Save vs. Secure — What's the Difference?
By Maham Liaqat & Urooj Arif — Updated on May 21, 2024
Save implies protecting or storing something for future use, while secure means ensuring safety and protection from harm or unauthorized access.
Difference Between Save and Secure
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Save generally refers to the act of preserving or storing something for future use. For instance, you might save money in a bank or save a document on your computer. The primary focus of saving is to retain something for future access or to prevent loss. Secure, on the other hand, emphasizes protection and safety from potential threats or unauthorized access. When you secure something, such as securing a house with locks or securing data with encryption, the goal is to ensure its safety and integrity.
Save often involves the aspect of retention and future accessibility. For example, saving food for later consumption ensures you can use it in the future. Securing, conversely, focuses on maintaining safety and preventing harm. Securing food in a safe container ensures it remains uncontaminated and fresh.
In financial contexts, saving money involves setting it aside for future use, typically in a bank account. Securing money, however, would involve measures to protect it from theft or loss, such as using a safe or investment with guaranteed returns.
In technology, saving data means storing it on a device or cloud for later use. Securing data involves protecting it from unauthorized access or breaches, such as using passwords or encryption techniques.
When discussing physical safety, save can also imply rescuing someone from danger, like saving a person from drowning. Secure in this context would mean ensuring that person's ongoing safety, such as securing them with a life jacket or placing them in a safe environment.
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Comparison Chart
Primary Focus
Preservation for future use
Protection from threats or unauthorized access
Financial Context
Setting aside money for future use
Protecting money from theft or loss
Technology
Storing data for later use
Protecting data from breaches or access
Physical Safety
Rescuing from danger
Ensuring ongoing safety
General Use
Retention and prevention of loss
Safety and integrity
Compare with Definitions
Save
To rescue from danger.
The lifeguard saved the drowning swimmer.
Secure
To make safe from danger or loss.
They secured their home with a new alarm system.
Save
To rescue from harm, danger, or loss
The lifeguard saved the struggling swimmer.
Secure
To fasten or lock firmly.
Make sure to secure the lid on the jar tightly.
Save
To prevent from dying
The doctors saved the patient.
Secure
To guarantee or ensure.
She secured a good deal on the car.
Save
To set free from the consequences of sin; redeem
Prayed to save his soul.
Secure
To protect data or information.
It's crucial to secure your password.
Save
To keep in a safe or healthy condition
God save King Richard!.
Secure
Free from danger or attack
A secure fortress.
Save
To hold back for future use
Saved his best song for the encore.
Secure
Free from risk of loss; safe
Her papers were secure in the vault.
Save
To avoid spending (money) so as to keep or accumulate it.
Secure
Free from the risk of being intercepted or listened to by unauthorized persons
Only one telephone line in the embassy was secure.
Save
To avoid spending (money or time) in an amount less than what circumstances normally require
Saved $25 at the sale.
Saved 15 minutes by taking a shortcut.
Secure
Free from fear, anxiety, or doubt
Felt secure in his old job.
Save
To prevent the waste or loss of; conserve
Bought an efficient device that saves electricity.
Secure
Not likely to fail or give way; stable
A secure stepladder.
Save
To treat with care by avoiding fatigue, wear, or damage; spare
Wore sunglasses to save his eyesight.
Secure
Firmly fastened
A secure lock.
Save
To make unnecessary; obviate
By carrying two bags you can save an extra trip.
Secure
Reliable; dependable
Secure investments.
Save
To spare (someone) from having to do something.
Secure
Assured; certain
With three goals in the first period they had a secure victory, but somehow they lost.
Save
(Sports) To prevent (a goal) from being scored by blocking a shot. Used of a goalie.
Secure
(Archaic) Careless or overconfident.
Save
To prevent an opponent from scoring (a point).
Secure
To guard from danger or risk of loss
The troops secured the area before the civilians were allowed to return.
Save
To preserve a victory in (a game).
Secure
To make firm or tight; fasten.
Save
(Baseball) To preserve (another pitcher's win) by protecting one's team's lead during a stint of relief pitching.
Secure
To make certain; ensure
The speaker could not secure the goodwill of the audience.
Save
(Computers) To copy (a file) from a computer's main memory to a disk or other storage medium.
Secure
To guarantee payment of (a loan, for example).
Save
To avoid waste or expense; economize.
Secure
To guarantee payment to (a creditor).
Save
To accumulate money
Saving for a vacation.
Secure
To get possession of; acquire
Secured a job.
Save
To preserve a person or thing from harm or loss.
Secure
To capture or confine
They secured the suspect in the squad car.
Save
(Sports) An act that prevents a ball or puck from entering a goal.
