secure

adjective

1. 1

   Free from attack or danger; protected.

2. 2

   Free from the danger of theft; safe.

3. 3

   Free from the risk of eavesdropping, interception or discovery; secret.

4. 4

   Free from anxiety or doubt; unafraid.

   But thou, secure of soul, unbent with woes.

   No sooner were we up there, than the old woman dragged the ladder, by which we had ascended, away with a chuckle, as if she was now secure that we could do no mischief, and sat herself down again once more, to doze and await her master's return.

5. 5

   Firm and not likely to fail; stable.

6. 6

   Free from the risk of financial loss; reliable.

7. 7

   Confident in opinion; not entertaining, or not having reason to entertain, doubt; certain; sure; commonly used with of.

   secure of a welcome

   Confidence then bore thee on, secure / Either to meet no danger, or to find / Matter of glorious trial.

8. 8

   obsoleteOverconfident; incautious; careless.

   They were secure where they ought to have been wary, and timorous where they might well have been secure.

9. 9

   Certain to be achieved or gained; assured.

   Just when victory seemed secure, they let it slip from their grasp.

verb

1. 1

   To make safe; to relieve from apprehensions of, or exposure to, danger; to guard; to protect.

   I spread a cloud before the victor's sight, / Sustained the vanquished, and secured his flight.

2. 2

   To put beyond hazard of losing or of not receiving; to make certain; to assure; frequently with against or from, or formerly with of.

   to secure a creditor against loss; to secure a debt by a mortgage

   It secures its possessor of eternal happiness.

3. 3

   To fix in place; to close or confine effectually; to render incapable of getting loose or escaping.

   to secure a prisoner; to secure a door, or the hatches of a ship

   All springs for the engine and tender are of the laminated type with plates of carbon steel, which are secured in the spring buckles by a vertical centre rivet.

4. 4

   To get possession of; to make oneself secure of; to acquire certainly.

   to secure an estate

   Her achievements have secured her place in the annals of our nation

   With the Argentinian secured United will step up their attempt to sign a midfielder and, possibly, a defender in the closing days of the transfer window. Juventus’s Arturo Vidal, Milan’s Nigel de Jong and Ajax’s Daley Blind, who is also a left-sided defensive player, are potential targets.

   [Captain] was able to secure some good photographs of the fortress.

5. 5

   obsoleteTo plight or pledge.

Forms

comparative

securer, more secure

superlative

securest, most secure

past tense

secured

past participle

secured

present participle

securing

third person singular

secures