstage, does not always seem comfort able on vinyl.
From Time Magazine Archive
Even threaten the securest position, when long continued.
From Time Magazine Archive
These heroes established the first republic, and demonstrated that a government in which the legally expressed will of the people is sovereign and supreme is the safest, strongest, securest, noblest and the best.
From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 8 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Political by Robert Green Ingersoll
A chip nobody else would want secures nothing, because a lender who seizes it has nothing to sell.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
Of course, the same kinds of models that are finding solutions to Erdős problems can also find the hidden vulnerabilities in the software that secures modern life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Replimune secures FDA approval for Tudriqev on its third attempt, making it the company’s first product on the market.
From Barron's ● Aug. 8, 2026
It does fit in with one of Andy Burnham's missions of reindustrialisation by encouraging the kind of investment that brings and secures jobs.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Eventually, though, she secures her newborn in the den and heads back to the bamboo thicket to feast—crucial for her own survival as well as her cub’s.
From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh
If no candidate secured more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers advanced to the general election.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
During his first term in Congress, he helped pass legislation to grow local aerospace jobs and secured $1 million to support College of the Canyons’ student basic needs center.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Rantzen then secured a job as a trainee studio manager with BBC Radio, before moving to television as a researcher on the satirical show BBC3, which had been created by Ned Sherrin.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
WHO had so far secured only $2 million of the $9 million it needed for its response, she said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
“Now then,” said Samir, as he secured his sleeping rug on top of the bundles.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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 ● Oct. 1, 2026
That ties in with its emphasis on controlling information, securing data and maintaining social stability.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
Bhengura moved to the U.S. and spent 18 years working toward becoming a legal resident, securing his green card in 2022.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
The issue is personal, she added, recalling the challenges of securing support for Big Joanie's early releases.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Zeitoun set out to finish securing the rest of his job sites.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
