Adjacent Words

Safe definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SAFE, a. [L. salvus, from salus, safety, health.]
1. Free from danger of any kind; as safe from enemies; safe from disease; safe from storms; safe from the malice of foes.
2. Free from hurt, injury or damage; as, to walk safe over red hot plowshares. We brought the goods safe to land.
3. Conferring safety; securing from harm; as a safe guide; a safe harbor; a safe bridge.
4. Not exposing to danger. Philippians 3.
5. No longer dangerous; placed beyond the power of doing harm; a ludicrous meaning.
Banquo's safe. - Aye, my good lord, safe in a ditch.
SAFE, n. A place of safety; a place for securing provisions from noxious animals.
SAFE, v.t. To render safe. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: free from danger or the risk of harm; "a safe trip"; "you will be safe here"; "a safe place"; "a safe bet" [ant: dangerous, unsafe]
2: (of an undertaking) secure from risk
3: having reached a base without being put out; "the runner was called safe when the baseman dropped the ball" [ant: out]
4: financially sound; "a good investment"; "a secure investment" [syn: dependable, good, safe, secure] n
1: strongbox where valuables can be safely kept
2: a ventilated or refrigerated cupboard for securing provisions from pests
3: contraceptive device consisting of a sheath of thin rubber or latex that is worn over the penis during intercourse [syn: condom, rubber, safety, safe, prophylactic]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective (safer; safest) Etymology: Middle English sauf, from Anglo-French salf, sauf, from Latin salvus safe, healthy; akin to Latin solidus solid, Greek holos whole, safe, Sanskrit sarva entire Date: 14th century 1. free from harm or risk ; unhurt 2. a. secure from threat of danger, harm, or loss b. successful at getting to a base in baseball without being put out 3. affording safety or security from danger, risk, or difficulty 4. obsolete, of mental or moral faculties healthy, sound 5. a. not threatening danger ; harmless b. unlikely to produce controversy or contradiction 6. a. not likely to take risks ; cautious b. trustworthy, reliable • safe or safely adverb • safeness noun II. noun Date: 15th century 1. a place or receptacle to keep articles (as valuables) safe 2. condom 1

