Secure Meaning
/sɪˈkjʊə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjFree from attack or danger; protected.
adjFree from the danger of theft; safe.
Sentence Examples
You are secure from danger here.
Our victory is secure.
The government has been working to secure the release of the hostages.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After installing new locks, our house feels much more ____ against intruders than before.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She made sure to ____ all the windows before leaving the house for the weekend.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Latin sēcūrus (“of persons, free from care, quiet, easy; in a bad sense, careless, reckless; of things, tranquil, also free from danger, safe, secure”), from sē- (“without”) + cūra (“care”); see cure. Doublet of sure and the now obsolete or dialectal sicker (“certain, safe”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"But thou, secure of soul, unbent with woes."
— 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
"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:
"Confidence then bore thee on, secure / Either to meet no danger, or to find / Matter of glorious trial."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"They were secure where they ought to have been wary, and timorous where they might well have been secure."
— 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After installing new locks, our house feels much more ____ against intruders than before.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She made sure to ____ all the windows before leaving the house for the weekend.