secrete

1
[ si-kreet ]
See synonyms for: secretesecreted on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),se·cret·ed, se·cret·ing.
  1. to discharge, generate, or release by the process of secretion.

Origin of secrete

1
First recorded in 1700–10; back formation from secretion

Words Nearby secrete

Other definitions for secrete (2 of 3)

secrete2
[ si-kreet ]

verb (used with object),se·cret·ed, se·cret·ing.
  1. to place out of sight; hide; conceal: squirrels secreting nuts in a hollow tree trunk.

Origin of secrete

2
1735–45; alteration of obsolete secret, verb use of secret

synonym study For secrete

See hide1.

Other words for secrete

Other definitions for secrète (3 of 3)

secrète
[ suh-kret ]

nounArmor.
  1. a steel skullcap of the 17th century, worn under a soft hat.

Origin of secrète

3
From French; see origin at secret

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use secrete in a sentence

  • Your body begins to secrete adrenaline, your cortisol levels rise, and your heart starts pumping faster.

  • They had ridden out of the bush and come on the road so suddenly that Black had no time to secrete himself.

    Hunted and Harried | R.M. Ballantyne
  • When the alarm was given on a plantation that the Yankees were coming, the farmers made all haste to secrete their horses.

    The Boys of '61 | Charles Carleton Coffin.
  • Two or three pads, each of which bears tubelike hairs that secrete a sticky fluid, are found on its under surface.

    A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
  • Frequently the nerves dilate the blood vessels of the skin, thus helping the sweat glands to secrete, by giving them more blood.

    A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
  • secrete this somewhere on your persons and never show it except as an absolute last resort.

British Dictionary definitions for secrete (1 of 2)

secrete1

/ (sɪˈkriːt) /


verb
  1. (of a cell, organ, etc) to synthesize and release (a secretion)

Origin of secrete

1
C18: back formation from secretion

Derived forms of secrete

  • secretor, noun

British Dictionary definitions for secrete (2 of 2)

secrete2

/ (sɪˈkriːt) /


verb
  1. (tr) to put in a hiding place

Origin of secrete

2
C18: variant of obsolete secret to hide away; see secret (n)

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

Scientific definitions for secrete

secrete

[ sĭ-krēt ]


  1. To produce and discharge a substance, especially from the cells of specialized glands. For example, the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas secrete the hormone insulin.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.