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 secluded, sheltered, or withdrawn.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 allows two parties to create a shared secret key even if someone is secretly monitoring the connection.

From Science Daily

The people inside are perfectly willing to share their secrets with anyone willing to listen.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Envelope spoke to the writers of five of this year’s Oscar-nominated screenplays to discover the secrets behind their note-perfect endings.

From Los Angeles Times

He argues that the same three East Asian secrets account for these cases of rapid growth.

From The Wall Street Journal

"It's also a film about the transmission of generational trauma across three generations in a family, and how taboos, unspoken things and secrets travel."

From Barron's

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.