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
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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:
NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy proposed an expanded state benefits package to regulators to secure approval for their $67 billion merger.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
After Rybakina sent an ace past her to secure victory, Sabalenka flung her racquet away in disgust before congratulating her opponent.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
In a Sept. 5 press release, Bass said she was directing city crews to clean and secure nuisance properties citywide.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
"Kenya will remain an open, secure and welcoming country, protecting opportunities for its citizens, safeguarding the rights of all persons lawfully within its borders," a statement by his spokesman said.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
I bent for another clothespin to secure the petticoat.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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
My experience has been that with the single exception mentioned, I have felt securer in the buckskin.
From Camp and Trail by Stewart Edward White
In another decade of years, in another century, or age, we hope that the Union, by the same means, may repose in a securer peace and bloom in a higher civilization.
From The Battle of Gettysburg by Frank Aretas Haskell
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 John Ruskin
The securest hold was Adam Sandler's: his Grown Ups fell a negligible 14%.
From Time ● Jul. 11, 2010
Vickers, the securest of Otellos onstage, does not always seem comfort able on vinyl.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
It struck the poor exile as curious, that the very den of the British lion, the private grounds of the British King, should be commended to a refugee as his securest asylum.
From Israel Potter by Herman Melville
A chip nobody else would want secures nothing, because a lender who seizes it has nothing to sell.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
If the petition secures 218 signatures from House members, the full House will vote on the bill.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 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
My hands fumble along the collar of my shirt and find the button that secures it shut.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
The company has secured endorsement deals with players ranging from NFL veterans to a 13-year-old junior high school influencer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Many United supporters feel an overall transfer spend of £148m this summer was not enough after Carrick's mid-season arrival led to an improvement that secured a third-place finish.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Pansa, Poland’s air-navigation agency, in recent weeks secured emergency government funding to cover staff salaries and pay invoices for items including backup power systems and cybersecurity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
The top-ranked pairing continued to labour however, with a frustrated England star Hull struggling with her putter, as the US pair of Yealimi Noh and Andrea Lee secured a 1-up victory.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
Fischer secured a position at the Moscow Brain Institute, and in November 1933 he and Regina, who was then twenty, fell in love and were married in Moscow.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Ellison is frustrated after securing approvals from more than 65 regulators worldwide for the mammoth merger that would bring HBO, CNN, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV and TBS under the same roof.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
It concludes that the true challenge for Newsom is not just securing the nomination, but mobilizing disaffected and disengaged voters who may otherwise sit out another election.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Human rights lawyer Karen Todner was instrumental in securing Leroy's release as he was one of four prisoners she submitted an application for the writ of Habeas Corpus for.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
At the same time, Ford has held talks with China’s upstart BYD—now one of the biggest carmakers in the world—about securing batteries for future hybrid vehicles, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
I brought a couple of plain white T-shirts, and Cap showed me how to scrunch, twist, and tie them up, securing them with rubber bands.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
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.
