safe
- 01 A2 Elementary
adj.not in danger or likely to be hurt.
adj.free from danger, injury, or the threat of harm.
Simple“The children are safe inside the house while it rains outside.”
In context“The rescue team confirmed that all hikers were safe and accounted for after the storm passed through the valley.”
Antonyms - 02 B1 Intermediate
adj.not likely to cause any trouble, mistakes, or loss.
adj.involving little or no risk of failure, error, or financial loss.
Simple“Putting your money in a bank is usually a safe investment.”
In context“The board decided that a conservative expansion strategy was the safe choice given the current volatility of the global market.”
Synonyms - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.avoiding danger or not taking any chances.
adj.characterised by caution and a desire to avoid unnecessary risks.
Simple“It is better to be safe than sorry when driving in the snow.”
In context“The manager took a safe approach to the negotiations, refusing to commit to any long-term contracts until the budget was finalised.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
adj.used to say that something is good, cool, or that you agree.
adj.used as a term of approbation or to indicate that a situation is acceptable.
Simple“Don't worry about the money, it's safe.”
In context“He's a safe guy, you can trust him to help us out with the move.”
Teacher's tipCommon in Multicultural London English (MLE); learners should be aware it sounds very informal and regional.
- 05 C1 Advanced
adj.a way of writing computer code that prevents common errors.
adj.referring to a programming language or operation that prevents certain types of memory or logic errors.
Simple“Rust is known for being a memory-safe language.”
In context“The developer prioritised thread-safe operations to ensure the application would not crash under heavy concurrent loads.”
- 06 B1 Intermediate
n.a strong metal box with a lock used for keeping money or valuable things.
n.a reinforced container, typically made of steel, equipped with a complex lock for the secure storage of valuables.
Simple“The hotel room has a small safe for your passport and cash.”
In context“The burglars were unable to crack the heavy safe, despite having several hours to work on the combination lock.”
Synonymsstrongboxvault
Usage safe spaces · safe place · safe secure
From Middle English sauf, safe, saf, saaf, from Old French sauf, saulf, salf (“safe”), from Latin salvus (“whole, safe”), from Proto-Italic salwos, from Proto-Indo-European solh₂- (“whole, every”). Displaced native Old English sicor (secure, sure).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.