secure
Americanadjective
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free from or not exposed to danger or harm; safe.
- Antonyms:
- unsafe
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dependable; firm; not liable to fail, yield, become displaced, etc., as a support or a fastening.
The building was secure, even in an earthquake.
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affording safety, as a place.
He needed a secure hideout.
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in safe custody or keeping.
Here in the vault the necklace was secure.
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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.
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sure; certain; assured.
secure of victory;
secure in religious belief.
- Synonyms:
- confident
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safe from penetration or interception by unauthorized persons.
secure radio communications between army units.
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Archaic. overconfident.
verb (used with object)
-
to get hold or possession of; procure; obtain.
to secure materials;
to secure a high government position.
- Synonyms:
- gain
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to free from danger or harm; make safe.
Sandbags secured the town during the flood.
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to effect; make certain of; ensure.
The novel secured his reputation.
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to make firm or fast, as by attaching.
to secure a rope.
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Finance.
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to assure payment of (a debt) by pledging property.
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to assure (a creditor) of payment by the pledge or mortgaging of property.
-
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to lock or fasten against intruders.
to secure the doors.
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to protect from attack by taking cover, by building fortifications, etc..
The regiment secured its position.
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to capture (a person or animal).
No one is safe until the murderer is secured.
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to tie up (a person), especially by binding the person's arms or hands; pinion.
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to guarantee the privacy or secrecy of.
to secure diplomatic phone conversations.
verb (used without object)
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to be or become safe; have or obtain security.
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Nautical.
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to cover openings and make movable objects fast.
The crew was ordered to secure for sea.
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to be excused from duty.
to secure from general quarters.
-
adjective
-
free from danger, damage, etc
-
free from fear, care, etc
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in safe custody
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not likely to fail, become loose, etc
-
able to be relied on; certain
a secure investment
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nautical stowed away or made inoperative
-
archaic careless or overconfident
verb
-
(tr) to obtain or get possession of
I will secure some good seats
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to make or become free from danger, fear, etc
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(tr) to make fast or firm; fasten
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to make or become certain; guarantee
this plan will secure your happiness
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(tr) to assure (a creditor) of payment, as by giving security
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(tr) to make (a military position) safe from attack
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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
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securementnoun
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securenessnoun
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securernoun
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supersecurenessnoun
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unsecurenessnoun
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resecureverb
-
presecureverb (used with object)
-
oversecureadjective
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quasi-secureadjective
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securableadjective
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supersecureadjective
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unsecureadjective
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well-securedadjective
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oversecurelyadverb
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quasi-securelyadverb
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securelyadverb
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supersecurelyadverb
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unsecurelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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securesimple
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securessimple
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have securedperfect
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has securedperfect
-
am securingprogressive
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are securingprogressive
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is securingprogressive
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have been securingperfect progressive
-
has been securingperfect progressive
Past
-
securedsimple
-
had securedperfect
-
was securingprogressive
-
were securingprogressive
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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:
"We were forced to secure short-term borrowing simply to fund end-of-season trophies," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
As Elisa, Nicole Heaston’s bright, secure soprano was also impressive, but she missed the character’s deep malevolence—Elisa is prepared to kill to get what she wants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
What’s more, Solyndra was credibly accused of misleading the government about its finances in order to secure backing, leading to the company being raided by the FBI.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
“California doesn’t have to choose between an accessible, secure election system and timely results,” Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
His idea was to sell it to banks, insurance firms—businesses that needed secure links between offices in different cities.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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 Reed, John Calvin
Only his last published book, The Hands of Esau, showed a fundamental urbanity, a mellower restraint, and perhaps these were the securer the more hardly they had been come by.
From The Tower of Oblivion by Onions, Oliver [pseud.]
That which is greatest in him is entirely independent of means; much of what he now accomplishes illegitimately might without doubt be attained in securer modes—what cannot should without hesitation be abandoned.
From Modern Painters Volume I (of V) by Ruskin, John
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
The odds are that Poetry London-New York will not prove the securest of jobs for Tambi.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is very gloomy in its interior, and is one of the strongest and securest prisons in the world.
From The Secrets of the Great City by McCabe, James Dabney
It’s the final place that secures a spot in the playoffs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 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
China’s Taiyi Quantum secures $44 million in Pre-A funding, highlighting intensified state-backed quantum development as a national priority.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
Sometimes called a “future-advance mortgage,” it secures debt on your home and may even allow other debts to be secured under the same mortgage.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
Tobias secures his backpack on his shoulders and grabs one of the beams.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
Ford has secured a contract with the Defense Department to develop a trio of truck prototypes, which will be based on its F-Series super-duty pickups.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
There is no timescale for it, but the department said that when secured, and approved by the Minister, the details for the scheme will be announced.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
When an examiner estimated that these transfers may have defrauded Caesars of $5 billion, the original proposal crumbled and the disfavored creditors secured a far better deal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
With that commitment to baseball and education while he was a student at Huntington Beach’s Edison High School, Kent secured a scholarship to Cal Berkeley.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
They were the same agreements, dreamed up by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, that Mike Burry secured before he bought his first credit default swaps.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
"That's an area where we have not agreed with the United States, but when it comes to securing maritime freedom and free commercial shipping in the straight Hormuz, that's where we are absolutely aligned".
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
He had always been a good student, securing almost all A’s with a few Bs sprinkled in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
"Their willingness to speak about what Sherland did to them was instrumental in securing this conviction."
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Research on financial well-being suggests for young Americans today, securing a sense of prosperity and independence requires reaching this six-figure milestone earlier in life, as time is so valuable in investing.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
“I thought we’d use the microscope today,” he said, securing it in its case and nestling it in his haversack.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
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.
