Added 9 October 2026

secure

/sɪˈkjʊə(ɹ)/ adjective

In Latin: tūtus, sēcūrus Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about secure at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

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

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”).