secure
- free from or not exposed to danger or harm; safe.
- 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.
- safe from penetration or interception by unauthorized persons: secure radio communications between army units.
- Archaic. overconfident.
- to get hold or possession of; procure; obtain: to secure materials; to secure a high government position.
- 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.
- 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.
Origin of secure
Synonyms for secure
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms for secure
Related Words for secured
insure, capture, buy, get, win, assure, ensure, gain, have, take, achieve, guarantee, fix, clinch, settle, cement, defend, safeguard, grasp, landExamples from the Web for secured
Contemporary Examples of secured
The Senate Intelligence Committee report says they secured a contract with the CIA in 2006 valued “in excess of $180 million.”
Jonathan Moore, who secured the $1.7 million settlement in the Stewart case, is representing them.
Before Eric Garner, There Was Michael Stewart: The Tragic Story of the Real-Life Radio RaheemMarlow Stern
December 4, 2014
Along with amnesty, our borders were to be secured once and for all.
Her mother was illiterate, but she secured a tutor for both her sons and her daughters, and Juana could read by the age of 3.
Patterson secured the permission of the landowner to venture onto the property.
Historical Examples of secured
But can the safety of the state be secured by merely excluding the vicious poor?
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
Such men were secured in the first place by handsome bribes.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
Not until he had secured such information did the leader move.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
In the grass there can still be seen the stone to which the bull-ring was secured.
Yorkshire Painted And DescribedGordon Home
No; we have secured the best teachers that we could for them, but each one has been a failure.
Ester Ried Yet SpeakingIsabella Alden
secure
- 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; certaina secure investment
- nautical stowed away or made inoperative
- archaic careless or overconfident
- (tr) to obtain or get possession ofI will secure some good seats
- (when intr, often foll by against) to make or become free from danger, fear, etc
- (tr) to make fast or firm; fasten
- (when intr, often foll by against) to make or become certain; guaranteethis 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 inoperativeto secure the radio
Word Origin for secure
Word Origin and History for secured
secure
1530s, "without care, dreading no evil," from Latin securus, of persons, "free from care, quiet, easy," also in a bad sense, "careless, reckless;" of things, "tranquil; free from danger, safe," from *se cura, from se "free from" (see secret (n.)) + cura "care" (see cure (n.)).
In English, of places, "free from danger, unexposed," from 1580s. Meaning "firmly fixed" (of material things) is from 1841, on notion of "affording grounds for confidence." Of telephones, "not wiretapped," from 1961. Replaced Middle English siker, from Old English sicor, from the Latin word. Related: Securely.
secure
c.1600, "to make safe," from secure (adj.). Meaning "ensure, make certain" is from 1650s; that of "seize and hold" is from 1640s; sense of "get possession" is from 1743. Related: Secured; securing.