secure
v.v. to get something through hard work or effort, especially when it is difficult to find. You also use it to describe making something safe or locking it up tightly.
v. to obtain or achieve something, especially after significant effort; to make a place or object safe from danger or unauthorized access. Transitive — requires a direct object.
She worked hard to secure a new job at the hospital.
The negotiator managed to secure a deal that satisfied both the union and the management team.
After months of intense lobbying, the research team finally managed to secure the funding necessary to continue their study into renewable energy sources.
Borrowed from Latin sēcūrus (“of persons, free from care, quiet, easy; in a bad sense, careless, reckless; of things, tranquil, also free from danger, safe, secure”), from sē- (“without”) + cūra (“care”); see cure. Doublet of sure and the now obsolete or dialectal sicker (“certain, safe”).
The verb is transitive and takes a direct object. When used in the sense of obtaining, it often collocates with 'funding', 'a position', or 'a victory'.
secure about the futuresecure the futureAs a verb, secure is transitive and does not take a preposition before its object; learners often confuse it with the adjective form which takes 'about' or 'in'.