# security

Pronunciation: US say "suh-KYOR-i-tee" /səˈkjɔɹ.ɪˌti/; UK say "si-KYOOR-uh-tee" /sɪˈkjʊəɹəti/

## Noun

1. The steps and safeguards put in place to keep a person, building, country or computer system safe from attack, theft or spying.
   - Simple: The steps taken to keep a person, building, country, or computer safe from attack, theft, or spying.
   - _The embassy stepped up security after the protests, adding guards and concrete barriers._
   - _A flaw in the app's security let attackers read users' private messages._
2. The condition of being free from threat, whether physical, emotional, financial, or psychological.
   - Simple: The state of being safe and protected from danger, harm, or loss.
   - _Financial security allowed them to retire without worry._
   - _The treaty was meant to guarantee lasting security across the region._
3. The department or organization responsible for enforcing rules and maintaining order to keep people and places safe.
   - Simple: The team of people whose job is to keep a place safe and keep order.
   - _Airport security screened every passenger before boarding._
   - _Building security patrols the corridors throughout the night._
4. A stock, bond, or other financial asset that can be bought and sold, or the certificate showing who owns it; usually plural.
   - Simple: A share, bond, or similar thing that people buy and sell to make money.
   - _The fund manager sold every risky security before the market dropped._
   - _Government bonds are among the safest securities available._
5. Freedom from fear or anxiety; a state of being untroubled by worry or dread.
   - Simple: A calm state in which you have no fear or worry.
   - _The quiet town offered a sense of security he had never known in the city._
   - _Growing up in a loving home gave her an inner security that carried her through hard times._
6. Property or money pledged as a guarantee that a loan will be repaid or an obligation met, and that can be claimed if it is not.
   - Simple: Something valuable, like a house, that you agree to give up if you do not pay back a loan.
   - _He pledged his savings as security against the mortgage._
   - _Without any property to offer as security, they were refused the loan._
7. An object or means that makes something safe or holds it firmly in place.
   - Simple: A thing that keeps something else safe, closed, or held firmly in place.
   - _A heavy bolt serves as the main security on the cellar door._
   - _A rusty chain across the gate was the farm's only security against thieves._
8. A guarantee or assurance that an obligation will be fulfilled.
   - Simple: A promise that makes you sure something will happen or be done.
   - _The town would not sign the contract without security for its completion, so the builder got its insurer to guarantee the work._
   - _With no assets to pledge, the young firm offered the bank the only security it had: a written promise from its owner to repay the loan personally._

## Noun

9. Carelessness or negligence, especially the heedlessness born of an overconfident sense of safety. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A careless lack of caution, often from feeling too safe.

## Origin

From secure plus -ity, coming through Middle English securite and Middle French securité from Latin sēcūritās, based on sēcūrus ("safe, secure"), itself from sē- ("without") and cūra ("care"). It is a doublet of surety.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/security (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).