Secure
To bring about; effect
Secured release of the hostages.
Save
(Baseball) A preservation by a relief pitcher of another pitcher's win.
Secure
To protect or ensure the privacy or secrecy of (a telephone line, for example).
Save
With the exception of; except
"No man enjoys self-reproach save a masochist" (Philip Wylie).
Secure
Free from attack or danger; protected.
Save
Were it not; except
The house would be finished by now, save that we had difficulty contracting a roofer.
Secure
Free from the danger of theft; safe.
Save
Unless.
Secure
Free from the risk of eavesdropping, interception or discovery; secret.
Save
(transitive) To prevent harm or difficulty.
Secure
Free from anxiety or doubt; unafraid.
Save
To help (somebody) to survive, or rescue (somebody or something) from harm.
She was saved from drowning by a passer-by.
We were able to save a few of our possessions from the house fire.
Secure
Firm and not likely to fail; stable.
Save
To keep (something) safe; to safeguard.
Secure
Free from the risk of financial loss; reliable.
Save
To spare (somebody) from effort, or from something undesirable.
Secure
Confident in opinion; not entertaining, or not having reason to entertain, doubt; certain; sure; commonly used with of.
Secure of a welcome
Save
(Christianity) To redeem or protect someone from eternal damnation.
Jesus Christ came to save sinners.
Secure
(obsolete) Overconfident; incautious; careless.
Save
(sports) To catch or deflect (a shot at goal).
Secure
Certain to be achieved or gained; assured.
Just when victory seemed secure, they let it slip from their grasp.
Save
(baseball) To preserve, as a relief pitcher, (a win of another pitcher's on one's team) by defending the lead held when the other pitcher left the game.
Secure
To make safe; to relieve from apprehensions of, or exposure to, danger; to guard; to protect.
Save
To put aside, to avoid.
Secure
To put beyond hazard of losing or of not receiving; to make certain; to assure; frequently with against or from, or formerly with of.
To secure a creditor against loss; to secure a debt by a mortgage
Save
(transitive) To store for future use.
Let's save the packaging in case we need to send the product back.
Secure
To make fast; to close or confine effectually; to render incapable of getting loose or escaping.
To secure a prisoner; to secure a door, or the hatches of a ship
Save
(transitive) To conserve or prevent the wasting of.
Save electricity by turning off the lights when you leave the room.
Secure
To get possession of; to make oneself secure of; to acquire certainly.
To secure an estate
Save
(transitive) To obviate or make unnecessary.
Secure
To plight or pledge.
Save
To write a file to disk or other storage medium.
Where did I save that document? I can't find it on the desktop.
Secure
Free from fear, care, or anxiety; easy in mind; not feeling suspicion or distrust; confident.
But thou, secure of soul, unbent with woes.
Save
(intransitive) To economize or avoid waste.
Secure
Overconfident; incautious; careless; - in a bad sense.
Save
To accumulate money or valuables.
Secure
Confident in opinion; not entertaining, or not having reason to entertain, doubt; certain; sure; - commonly with of; as, secure of a welcome.
Confidence then bore thee on, secureEither to meet no danger, or to findMatter of glorious trial.
Save
To refrain from romantic or (especially in later use) sexual relationships until one is married or is with a suitable partner.
She told me she's saving herself for marriage.
Secure
Not exposed to danger; safe; - applied to persons and things, and followed by against or from.
Save
An instance of preventing (further) harm or difficulty.
Secure
To make safe; to relieve from apprehensions of, or exposure to, danger; to guard; to protect.
I spread a cloud before the victor's sight,Sustained the vanquished, and secured his flight.
Save
In various sports, a block that prevents an opponent from scoring.
The goaltender made a great save.
Secure
To put beyond hazard of losing or of not receiving; to make certain; to assure; to insure; - frequently with against or from, rarely with of; as, to secure a creditor against loss; to secure a debt by a mortgage.
It secures its possessor of eternal happiness.
Save
(baseball) A successful attempt by a relief pitcher to preserve the win of another pitcher on one's team.
Jones retired seven to earn the save.
Secure
To make fast; to close or confine effectually; to render incapable of getting loose or escaping; as, to secure a prisoner; to secure a door, or the hatches of a ship.
Save
A point in a professional wrestling match when one or more wrestlers run to the ring to aid a fellow wrestler who is being beaten.
The giant wrestler continued to beat down his smaller opponent, until several wrestlers ran in for the save.
Secure
To get possession of; to make one's self secure of; to acquire certainly; as, to secure an estate.
Save
(informal) An action that brings one back out of an awkward situation.
Nice save.
