secure
pronunciation
How to pronounce secure in British English:
UK [sɪˈkjʊə(r)]
How to pronounce secure in American English:
US [sɪˈkjʊr]
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- Verb:
- get by special effort
- cause to be firmly attached
- assure payment of
- make certain of
- fill or close tightly with or as if with a plug
- furnish with battens
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- Adjective:
- free from fear or doubt; easy in mind
- free from danger or risk
- kept safe or defended from danger or injury or loss
- not likely to fail or give way
- able to withstand attack
- financially sound
Word Origin
- secure
- secure: [16] Something that is secure is etymologically ‘carefree’. The word was borrowed from Latin sēcūrus, a compound adjective formed from the prefix sē- ‘without’ and cūra ‘care’ (source of English curate, cure, etc). The metaphorical extension from ‘free from care’ to ‘free from danger, safe’ took place in post-Augustan Latin. Sure is in effect a telescoped version of secure.=> curate, cure, sure
- secure (adj.)
- 1530s, "without care, dreading no evil," from Latin securus, of persons, "free from care, quiet, easy," also in a bad sense, "careless, reckless;" of things, "tranquil; free from danger, safe," from *se cura, from se "free from" (see secret (n.1)) + cura "care" (see cure (n.)). In English, of places, "free from danger, unexposed," from 1580s. Meaning "firmly fixed" (of material things) is from 1841, on notion of "affording grounds for confidence." Of telephones, "not wiretapped," from 1961. Replaced Middle English siker, from Old English sicor, from the Latin word. Related: Securely.
- secure (v.)
- c. 1600, "to make safe," from secure (adj.). Meaning "ensure, make certain" is from 1650s; that of "seize and hold" is from 1640s; sense of "get possession" is from 1743. Related: Secured; securing.
Antonym
Example
- 1. Will you feel secure doing so ?
- 2. Large new importers secure supply through government-to-government deals .
- 3. Analysts say the difference is due to a lack of secure payment systems .
- 4. Airlines use them to secure steady fuel prices .
- 5. Microsoft access does very little to secure data .