sure.
Physically secure and certain, non-failing, reliable.
Meaning & usage
Physically secure and certain, non-failing, reliable.
This investment is a sure thing.
The bailiff had a sure grip on the prisoner's arm.
Certain in one's knowledge or belief.
Are you sure to succeed, as polls say? —Well, I am at least certain of making it to the podium this time.
He was sure of being a finalist.
Certain to act or be a specified way.
Be sure to lock the door when you leave.
Certain to obtain something.
Many people book early in order to be sure of the best seats.
Free from danger; safe; secure.
Betrothed; engaged to marry.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sure, seur, sur, from Middle French sur or Old French seür, from Latin sēcūrus (“secure”, literally “carefree”), from sē- (“apart”) + cūra (“care”) (compare Old English orsorg (“carefree”), from or- (“without”) + sorg (“care”)). See cure. Doublet of secure and the now obsolete or dialectal sicker (“certain, safe”). Displaced native Middle English wis, iwis (“certain, sure”) (from Old English ġewis, ġewiss (“certain, sure”)), as well as Middle English siker (“sure, secure”) (from Old English sicor (“secure, sure”)) with which it was cognate.
Without doubt, certainly.
Sure he's coming! Why wouldn't he?
"Did you kill that bear yourself?" ―"I sure did!"
Without fail, surely.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sure, seur, sur, from Middle French sur or Old French seür, from Latin sēcūrus (“secure”, literally “carefree”), from sē- (“apart”) + cūra (“care”) (compare Old English orsorg (“carefree”), from or- (“without”) + sorg (“care”)). See cure. Doublet of secure and the now obsolete or dialectal sicker (“certain, safe”). Displaced native Middle English wis, iwis (“certain, sure”) (from Old English ġewis, ġewiss (“certain, sure”)), as well as Middle English siker (“sure, secure”) (from Old English sicor (“secure, sure”)) with which it was cognate.
Yes; of course.
"Could you tell me where the washrooms are?" "Sure, they're in the corner over there."
Yes; I guess; you could say that; a weak or noncommittal positive response.
"Do you like cats?" "Sure."
"Do you want me to put this in the garage?" "Sure, go ahead."
You're welcome; polite response to being thanked.
"Thanks for helping me with that electrical fault." "Sure. Any time."
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sure, seur, sur, from Middle French sur or Old French seür, from Latin sēcūrus (“secure”, literally “carefree”), from sē- (“apart”) + cūra (“care”) (compare Old English orsorg (“carefree”), from or- (“without”) + sorg (“care”)). See cure. Doublet of secure and the now obsolete or dialectal sicker (“certain, safe”). Displaced native Middle English wis, iwis (“certain, sure”) (from Old English ġewis, ġewiss (“certain, sure”)), as well as Middle English siker (“sure, secure”) (from Old English sicor (“secure, sure”)) with which it was cognate.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.