Secure
Get by special effort;
He procured extra cigarettes even though they were rationed
Save
(computing) The act, process, or result of saving data to a storage medium.
If you're hit by a power cut, you'll lose all of your changes since your last save.
The game console can store up to eight saves on a single cartridge.
Secure
Cause to be firmly attached;
Fasten the lock onto the door
She fixed her gaze on the man
Save
(RPG) A saving throw.
Secure
Assure payment of
Save
Except; with the exception of.
Secure
Make certain of;
This nest egg will ensure a nice retirement for us
Preparation will guarantee success!
Save
Unless; except
Secure
Fill or close tightly with or as if with a plug;
Plug the hole
Stop up the leak
Save
The herb sage, or salvia.
Secure
Furnish with battens;
Batten ships
Save
To make safe; to procure the safety of; to preserve from injury, destruction, or evil of any kind; to rescue from impending danger; as, to save a house from the flames.
God save all this fair company.
He cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Thou hast . . . quitted all to saveA world from utter loss.
Secure
Free from fear or doubt; easy in mind;
Secure himself, he went out of his way to help others
Save
Specifically, to deliver from sin and its penalty; to rescue from a state of condemnation and spiritual death, and bring into a state of spiritual life.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Secure
Free from danger or risk;
Secure from harm
His fortune was secure
Made a secure place for himself in his field
Save
To keep from being spent or lost; to secure from waste or expenditure; to lay up; to reserve.
Now save a nation, and now save a groat.
Secure
Kept safe or defended from danger or injury or loss;
The most protected spot I could find
Save
To rescue from something undesirable or hurtful; to prevent from doing something; to spare.
I'll save youThat labor, sir. All's now done.
Secure
Not likely to fail or give way;
The lock was secure
A secure foundation
A secure hold on her wrist
Save
To hinder from doing, suffering, or happening; to obviate the necessity of; to prevent; to spare.
Will you not speak to save a lady's blush?
Secure
Able to withstand attack;
An impregnable fortress
Fortifications that made the frontier inviolable
Save
To hold possession or use of; to escape loss of.
Just saving the tide, and putting in a stock of merit.
Secure
Financially sound;
A good investment
A secure investment
Save
To avoid unnecessary expense or expenditure; to prevent waste; to be economical.
Brass ordnance saveth in the quantity of the material.
Secure
To obtain or achieve something desired.
He secured a spot on the team through hard work.
Save
Except; excepting; not including; leaving out; deducting; reserving; saving.
Five times received I forty stripes save one.
Save
Except; unless.
Save
(sports) the act of preventing the opposition from scoring;
The goalie made a brilliant save
The relief pitcher got credit for a save
Save
Save from ruin, destruction, or harm
Save
To keep up and reserve for personal or special use;
She saved the old family photographs in a drawer
Save
Bring into safety;
We pulled through most of the victims of the bomb attack
Save
Spend less; buy at a reduced price
Save
Feather one's nest; have a nest egg;
He saves half his salary
Save
Make unnecessary an expenditure or effort;
This will save money
I'll save you the trouble
This will save you a lot of time
Save
Save from sins
Save
Refrain from harming
Save
Spend sparingly, avoid the waste of;
This move will save money
The less fortunate will have to economize now
Save
Retain rights to;
Keep my job for me while I give birth
Keep my seat, please
Keep open the possibility of a merger
Save
To keep something for future use.
She decided to save her earnings for a vacation.
Save
To prevent from being lost or wasted.
He saved the leftover food from the party.
Save
To record data on a device.
Don't forget to save your document frequently.
Save
To economize or reduce expenditure.
They save money by cooking at home.
Common Curiosities
How can data be saved on a computer?
Data can be saved by storing it on a hard drive, cloud storage, or other storage devices.
Can saving refer to rescuing someone?
Yes, saving can mean rescuing someone from a dangerous situation.
What does it mean to save money?
Saving money means setting aside a portion of your income for future use or emergencies.
How can money be secured?
Money can be secured by storing it in a bank, using a safe, or investing in secure assets.
What does it mean to secure a home?
Securing a home involves implementing measures like locks, alarms, and surveillance to protect it from intruders.
What does saving a document do?
Saving a document records it on a storage device for future access.
What is the difference between saving and securing in financial terms?
Saving is setting aside money for future use, while securing is protecting it from theft or loss.
What are the steps to secure sensitive information?
Steps include encryption, using strong passwords, and limiting access to authorized personnel.
Why is it important to secure digital data?
Securing digital data prevents unauthorized access, breaches, and potential data loss.
How do you secure a job?
Securing a job involves achieving or obtaining a position through application and interview processes.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Co-written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
