7 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A secure base or foundation is strong and reliable. □ He was determined to give his family a secure and solid base.
8 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you feel secure , you feel safe and happy and are not worried about life. □ She felt secure and protected when she was with him.
9 VERB [usu passive] If a loan is secured , the person who lends the money may take property such as a house from the person who borrows the money if they fail to repay it. [BUSINESS ] □ [be V -ed adv/prep] The loan is secured against your home. □ [V -ed] His main task is to raise enough finance to repay secured loans. SYNONYMS secure VERB
1
obtain: Evans was trying to obtain a false passport and other documents.
get: I got a job at the sawmill.
acquire: I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.
4
attach: We attach labels to things before we file them away.
stick: Don't forget to clip the token and stick it on your card.
fix: The cupboard is fixed on the wall.
fasten: There were no instructions on how to fasten the carrying strap to the box.
se|cu re u nit (secure units ) N‑COUNT A secure unit is a building or part of a building where dangerous prisoners or violent psychiatric patients are kept. □ …the secure unit at Cane Hill hospital.
se|cu|rity ◆◆◆ /s I kjʊə r I ti/ (securities )
1 N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Security refers to all the measures that are taken to protect a place, or to ensure that only people with permission enter it or leave it. □ They are now under a great deal of pressure to tighten their airport security. □ Strict security measures are in force in the capital.
2 N‑UNCOUNT A feeling of security is a feeling of being safe and free from worry. □ [+ of ] He loves the security of a happy home life. ● PHRASE If something gives you a false sense of security , it makes you believe that you are safe when you are not. □ Wearing helmets gave cyclists a false sense of security and encouraged them to take risks.
3 N‑UNCOUNT If something is security for a loan, you promise to give that thing to the person who lends you money, if you fail to pay the money back. [BUSINESS ] □ The central bank will provide special loans, and the banks will pledge the land as security.
4 N‑PLURAL Securities are stocks, shares, bonds, or other certificates that you buy in order to earn regular interest from them or to sell them later for a profit. [BUSINESS ] □ …U.S. government securities and bonds.
5 → see also social security COLLOCATIONS security NOUN 1
noun + security : airport, border, state
adjective + security : national, maximum, top; lax, tight
verb + security : guarantee, improve, tighten
se|cu |rity blan|ket (security blankets )
1 N‑COUNT If you refer to something as a security blanket , you mean that it provides someone with a feeling of safety and comfort when they are in a situation that worries them or makes them feel nervous. □ [+ of ] Alan sings with shy intensity, hiding behind the security blanket of his guitar.
2 N‑COUNT A baby's security blanket is a piece of cloth or clothing which the baby holds and chews in order to feel comforted.
se|cu |rity cam|era (security cameras ) N‑COUNT A security camera is a video camera that records people's activities in order to detect and prevent crime.
Se|cu |rity Coun|cil ◆◇◇ N‑PROPER The Security Council is the committee which governs the United Nations. It has permanent representatives from the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom, and temporary representatives from some other countries.
se|cu |rity guard (security guards ) N‑COUNT A security guard is someone whose job is to protect a building or to collect and deliver large amounts of money.
se|cu |rity risk (security risks ) N‑COUNT If you describe someone as a security risk , you mean that they may be a threat to the safety of a country or organization.
se|dan /s I dæ n/ (sedans ) N‑COUNT A sedan is a car with seats for four or more people, a fixed roof, and a boot that is separate from the part of the car that you sit in. [AM ] in BRIT, use saloon
se|da n chai r (sedan chairs ) N‑COUNT A sedan chair is an enclosed chair for one person carried on two poles by two men, one in front and one behind. Sedan chairs were used in the 17th and 18th centuries.
se|date /s I de I t/ (sedates , sedating , sedated )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe someone or something as sedate , you mean that they are quiet and rather dignified, though perhaps a bit dull. □ She took them to visit her sedate, elderly cousins. ● se|date|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ …sedately dressed in business suit with waistcoat.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you move along at a sedate pace, you move slowly, in a controlled way. □ We set off again at a more sedate pace. ● se|date|ly ADV [ADV after v] □ He pulled sedately out of the short driveway.
3 VERB If someone is sedated , they are given a drug to calm them or to make them sleep. □ [be V -ed] The patient is sedated with intravenous use of sedative drugs. □ [V n] Doctors sedated me and I fell into a deep sleep. ● se|dat|ed ADJ [v-link ADJ ] □ Grace was asleep, lightly sedated.
se|da|tion /s I de I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft under N ] If someone is under sedation , they have been given medicine or drugs in order to calm them or make them sleep. □ His mother was under sedation after the boy's body was brought back home.