Secure
secure |sɪˈkjʊə, sɪˈkjɔː|
adjective
1 fixed or fastened so as not to give way, become loose, or be lost: check to ensure that all nuts and bolts are secure.
• (of a place of detention) having provisions against the escape of inmates: a secure unit for young offenders.
2 certain to remain safe and unthreatened: his position as party leader was less than secure | a more competitive economy will lead to an increase in secure employment.
!• protected against attack or other criminal activity: no airport is totally secure.
• feeling confident and free from fear or anxiety:everyone needs to have a home and to feel secure and wanted.
• (secure of) dated feeling no doubts about attaining:she remained poised and complacent, secure of admiration.
verb [ with obj. ]
1 fix or attach (something) firmly so that it cannot be moved or lost: pins secure the handle to the main body.
• make (a door or container) hard to open; fasten or lock: doors are likely to be well secured at night.
• Surgery compress (a blood vessel) to prevent bleeding.
2 succeed in obtaining (something), especially with difficulty: the division secured a major contract.
!• seek to guarantee repayment of (a loan) by having a right to take possession of an asset in the event of non-payment: a loan secured on your home.
3 protect against threats; make safe: the government is concerned to secure the economy against too much foreign ownership.
PHRASES
secure arms Military hold a rifle with the muzzle downward and the lock in the armpit to guard it from rain.
DERIVATIVES
securable adjective,
securely adverb,
securement noun,
secureness noun
!ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘feeling no
apprehension’): from Latin securus, from se- ‘without’
+ cura ‘care’.
secure
adjective
1 check to ensure that all nuts and bolts are secure: tight,firm, taut, fixed, secured, done up; closed, shut, locked,sealed. ANTONYMS loose, unlocked.2 make sure that the ladder you are working on is secure:stable, fixed, secured, fast, safe, steady, immovable,unshakeable, dependable; anchored, moored, jammed,rooted, braced, cemented, riveted, nailed, tied; strong,sturdy, solid, sound. ANTONYMS precarious, rocky.
3 jars kept secure in a pantry may survive for several generations | children need an environment in which they can feel secure: protected from harm/danger, free from !danger, sheltered, shielded, guarded, unharmed,undamaged, safe and sound, safe, out of harm's way, in a safe place, in safe hands, invulnerable, immune, impregnable, unassailable; at ease, unworried,reassured, relaxed, happy, comfortable, confident.
ANTONYMS vulnerable, threatened, unsettled.
4 few young people face a secure future: certain, assured,
reliable, dependable, settled, fixed, established, solid,sound. ANTONYMS uncertain, insecure.
verb
1 pins secure the handle to the main body: fix, attach,fasten, affix, link, hitch, join, connect, couple, bond,append, annex, stick, pin, tack, nail, staple, clip.
2 the doors had not been properly secured: fasten, close,shut, lock, bolt, chain, seal, board up.
3 Athens was seeking to secure herself from a lightning invasion from the west: protect, make safe, make sound,!make invulnerable, make immune, make impregnable,
fortify, strengthen, shelter, shield, guard.
4 he killed the engine, then leapt out to secure the boat: tieup, moor, make fast, lash, hitch, berth; anchor.
5 a written constitution would secure the rights of the individual: assure, ensure, insure, guarantee, warrant,protect, indemnify, confirm, establish.
6 the company has already secured two million pounds' worth of business: obtain, acquire, gain, get, find, come by, pick up, procure, get possession of; buy, purchase;
informal get hold of, land, get one's hands on, lay one's hands on, get one's mitts on. ANTONYMS lose, let slip.
WORD TOOLKIT
secure
See protected.
!Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close
synonyms by means of words typically used with
them.
adjective
1 fixed or fastened so as not to give way, become loose, or be lost: check to ensure that all nuts and bolts are secure.
• (of a place of detention) having provisions against the escape of inmates: a secure unit for young offenders.
2 certain to remain safe and unthreatened: his position as party leader was less than secure | a more competitive economy will lead to an increase in secure employment.
!• protected against attack or other criminal activity: no airport is totally secure.
• feeling confident and free from fear or anxiety:everyone needs to have a home and to feel secure and wanted.
• (secure of) dated feeling no doubts about attaining:she remained poised and complacent, secure of admiration.
verb [ with obj. ]
1 fix or attach (something) firmly so that it cannot be moved or lost: pins secure the handle to the main body.
• make (a door or container) hard to open; fasten or lock: doors are likely to be well secured at night.
• Surgery compress (a blood vessel) to prevent bleeding.
2 succeed in obtaining (something), especially with difficulty: the division secured a major contract.
!• seek to guarantee repayment of (a loan) by having a right to take possession of an asset in the event of non-payment: a loan secured on your home.
3 protect against threats; make safe: the government is concerned to secure the economy against too much foreign ownership.
PHRASES
secure arms Military hold a rifle with the muzzle downward and the lock in the armpit to guard it from rain.
DERIVATIVES
securable adjective,
securely adverb,
securement noun,
secureness noun
!ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘feeling no
apprehension’): from Latin securus, from se- ‘without’
+ cura ‘care’.
secure
adjective
1 check to ensure that all nuts and bolts are secure: tight,firm, taut, fixed, secured, done up; closed, shut, locked,sealed. ANTONYMS loose, unlocked.2 make sure that the ladder you are working on is secure:stable, fixed, secured, fast, safe, steady, immovable,unshakeable, dependable; anchored, moored, jammed,rooted, braced, cemented, riveted, nailed, tied; strong,sturdy, solid, sound. ANTONYMS precarious, rocky.
3 jars kept secure in a pantry may survive for several generations | children need an environment in which they can feel secure: protected from harm/danger, free from !danger, sheltered, shielded, guarded, unharmed,undamaged, safe and sound, safe, out of harm's way, in a safe place, in safe hands, invulnerable, immune, impregnable, unassailable; at ease, unworried,reassured, relaxed, happy, comfortable, confident.
ANTONYMS vulnerable, threatened, unsettled.
4 few young people face a secure future: certain, assured,
reliable, dependable, settled, fixed, established, solid,sound. ANTONYMS uncertain, insecure.
verb
1 pins secure the handle to the main body: fix, attach,fasten, affix, link, hitch, join, connect, couple, bond,append, annex, stick, pin, tack, nail, staple, clip.
2 the doors had not been properly secured: fasten, close,shut, lock, bolt, chain, seal, board up.
3 Athens was seeking to secure herself from a lightning invasion from the west: protect, make safe, make sound,!make invulnerable, make immune, make impregnable,
fortify, strengthen, shelter, shield, guard.
4 he killed the engine, then leapt out to secure the boat: tieup, moor, make fast, lash, hitch, berth; anchor.
5 a written constitution would secure the rights of the individual: assure, ensure, insure, guarantee, warrant,protect, indemnify, confirm, establish.
6 the company has already secured two million pounds' worth of business: obtain, acquire, gain, get, find, come by, pick up, procure, get possession of; buy, purchase;
informal get hold of, land, get one's hands on, lay one's hands on, get one's mitts on. ANTONYMS lose, let slip.
WORD TOOLKIT
secure
See protected.
!Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close
synonyms by means of words typically used with
them.
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