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In Shakespeare's time, describing a character as secure meant they were being what?

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secure

American  

[si-kyoor] / sɪˈkjʊər /

adjective

securer, securest

1. free from or not exposed to danger or harm; safe.

   Antonyms:

   unsafe

2. dependable; firm; not liable to fail, yield, become displaced, etc., as a support or a fastening.

   The building was secure, even in an earthquake.

   Synonyms:

   fixed, fast, stable

3. affording safety, as a place.

   He needed a secure hideout.

4. in safe custody or keeping.

   Here in the vault the necklace was secure.

5. free from care; without anxiety.

   emotionally secure.

6. firmly established, as a relationship or reputation.

   He earned a secure place among the baseball immortals.

7. sure; certain; assured.

   secure of victory;

   secure in religious belief.

   Synonyms:

   confident

8. safe from penetration or interception by unauthorized persons.

   secure radio communications between army units.

9. Archaic. overconfident.

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verb (used with object)

• secures,
  present (3rd person singular)
• secured,
  past participle,  past
• securing
  present participle

1. to get hold or possession of; procure; obtain.

   to secure materials;

   to secure a high government position.

   Synonyms:

   gain

2. to free from danger or harm; make safe.

   Sandbags secured the town during the flood.

   Synonyms:

   safeguard, guard, protect

3. to effect; make certain of; ensure.

   The novel secured his reputation.

   Synonyms:

   guarantee, assure

4. to make firm or fast, as by attaching.

   to secure a rope.

5. Finance.

   1. to assure payment of (a debt) by pledging property.

   2. to assure (a creditor) of payment by the pledge or mortgaging of property.

6. to lock or fasten against intruders.

   to secure the doors.

7. to protect from attack by taking cover, by building fortifications, etc..

   The regiment secured its position.

8. to capture (a person or animal).

   No one is safe until the murderer is secured.

9. to tie up (a person), especially by binding the person's arms or hands; pinion.

10. 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

1. to be or become safe; have or obtain security.

2. Nautical.

   1. to cover openings and make movable objects fast.

      The crew was ordered to secure for sea.

   2. to be excused from duty.

      to secure from general quarters.

secure British  

/ sɪˈkjʊə /

adjective

1. free from danger, damage, etc

2. free from fear, care, etc

3. in safe custody

4. not likely to fail, become loose, etc

5. able to be relied on; certain

   a secure investment

6. nautical stowed away or made inoperative

7. archaic careless or overconfident

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verb

1. (tr) to obtain or get possession of

   I will secure some good seats

2. to make or become free from danger, fear, etc

3. (tr) to make fast or firm; fasten

4. to make or become certain; guarantee

   this plan will secure your happiness

5. (tr) to assure (a creditor) of payment, as by giving security

6. (tr) to make (a military position) safe from attack

7. nautical to make (a vessel or its contents) safe or ready by battening down hatches, stowing gear, etc

8. (tr) nautical to stow or make inoperative

   to secure the radio

Synonym Usage

See safe. See get.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• securement
  noun
• secureness
  noun
• securer
  noun
• supersecureness
  noun
• unsecureness
  noun
• resecure
  verb
• presecure
  verb (used with object)
• oversecure
  adjective
• quasi-secure
  adjective
• securable
  adjective
• supersecure
  adjective
• unsecure
  adjective
• well-secured
  adjective
• oversecurely
  adverb
• quasi-securely
  adverb
• securely
  adverb
• supersecurely
  adverb
• unsecurely
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• securing
  present
• secured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• secure
  simple
• secures
  simple
• have secured
  perfect
• has secured
  perfect
• am securing
  progressive
• are securing
  progressive
• is securing
  progressive
• have been securing
  perfect progressive
• has been securing
  perfect progressive

Past

• secured
  simple
• had secured
  perfect
• was securing
  progressive
• were securing
  progressive
• had been securing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will secure
  simple
• will have secured
  perfect
• will be securing
  progressive
• will have been securing
  perfect progressive

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

secure securer securest secures secured securing

Across elite enclaves, ultrawealthy buyers are paying eye-popping prices for relatively new homes—only to immediately demolish them to secure irreplaceable land for custom builds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

The then Bath player scored three tries during England's historic 2003 World Cup campaign, helping secure a 20-17 victory over Australia in the final when he came on as a second-half substitute.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

They frequently initiated aggressive encounters, driving other insects away to secure feeding opportunities.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026

Making sure your father-in-law has a safe and secure place to live is the No. 1 priority.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

For that brief instant, Jonathan felt secure and comforted.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

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

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

It is not for himself, primarily, that he demands larger liberties, securer rights, more humanizing conditions of life; but it is for his fellow-men.

From Essays on Scandinavian Literature by Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen

But it has suited her book to maintain the present elusive and anomalous relations with Tibet, which are a securer buttress to her western dependencies against encroachment than the strongest army corps.

From The Unveiling of Lhasa by Edmund Candler

The securest hold was Adam Sandler's: his Grown Ups fell a negligible 14%.

From Time ● Jul. 11, 2010

Even threaten the securest position, when long continued.

From Time Magazine Archive

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

The odds are that Poetry London-New York will not prove the securest of jobs for Tambi.

From Time Magazine Archive

To the eye of reason, the panoply of iron and steel seems the best, and strongest, and securest.

From The Cities of Refuge: or, The Name of Jesus A Sunday book for the young by John R. (John Ross) Macduff

A cloud operator raises money, secures power and installs computing equipment.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

It says it thinks Nokia may either raise the guidance if the company secures more supply, or leave 2026 guidance unchanged but provide encouraging color on 2027 to address market concerns on capacity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Rocket Lab secures 20 additional launches for Synspective, while Citi initiates coverage with a Buy rating and $105 price target.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

The recently released footage shows a helicopter hovering mere feet from a cliff face in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the US state of California while a rescue team secures an injured climber.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

"They were from here?" he asks, and he secures a button at my neck.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

With the help of third-placed Alistair, Brownlee finished second, short of the victory which would have secured him the world title in the overall standings.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Kao and Hartman struck a similar bargain with Wilson, Kao told the FBI, at a private lunch he secured by donating to his campaign.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

The deal also secured the release of four employees detained by the authorities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Irvine police on Saturday said the wreckage of the car was being stored in a secured tow facility in Costa Mesa that is often contracted by police to store damaged vehicles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

Within minutes, he had secured the promise of a surreptitious meeting and disappeared before the L’Arche seniors rejoined their daughter.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Attorney for New Jersey, said, “Hold my beer, ladies,” when The New York Times reported she had been given a $50 million personal contract in exchange for securing a presidential pardon.

From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas models 8.3 gigawatts by the end of next year, citing a “lack of clarity on securing power, steep execution risks, and financing overhang.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

The endorsement also gives Raman newfound clout in an area where her campaign has struggled: securing support from her fellow elected officials.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

Fulham were 1-0 up through Ryan Sessegnon's second-half strike and close to securing a first win of the campaign against Ipswich Town last weekend before they were undone by two late goals at Portman Road.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Rather than arguing, I picked up the last three bundles of supplies and tucked them on the raft, securing them with straps.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

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