2 → see also top secret
3 N‑COUNT A secret is a fact that is known by only a small number of people, and is not told to anyone else. □ I think he enjoyed keeping our love a secret.
4 N‑SING If you say that a particular way of doing things is the secret of achieving something, you mean that it is the best or only way to achieve it. □ [+ of ] The secret of success is honesty and fair dealing.
5 N‑COUNT [usu pl, oft with poss] Something's secrets are the things about it which have never been fully explained. □ [+ of ] We have an opportunity now to really unlock the secrets of the universe.
6 PHRASE If you do something in secret , you do it without anyone else knowing. □ Dan found out that I had been meeting my ex-boyfriend in secret.
7 PHRASE If you say that someone can keep a secret , you mean that they can be trusted not to tell other people a secret that you have told them. □ Tom was utterly indiscreet, and could never keep a secret.
8 PHRASE If you make no secret of something, you tell others about it openly and clearly. □ [+ of ] He made no secret of his ambition to have a great career . COLLOCATIONS secret NOUN
3
noun + secret : family, state
adjective + secret : guilty, shameful, terrible; innermost, intimate; official
verb + secret : guard, harbour, hide, keep; betray, discover, reveal, share
5
adjective + secret : dark, hidden
verb + secret : learn, uncover, unlock
se |cret a gent (secret agents ) N‑COUNT A secret agent is a person who is employed by a government to find out the secrets of other governments.
sec|re|tar|ial /se krəteə riəl/ ADJ [ADJ n] Secretarial work is the work done by a secretary in an office. □ I was doing temporary secretarial work.
sec|re|tari|at /se krəteə riæt/ (secretariats ) N‑COUNT A secretariat is a department that is responsible for the administration of an international political organization. □ …the U.N. secretariat.
sec|re|tary ◆◆◆ /se krətri, [AM ] -teri/ (secretaries )
1 N‑COUNT A secretary is a person who is employed to do office work, such as typing letters, answering phone calls, and arranging meetings.
2 N‑COUNT The secretary of an organization such as a trade union, a political party, or a club is its official manager. [BRIT ] □ [+ of ] My grandfather was secretary of the Scottish Miners' Union.
3 N‑COUNT The secretary of a company is the person who has the legal duty of keeping the company's records.
4 N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE Secretary is used in the titles of ministers and officials who are in charge of main government departments. □ …the British Foreign Secretary. □ …the former US Defense Secretary.
se cretary-ge neral ◆◇◇ (secretaries-general ) also Secretary General N‑COUNT The secretary-general of an international political organization is the person in charge of its administration. □ …the United Nations Secretary-General.
Se c|re|tary of Sta te ◆◇◇ (Secretaries of State )
1 N‑COUNT In the United States, the Secretary of State is the head of the government department which deals with foreign affairs.
2 N‑COUNT In Britain, the Secretary of State for a particular government department is the head of that department. □ [+ for ] …the Secretary of State for Education.
se|crete /s I kriː t/ (secretes , secreting , secreted )
1 VERB If part of a plant, animal, or human secretes a liquid, it produces it. □ [V n] The sweat glands secrete water.
2 VERB If you secrete something somewhere, you hide it there so that nobody will find it. [LITERARY ] □ [V n prep/adv] She secreted the gun in the kitchen cabinet.
se|cre|tion /s I kriː ʃ ə n/ (secretions )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Secretion is the process by which certain liquid substances are produced by parts of plants or from the bodies of people or animals. □ [+ of ] …the secretion of adrenaline. □ …insulin secretion.
2 N‑PLURAL Secretions are liquid substances produced by parts of plants or bodies. □ …gastric secretions.
se|cre|tive /siː krət I v, s I kriː t-/ ADJ If you are secretive , you like to have secrets and to keep your knowledge, feelings, or intentions hidden. □ [+ about ] Billionaires are usually fairly secretive about the exact amount that they're worth. ● se|cre|tive|ly ADV [ADV after v] □ …a banknote handed over secretively in the entrance to a building. ● se|cre|tive|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ He was evasive, to the point of secretiveness.
se |cret po|li ce N‑UNCOUNT [oft the N ] The secret police is a police force in some countries that works secretly and deals with political crimes committed against the government.
se |cret se r|vice (secret services )
1 N‑COUNT A country's secret service is a secret government department whose job is to find out enemy secrets and to prevent its own government's secrets from being discovered.
2 N‑COUNT The secret service is the government department in the United States which protects the president. [AM ]