secretary
Americannoun
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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.
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a person employed to handle correspondence and do routine work in a business office, usually involving taking dictation, typing, filing, and the like.
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(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.
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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.
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a piece of furniture for use as a writing desk.
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Also called secretary bookcase. a desk with bookshelves on top of it.
noun
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a person who handles correspondence, keeps records, and does general clerical work for an individual, organization, etc
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the official manager of the day-to-day business of a society or board
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(in Britain) a senior civil servant who assists a government minister
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(in the US and New Zealand) the head of a government administrative department
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(in Britain) See secretary of state
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(in Australia) the head of a public service department
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diplomacy the assistant to an ambassador or diplomatic minister of certain countries
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another name for secretaire
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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secretaryshipnoun
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subsecretarynoun
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subsecretaryshipnoun
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undersecretaryshipnoun
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secretarialadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
Explanation
If you handle the correspondence and clerical work for your boss or your company, you are a secretary. One of your duties as a secretary is to open the mail. Today, the preferred term for the kind of secretary who works in an office is administrative assistant. The noun secretary can also refer to the person who is in charge of an administrative department in the government, like the Secretary of Defense. A secretary can also be a piece of furniture — specifically, a type of writing desk.
Vocabulary lists containing secretary
The Ottoman Empire: Furniture Words
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Franklin D. Roosevelt, "A Date That Will Live In Infamy" (1941)
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Occupations
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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.
See Examples For:
She added that the organisation would be communicating with the police minister, the home secretary and the prime minister.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
“The big idea here is to give the president and the secretary the most flexibility, and the force the most options to present to them,” Votel said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Marco Rubio, who doubles as secretary of state and national security adviser, was in the Philippines, attending an Asian security conference, when the announcement was made.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
He presents himself not as a political press secretary but as the experienced operator who understands what federal agents need and how immigration enforcement must work.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
When George Washington was elected the first president and took office in New York in 1789, John Adams became vice president and Jefferson was named the first secretary of state.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Stanford’s Hoover Institution has housed former secretaries of State and national security advisors for decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Trump officials, among them the secretaries of the interior and energy, traveled to Caracas with executives to strike preliminary investment agreements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
The National Energy Dominance Council, led by the interior and energy secretaries, has “helped us with, candidly, introducing us and helping us meet some of these people overseas,” Calce said on an industry podcast.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
His transportation and health secretaries have flown to Mindanao from the capital Manila to oversee the response.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
It was full of pigeons, students, drunks, dogs, squirrels, children, trees, and secretaries.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
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.
