Secretary Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms secretary American [sek-ri-ter-ee] / ˈsɛk rɪˌtɛr i /

noun

plural

secretaries

1. a person, usually an official, who is in charge of the records, correspondence, minutes of meetings, and related affairs of an organization, company, association, etc..

   the secretary of the Linguistic Society of America.

2. a person employed to handle correspondence and do routine work in a business office, usually involving taking dictation, typing, filing, and the like.

3. private secretary.

4. (often initial capital letter) an officer of state charged with the superintendence and management of a particular department of government, as a member of the president's cabinet in the U.S..

   Secretary of the Treasury.

5. Also called diplomatic secretary. a diplomatic official of an embassy or legation who ranks below a counselor and is usually assigned as first secretary, second secretary, or third secretary.

6. a piece of furniture for use as a writing desk.

7. Also called secretary bookcase. a desk with bookshelves on top of it.

secretary British / -ərɪ, ˈsɛkrətrɪ, ˌsɛkrɪˈtɛərɪəl /

noun

1. a person who handles correspondence, keeps records, and does general clerical work for an individual, organization, etc

2. the official manager of the day-to-day business of a society or board

3. (in Britain) a senior civil servant who assists a government minister

4. (in the US and New Zealand) the head of a government administrative department

5. (in Britain) See secretary of state

6. (in Australia) the head of a public service department

7. diplomacy the assistant to an ambassador or diplomatic minister of certain countries

8. another name for secretaire

"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

Other Word Forms

• secretarial adjective
• secretaryship noun
• subsecretary noun
• subsecretaryship noun
• undersecretaryship noun

Etymology

Origin of secretary

1350–1400; Middle English secretarie one trusted with private or secret matters; confidant < Medieval Latin sēcrētārius < Latin sēcrēt ( um ) secret (noun) + -ārius -ary

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.

If the secretary for the Department of Homeland Security finds that a country qualifies for the program, immigrants from that country who are already in the U.S. are allowed to remain and work legally.

From The Wall Street Journal

The other story above the front-page fold is a critique of the defense secretary: “Hegseth’s Vengeful Rhetoric Grew From Experience in Iraq.”

From The Wall Street Journal

"As far as we know, Iran is playing," Windsor Paul John, the Asian Football Confederation's general secretary, told a press conference.

From Barron's

Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary of the Community union, said there could have been "catastrophic" financial and social impacts had the government "sat on its hands" and not stepped in so quickly.

From BBC

Speaking on the same programme, shadow energy security secretary Claire Coutinho called on the government to implement the "cheap power plan" the Conservatives outlined last year to reduce bills immediately.

From BBC

Related Words

• assistant
• clerk
• executive secretary

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.