Secured

How to spell secured

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce secured

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does secured mean?

1. verbObtained, fastened, or made safe; the past tense of secure.
2. adjectiveProtected, fastened, or backed by collateral, as in a secured loan or connection.

Secured in a sentence

• verb

  The team secured the contract after months of negotiation.

• adjective

  A secured loan requires the borrower to pledge an asset.

• verb

  She secured the ladder against the wall before climbing.

• adjective

  Only staff with a secured login can access the database.

Where does secured come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin securus, an adjective meaning 'free from care' or 'untroubled', built from se- meaning 'apart from' or 'without' and cura meaning 'care' or 'anxiety'. The literal idea was a state of having no worries, and from that came the sense of being safe and protected from danger. English borrowed the verb 'secure' in the sixteenth century, meaning to make safe or to obtain firmly, and 'secured' is its regular past and participle form. The same cura root sits inside everyday relatives like 'cure', 'curious', and 'curate', all touching on care or attention. Interestingly, the very same Latin securus also travelled a different path into English through French to give us 'sure', which is why the two words feel so closely linked.

How the word is built

• se- (apart, aside)
• cure (from Latin cura: care, concern)
• -ed (past tense/participle suffix)