security

[si-kyoo r-i-tee] /sɪˈkyʊər ɪ ti/
noun, plural securities.
1.
freedom from danger, risk, etc.; safety.
2.
freedom from care, anxiety, or doubt; well-founded confidence.
3.
something that secures or makes safe; protection; defense.
4.
freedom from financial cares or from want:
The insurance policy gave the family security.
5.
precautions taken to guard against crime, attack, sabotage, espionage, etc.: claims that security was lax at the embassy;
the importance of computer security to prevent hackers from gaining access.
6.
a department or organization responsible for protection or safety:
He called security when he spotted the intruder.
7.
protection or precautions taken against escape; custody:
The dangerous criminal was placed under maximum security.
8.
an assurance; guarantee.
9.
Law.
  1. something given or deposited as surety for the fulfillment of a promise or an obligation, the payment of a debt, etc.
  2. one who becomes surety for another.
10.
an evidence of debt or of property, as a bond or a certificate of stock.
11.
Usually, securities. stocks and bonds.
12.
Archaic. overconfidence; cockiness.
adjective
13.
of, pertaining to, or serving as security:
The company has instituted stricter security measures.
Origin
1400-50; late Middle English securytye, securite(e) < Latin sēcūritās. See secure, -ity
Related forms
nonsecurity, noun, plural nonsecurities.
oversecurity, noun
self-security, noun
subsecurity, noun, plural subsecurities.
Synonyms
2. assurance, certainty, positiveness. 3. safeguard, safety.
Examples from the web for securities
  • Maybe you can convince me there can be bubbles in individual securities.
  • Bundling mortgages into securities made home ownership possible for many.
  • Debtors of all kinds find that their securities are no longer the equal of their debts.
  • Third, they could help investors to get comfortable with mortgage securities again.
  • The flight to quality happened across government securities.
  • It's because people are paying a high price for securities.
  • Second, the derivatives market plays a role in signaling the prices for securities.
  • Then securities are selected based on factors such as maturity and liquidity.
  • These figures put the losses on credit-related securities-where the financial crisis began-into the shade.
  • It is almost certain that the companies will no longer be allowed to hold a substantial in-house portfolio of securities.
British Dictionary definitions for securities

security

/sɪˈkjʊərɪtɪ/
noun (pl) -ties
1.
the state of being secure
2.
assured freedom from poverty or want: he needs the security of a permanent job
3.
a person or thing that secures, guarantees, etc
4.
precautions taken to ensure against theft, espionage, etc: the security in the government offices was not very good
5.
(often pl)
  1. a certificate of creditorship or property carrying the right to receive interest or dividend, such as shares or bonds
  2. the financial asset represented by such a certificate
6.
the specific asset that a creditor can claim title to in the event of default on an obligation
7.
something given or pledged to secure the fulfilment of a promise or obligation
8.
a person who undertakes to fulfil another person's obligation
9.
the protection of data to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to computer files
10.
(archaic) carelessness or overconfidence
Word Origin and History for securities

security

n.

mid-15c., "condition of being secure," from Latin securitas, from securus "free from care" (see secure). Replacing sikerte (early 15c.), from an earlier borrowing from Latin; earlier in the sense "security" was sikerhede (early 13c.); sikernesse (c.1200).

Meaning "something which secures" is from 1580s; "safety of a state, person, etc." is from 1941. Legal sense of "property in bonds" is from mid-15c.; that of "document held by a creditor" is from 1680s. Phrase security blanket in figurative sense is attested from 1966, in reference to the crib blanket carried by the character Linus in the "Peanuts" comic strip (1956).

securities in Culture

securities definition


Written evidence of ownership or creditorship, such as bonds and stock certificates.

Idioms and Phrases with securities

security

In addition to the idiom beginning with security also see: lull into (false sense of security)