safe vs secure

safe

adj
  • Free from risk. 

  • Great, cool, awesome, respectable; a term of approbation, often as interjection. 

  • Lenient, usually describing a teacher that is easy-going. 

  • In a location that renders it difficult to hit with the cue ball. 

  • Reliable; trusty. 

  • When a batter successfully reaches first base, or when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base or returns to the base he last occupied; not out. 

  • Not in danger; out of harm's reach. 

  • Cautious. 

  • Providing protection from danger; providing shelter. 

  • Of a programming language, type-safe or more generally offering well-defined behavior despite programming errors. 

  • Properly secured. 

  • Not susceptible to a specified source of harm. 

noun
  • A condom. 

  • A box, usually made of metal, in which valuables can be locked for safekeeping. 

verb
  • To make something safe. 

secure

adj
  • Free from the risk of financial loss; reliable. 

  • Free from the danger of theft; safe. 

  • Certain to be achieved or gained; assured. 

  • Free from attack or danger; protected. 

  • Free from the risk of eavesdropping, interception or discovery; secret. 

  • Confident in opinion; not entertaining, or not having reason to entertain, doubt; certain; sure; commonly used with of. 

  • Free from anxiety or doubt; unafraid. 

  • Firm and not likely to fail; stable. 

verb
  • To make fast; to close or confine effectually; to render incapable of getting loose or escaping. 

  • To get possession of; to make oneself secure of; to acquire certainly. 

  • To make safe; to relieve from apprehensions of, or exposure to, danger; to guard; to protect. 

  • To put beyond hazard of losing or of not receiving; to make certain; to assure; frequently with against or from, or formerly with of. 

How often have the words safe and secure occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )