Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SE-CURE, v.t.

1. To guard effectually from danger; to make, safe. Fortifications may secure a city; ships of war may secure a harbor. I spread a cloud before the victor's sight, / Sustain'd the vanquish'd, and secur'd his flight. – Dryden.
2. To make certain; to put beyond hazard. Liberty and fixed laws secure to every citizen due protection of person and property. The first duty and the highest interest of men is to secure the favor of God by repentance and faith, and thus to secure to themselves future felicity.
3. To inclose or confine effectually; to guard effectually from escape; sometimes, to seize and confine; as, to secure a prisoner. The sherif pursued the thief with a warrant, and secured hint
4. To make certain of payment; as, to secure a debt by mortgage.
5. To make certain of receiving a precarious debt by giving bond, bail, surety, or otherwise; as, to secure a creditor.
6. To insure, as property.
7. To make fast; as, to secure a door; to secure a rafter to a plate; to secure the hatches of a ship.