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.

He said they indicate Mandelson was planning for a career outside government while he was business secretary during the response to the global financial crisis.

From BBC

After 17 months, Carter sacked his Treasury secretary and moved Miller into that job, which gave him an opportunity to find a more effective Fed chair.

From The Wall Street Journal

According to the secretary of state, both initiatives have qualified with enough valid signatures and have been sent to the Legislature for consideration.

From The Wall Street Journal

The order also told the Treasury and Commerce secretaries to explore “budget neutral” ways of acquiring more crypto, though officials since then have suggested the U.S. won’t actively buy Bitcoin or other tokens.

From Barron's

Messages from 2008 appear to show Lord Mandelson - who was at the time business secretary in Gordon Brown's government - discussing Treasury plans for a one-off tax on bankers' bonuses with Epstein.

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.