secure

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin securus (“of persons, free from care, quiet, easy; in a bad sense, careless, reckless; of things, tranquil, also free from danger, safe, secure”), from se- (“without”) + cura (“care”); see cure. Doublet of sure and the now obsolete or dialectal sicker (“certain, safe”).

adj

1. Free from attack or danger; protected.
   The vast majority of American Jews not only greatly dislike President Trump but also believe he has made them less safe: according to a May 2019 poll, nearly three-quarters of Jewish voters believe American Jews are less secure under Trump than they were before, 71 percent disapprove of Trump’s overall job performance, and nearly 60 percent believe that he bears at least some responsibility for the synagogue shootings carried out by white nationalists in Pittsburgh and Poway. 2020 March, Joshua Leifer, “Led Astray”, in The Baffler, number 50
2. Free from the danger of theft; safe.
3. Free from the risk of eavesdropping, interception or discovery; secret.
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. 1861, Elizabeth Gaskell, The Grey Woman
5. Firm and not likely to fail; stable.
6. Free from the risk of financial loss; reliable.
7. Confident in opinion; not entertaining, or not having reason to entertain, doubt; certain; sure; commonly used with of.
   secure of a welcome
8. (obsolete) Overconfident; incautious; careless.
9. Certain to be achieved or gained; assured.
   Just when victory seemed secure, they let it slip from their grasp.

verb

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. 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. 1831, Thomas Dick, The Philosophy of Religion
3. To make fast; 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
4. To get possession of; to make oneself secure of; to acquire certainly.
   to secure an estate
   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. 26 August 2014, Jamie Jackson, “Ángel di María says Manchester United were the ‘only club’ after Real”, in The Guardian
   [Captain] was able to secure some good photographs of the fortress. 1911, Flight, page 766
5. (transitive, obsolete) To plight or pledge.