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 a free of danger or injury. b (often foll. by from) out of or not exposed to danger (safe from their enemies). 2 affording security or not involving danger or risk (put it in a safe place). 3 reliable, certain; that can be reckoned on (a safe catch; a safe method; is safe to win). 4 prevented from escaping or doing harm (have got him safe). 5 (also safe and sound) uninjured; with no harm done. 6 cautious and unenterprising; consistently moderate. --n. 1 a strong lockable cabinet etc. for valuables. 2 = meat safe. Phrases and idioms: on the safe side with a margin of security against risks. safe bet a bet that is certain to succeed. safe-breaker (or -blower or -cracker) a person who breaks open and robs safes. safe conduct 1 a privilege of immunity from arrest or harm, esp. on a particular occasion. 2 a document securing this. safe deposit a building containing strongrooms and safes let separately. safe house a place of refuge or rendezvous for spies etc. safe keeping preservation in a safe place. safe light Photog. a filtered light for use in a darkroom. safe period the time during and near the menstrual period when conception is least likely. safe seat a seat in Parliament etc. that is usually won with a large margin by a particular party. safe sex sexual activity in which precautions are taken to reduce the risk of spreading sexually transmitted diseases, esp. Aids. Derivatives: safely adv. safeness n. Etymology: ME f. AF saf, OF sauf f. L salvus uninjured: (n.) orig. save f. SAVE(1)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Safe Safe, n. A place for keeping things in safety. Specifically: (a) A strong and fireproof receptacle (as a movable chest of steel, etc., or a closet or vault of brickwork) for containing money, valuable papers, or the like. (b) A ventilated or refrigerated chest or closet for securing provisions from noxious animals or insects.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Safe Safe, a. [Compar. Safer; superl. Safest.] [OE. sauf, F. sauf, fr. L. salvus, akin to salus health, welfare, safety. Cf. Salute, Salvation, Sage a plant, Save, Salvo an exception.] 1. Free from harm, injury, or risk; untouched or unthreatened by danger or injury; unharmed; unhurt; secure; whole; as, safe from disease; safe from storms; safe from foes. ``And ye dwelled safe.'' --1 Sam. xii. 11. They escaped all safe to land. --Acts xxvii. 44. Established in a safe, unenvied throne. --Milton. 2. Conferring safety; securing from harm; not exposing to danger; confining securely; to be relied upon; not dangerous; as, a safe harbor; a safe bridge, etc. ``The man of safe discretion.'' --Shak. The King of heaven hath doomed This place our dungeon, not our safe retreat. --Milton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Safe Safe, v. t. To render safe; to make right. [Obs.] --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(safer, safest, safes) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Something that is safe does not cause physical harm or danger. Officials arrived to assess whether it is safe to bring emergency food supplies into the city... Most foods that we eat are safe for birds. ...a safe and reliable birth control option. ? dangerous ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf 2. If a person or thing is safe from something, they cannot be harmed or damaged by it. In the future people can go to a football match knowing that they are safe from hooliganism... ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ from n 3. If you are safe, you have not been harmed, or you are not in danger of being harmed. Where is Sophy? Is she safe?... ADJ: v-link ADJ • safely All 140 guests were brought out of the building safely by firemen. ADV: ADV with v 4. A safe place is one where it is unlikely that any harm, damage, or unpleasant things will happen to the people or things that are there. Many refugees have fled to safer areas... ADJ • safely The banker keeps the money tucked safely under his bed. ADV: ADV after v 5. If people or things have a safe journey, they reach their destination without harm, damage, or unpleasant things happening to them. ...the UN plan to deploy 500 troops to ensure the safe delivery of food and other supplies. ADJ: ADJ n • safely The space shuttle returned safely today from a 10-day mission... ADV: ADV with v, ADV adv 6. If you are at a safe distance from something or someone, you are far enough away from them to avoid any danger, harm, or unpleasant effects. I shall conceal myself at a safe distance from the battlefield... ADJ: ADJ n 7. If something you have or expect to obtain is safe, you cannot lose it or be prevented from having it. We as consumers need to feel confident that our jobs are safe before we will spend spare cash... = secure ADJ: usu v-link ADJ 8. A safe course of action is one in which there is very little risk of loss or failure. Electricity shares are still a safe investment... ADJ: usu ADJ n, also it v-link ADJ to-inf • safely We reveal only as much information as we can safely risk at a given time. ADV: usu ADV before v 9. If you disapprove of something because you think it is not very exciting or original, you can describe it as safe. ...frustrated artists who became lawyers at an early age because it seemed a safe option... Rock'n'roll has become so commercialised and safe since punk. ADJ [disapproval] 10. If it is safe to say or assume something, you can say it with very little risk of being wrong. I think it is safe to say that very few students expend the effort to do quality work in school... ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf • safely I think you can safely say she will not be appearing in another of my films. ADV: ADV before v 11. A safe is a strong metal cupboard with special locks, in which you keep money, jewellery, or other valuable things. The files are now in a safe to which only he has the key. N-COUNT 12. see also safely 13. If you say that a person or thing is in safe hands, or is safe in someone's hands, you mean that they are being looked after by a reliable person and will not be harmed. I had a huge responsibility to ensure these packets remained in safe hands... PHRASE: usu v-link PHR 14. If you play safe or play it safe, you do not take any risks. If you want to play safe, cut down on the amount of salt you eat... PHRASE: V inflects 15. If you say you are doing something to be on the safe side, you mean that you are doing it in case something undesirable happens, even though this may be unnecessary. You might still want to go for an X-ray, however, just to be on the safe side. PHRASE: PHR with cl 16. If you say 'it's better to be safe than sorry', you are advising someone to take action in order to avoid possible unpleasant consequences later, even if this seems unnecessary. Don't be afraid to have this checked by a doctor–better safe than sorry! PHRASE 17. You say that someone is safe and sound when they are still alive or unharmed after being in danger. All I'm hoping for is that wherever Trevor is he will come home safe and sound. PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR 18. a safe pair of hands: see pair safe in the knowledge: see knowledge

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Unharmed, undamaged, unscathed, unhurt. 2. Protected, guarded, secure. 3. Trusty, trustworthy, reliable, sure. 4. Sound, whole, good. II. a. 1. Place of safety, secure place. 2. Coffer, chest, strong box.

Moby Thesaurus

Fort Knox, OK, acceptable, all right, allowable, appropriate, armed, bank, bona fide, bursary, calculating, canny, careful, cash register, cashbox, cautious, chary, chest, circumspect, cloaked, coffer, coin box, conservative, considerate, copyrighted, correct, covered, crypt, defended, deliberate, dependable, depository, discreet, exchequer, fisc, gingerly, gold depository, guarded, guarding, harmless, healthy, heedful, hesitant, immune, immunized, impregnable, innocent, innocuous, inoffensive, insured, intact, inviolable, invulnerable, judicious, justifiable, justified, leaving out nothing, locker, mindful, money chest, noncommittal, okay, on guard, overlooking no possibility, patented, pawky, penny bank, permissible, piggy bank, policed, politic, pork barrel, proper, protected, protecting, prudent, public crib, public till, public treasury, public trough, regardful, reliable, repository, right, riskless, safe and sound, safe-deposit box, safeguarded, safeguarding, safely, satisfactory, scatheless, screened, secure, secured, securely, sheltered, sheltering, shielded, shielding, slow to act, solid, sound, storehouse, strong room, strongbox, subtreasury, suitable, sure, tentative, thorough, till, timely, treasure-house, treasury, tried and true, unadventurous, unassailable, uncommunicative, undamaged, undaring, unenterprising, unharmed, unhurt, uninjured, uninjurious, unpolluted, unprecipitate, unscathed, unthreatened, untouched, vault, wary, whole, wholesome