WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Se*cure"
Part of Speech : a.
Etymology : [L. securus; pref. se- without + cura care. See Cure care, and cf. Sure, a.]
Definition : 1. Free from fear, care, or anxiety; easy in mind; not feeling suspicion or distrust; confident. But thou, secure of soul, unbent with woes. DRyden.

2. Overconfident; incautious; careless; -- in a bad sense. Macaulay.

3. Confident in opinion; not entertaining, or not having reason to entertain, doubt; certain; sure; -- commonly with of; as, secure of a welcome. Confidence then bore thee on, secure Either to meet no danger, or to find Matter of glorious trial. Milton.

4. Net exposed to danger; safe; -- applied to persons and things, and followed by against or from. "Secure from fortune's blows." Dryden.

Syn. -- Safe; undisturbed; easy; sure; certain; assured; confident; careless; heedless; inattentive.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : Se*cure"
Part of Speech : v.
Definition : 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. Dryden.

2. To put beyond hazard of losing or of not receiving; to make certain; to assure; to insure; -- frequently with against or from, rarely with of; as, to secure a creditor against loss; to secure a debt by a mortgage. It secures its possessor of eternal happiness. T. Dick.

3. To make fast; to close or confine effectually; to render incapable of getting loose or escaping; as, to secure a prisoner; to secure a door, or the hatches of a ship.

4. To get possession of; to make one's self secure of; to acquire certainly; as, to secure an estate. Secure arms (Mil.), a command and a position in the manual of arms, used in wet weather, the object being to guard the firearm from becoming wet. The piece is turned with the barrel to the front and grasped by the right hand at the lewer band, the muzzle is dropped to the front, and the piece held with the guard under the right arm, the hand supported against the hip, and the thumb on the rammer.

t. [imp. & p. p. Secured; p. pr. & vb. n. Securing.]
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913