Secret Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms secret American [see-krit] / ˈsi krɪt /

adjective

1. done, made, or conducted without the knowledge of others.

   secret negotiations.

   Synonyms: covert, hidden, clandestine Antonyms: manifest, open

2. kept from the knowledge of any but the initiated or privileged.

   a secret password.

   Synonyms: confidential, private

3. faithful or cautious in keeping confidential matters confidential; close-mouthed; discreet.

   Synonyms: reticent, secretive, close

4. designed or working to escape notice, knowledge, or observation: the secret police.

   a secret drawer;

   the secret police.

5. secluded, sheltered, or withdrawn.

   a secret hiding place.

6. beyond ordinary human understanding; esoteric.

   Synonyms: mysterious, cryptic, occult

7. (of information, a document, etc.)

   1. bearing the classification secret.

   2. limited to persons authorized to use information documents, etc., so classified.

noun

1. something that is or is kept secret, hidden, or concealed.

2. a mystery.

   the secrets of nature.

3. a reason or explanation not immediately or generally apparent.

4. a method, formula, plan, etc., known only to the initiated or the few: a trade secret.

   the secret of happiness;

   a trade secret.

5. a classification assigned to information, a document, etc., considered less vital to security than top-secret but more vital than confidential, and limiting its use to persons who have been cleared, as by various government agencies, as trustworthy to handle such material.

6. (initial capital letter) a variable prayer in the Roman and other Latin liturgies, said inaudibly by the celebrant after the offertory and immediately before the preface.

idioms

1. in secret, unknown to others; in private; secretly.

   A resistance movement was already being organized in secret.

secret British / ˈsiːkrɪt /

adjective

1. kept hidden or separate from the knowledge of others

2. known only to initiates

   a secret password

3. hidden from general view or use

   a secret garden

4. able or tending to keep things private or to oneself

5. operating without the knowledge of outsiders

   a secret society

6. outside the normal range of knowledge

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. something kept or to be kept hidden

2. something unrevealed; mystery

3. an underlying explanation, reason, etc, that is not apparent

   the secret of success

4. a method, plan, etc, known only to initiates

5. liturgy a variable prayer, part of the Mass, said by the celebrant after the offertory and before the preface

6. among the people who know a secret

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 secret More Idioms

1. see in secret; open secret.

Other Word Forms

• nonsecret adjective
• quasi-secret adjective
• secretly adverb
• secretness noun
• semisecret adjective
• supersecret noun
• ultrasecret adjective

Etymology

Origin of secret

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English secrette, from Old French secret, from Latin sēcrētus “hidden,” originally past participle of sēcernere “to secern ”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It allowed IDF generals to put Centcom commanders—American generals who specialized in the threats Israel faces in the Middle East—on speed dial and fostered secret summits between Israeli and Arab military chiefs.

From The Wall Street Journal

The government had spent days in secret talks with the players, who were whisked to a safe house after leaving their hotel on the Gold Coast.

From Barron's

A protagonist like Claire—faced with ethical dilemmas and a backstory she’d like to keep secret—is usually surrounded by the guileless and the innocent.

From The Wall Street Journal

I was hoping Avery’s crush on Collin would make her less focused on whatever secret feelings she thinks Jonah and I have for each other, but if anything, it’s the opposite.

From Literature

“Tell them that she’s right here in our school. She left today because we found out her secret, but maybe they can send cars and catch her before she moves.”

From Literature

Related Words

• classified
• covert
• furtive
• hush-hush
• mysterious
• obscure
• private
• secluded
• undercover
• underground
• undisclosed
• unknown
• unpublished

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.