security

[si-kyoor-i-tee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR security ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural se·cu·ri·ties.

freedom from danger, risk, etc.; safety.

freedom from care, anxiety, or doubt; well-founded confidence.

something that secures or makes safe; protection; defense.

freedom from financial cares or from want: The insurance policy gave the family security.

precautions taken to guard against crime, attack, sabotage, espionage, etc.: claims that security was lax at the embassy; the importance of computer security to prevent hackers from gaining access.

a department or organization responsible for protection or safety: He called security when he spotted the intruder.

protection or precautions taken against escape; custody: The dangerous criminal was placed under maximum security.

an assurance; guarantee.

Law.

something given or deposited as surety for the fulfillment of a promise or an obligation, the payment of a debt, etc.
one who becomes surety for another.

an evidence of debt or of property, as a bond or a certificate of stock.

Usually securities. stocks and bonds.

Archaic. overconfidence; cockiness.

adjective

of, relating to, or serving as security: The company has instituted stricter security measures.

Nearby words

Origin of security

1400–50; late Middle English securytye, securite(e) < Latin sēcūritās. See secure, -ity

SYNONYMS FOR security

2. assurance, certainty, positiveness. 3. safeguard, safety.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR security ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsnon·se·cu·ri·ty, noun, plural non·se·cu·ri·ties.o·ver·se·cu·ri·ty, nounself-se·cu·ri·ty, nounsub·se·cu·ri·ty, noun, plural sub·se·cu·ri·ties.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for security

A Charlie Hebdo reporter said that security provision had been relaxed in the last month or so and the police car disappeared.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Security officials told Agence France-Presse that the gas station manager said he had recognized the two men.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Still, the security on the vessels—big or small—is nonexistent.
Ghost Ships of the Mediterranean|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Faal has some experience in both political and security matters, it seems.
The Shadowy U.S. Veteran Who Tried to Overthrow a Country|Jacob Siegel|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Pakistani security officials offer a more nuanced explanation.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan|Umar Farooq|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the former case, action has to contribute profit or security or consolation to a self.
Human Nature and Conduct|John Dewey
Now I know that no one can build his security upon the nobleness of another person.
Alexander's Bridge and The Barrel Organ|Willa Cather and Alfred Noyes
The worst of all abuses is to pay an apparent obedience to the laws, only in order actually to break them with security.
The Social Contract & Discourses|Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Once we sit down in security the world seems to hand us things we do not need.
Laugh and Live|Douglas Fairbanks
With this security I ought to be satisfied; for I believe no one inspires a lasting passion without sharing it.
Leonora|Maria Edgeworth

British Dictionary definitions for security

security

noun plural -ties

the state of being secure

assured freedom from poverty or wanthe needs the security of a permanent job

a person or thing that secures, guarantees, etc

precautions taken to ensure against theft, espionage, etcthe security in the government offices was not very good

(often plural)

a certificate of creditorship or property carrying the right to receive interest or dividend, such as shares or bonds
the financial asset represented by such a certificate

the specific asset that a creditor can claim title to in the event of default on an obligation

something given or pledged to secure the fulfilment of a promise or obligation

a person who undertakes to fulfil another person's obligation

the protection of data to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to computer files

archaic carelessness or overconfidence

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for security

security

mid-15c., "condition of being secure," from Latin securitas, from securus "free from care" (see secure). Replacing sikerte (early 15c.), from an earlier borrowing from Latin; earlier in the sense "security" was sikerhede (early 13c.); sikernesse (c.1200).

Meaning "something which secures" is from 1580s; "safety of a state, person, etc." is from 1941. Legal sense of "property in bonds" is from mid-15c.; that of "document held by a creditor" is from 1680s. Phrase security blanket in figurative sense is attested from 1966, in reference to the crib blanket carried by the character Linus in the "Peanuts" comic strip (1956).

Idioms and Phrases with security

security

In addition to the idiom beginning with security

security blanket

also see:

lull into (false sense of security)

security

noun, plural se·cu·ri·ties.

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of security

Examples from the Web for security

security

noun plural -ties

security

security