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.
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
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:
"I would like to feel my pension is secure, and I don't feel like that. I worry I'm not going to be able to live comfortably at the age of retirement."
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Most workers might be secure in their job, but they are too worried to ask for a raise or to leave their current job without having another position lined up.
From MarketWatch ● 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
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
“Fred? We’re secure in here. But I hear some nasty barking in the other room. And Duke’s whining and whimpering. I have a feeling he’s in trouble!”
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
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
He found the barges unsafely bestowed, and suggested to the captain of the Hallam yard tug boat that he should tow them into a securer anchorage.
From A Captain in the Ranks A Romance of Affairs by George Cary Eggleston
Man the Rebel 27 Shows the transition stage between instinct and reason, in which man finds himself, and how he can advance to a securer condition.
From The Book of Life by Upton Sinclair
Shocked and embarrassed, she let go her hold, and allowed the old gentleman, with what remained of his cup of tea, to go and find out for himself a securer place.
From The Home by Mary (Mary Botham) Howitt
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
Even threaten the securest position, when long continued.
From Time Magazine Archive
Vickers, the securest of Otellos onstage, does not always seem comfort able on vinyl.
From Time Magazine Archive
Although most of his important articles have been collected, far too much of his work lies buried in that securest of literary sepulchres—the back numbers of a critical review.
From Early Reviews of English Poets by John Louis Haney
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
"They were from here?" he asks, and he secures a button at my neck.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
In this case, a U.S. delegation traveled to the country and, in meetings with officials there, secured Castillo’s release, the spokesman said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Earlier this week, it secured $30 billion in senior unsecured credit facilities to help it fund its plans.
From MarketWatch ● 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
Last year, Strathspey Railway received a £1m donation from a mystery American donor which secured the railway's long-term future.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
He was easily secured, and, to my surprise, went with the attendants quite placidly, simply repeating over and over again: “The blood is the life! The blood is the life!”
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Budget: The district needs to “be aggressive” in securing additional partnerships and government funds that “can bring more resources into our colleges,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
She had already passed the 2300 rating threshold required for the WGM title before securing her third and final norm.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on specific transactions, but said the department’s “priority is securing the end-to-end supply chain for minerals critical to national security.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
That ties in with its emphasis on controlling information, securing data and maintaining social stability.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
The inauguration was just days away, and we’d more than done our job of securing the railroad lines into Baltimore.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
