secret

American  

[see-krit] / ˈsi krɪt /

adjective

1. done, made, or conducted without the knowledge of others.

   secret negotiations.

   Synonyms:

   covert, hidden, clandestine

   Antonyms:

   manifest, open

2. kept from the knowledge of any but the initiated or privileged.

   a secret password.

   Synonyms:

   confidential, private

3. faithful or cautious in keeping confidential matters confidential; close-mouthed; discreet.

   Synonyms:

   reticent, secretive, close

4. designed or working to escape notice, knowledge, or observation: the secret police.

   a secret drawer;

   the secret police.

5. secluded, sheltered, or withdrawn.

   a secret hiding place.

6. beyond ordinary human understanding; esoteric.

   Synonyms:

   mysterious, cryptic, occult

7. (of information, a document, etc.)

   1. bearing the classification secret.

   2. limited to persons authorized to use information documents, etc., so classified.

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noun

• secrets
  plural

1. something that is or is kept secret, hidden, or concealed.

2. a mystery.

   the secrets of nature.

3. a reason or explanation not immediately or generally apparent.

4. a method, formula, plan, etc., known only to the initiated or the few: a trade secret.

   the secret of happiness;

   a trade secret.

5. a classification assigned to information, a document, etc., considered less vital to security than top-secret but more vital than confidential, and limiting its use to persons who have been cleared, as by various government agencies, as trustworthy to handle such material.

6. (initial capital letter) a variable prayer in the Roman and other Latin liturgies, said inaudibly by the celebrant after the offertory and immediately before the preface.

idioms

1. in secret, unknown to others; in private; secretly.

   A resistance movement was already being organized in secret.

secret British  

/ ˈsiːkrɪt /

adjective

1. kept hidden or separate from the knowledge of others

2. known only to initiates

   a secret password

3. hidden from general view or use

   a secret garden

4. able or tending to keep things private or to oneself

5. operating without the knowledge of outsiders

   a secret society

6. outside the normal range of knowledge

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noun

1. something kept or to be kept hidden

2. something unrevealed; mystery

3. an underlying explanation, reason, etc, that is not apparent

   the secret of success

4. a method, plan, etc, known only to initiates

5. liturgy a variable prayer, part of the Mass, said by the celebrant after the offertory and before the preface

6. among the people who know a secret

secret More Idioms  

1. see in secret; open secret.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• secretness
  noun
• supersecret
  noun
• nonsecret
  adjective
• quasi-secret
  adjective
• semisecret
  adjective
• ultrasecret
  adjective
• secretly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• secrets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of secret

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English secrette, from Old French secret, from Latin sēcrētus “hidden,” originally past participle of sēcernere “to secern ”

Explanation

A secret is something you don’t want everybody to know, like your secret crush on the bus driver. A secret can also be a mystery known to only a few — the secret of the lost pyramid. There might be a secret passageway in your basement that only you know about. You could have a secret passion for Japanese anime comics and share that secret with only your closest friends. If you're "in on a secret" — plans for a surprise birthday party, for instance — that means you're in the inner circle of people in the know. Everybody has to keep the secret, or the party won't be a surprise.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

secret secrets

Mr. Baitz’s play is set during the Christmas season in Palm Springs, Calif., where the tensions at a family gathering grow more heated than the air outside when a long-buried family secret is revealed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Social media giants usually keep the coding behind these algorithms -- the so-called "secret sauce" that drives traffic to their platforms -- closely guarded.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

“As soon as you figure it out, it’s like the secret is out, and you’re like, ‘Oh, there’s another way,’” Ingham said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

The film, which A24 will release theatrically in October, had been made largely in secret over three years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

Another secret I wish I didn’t know and would rather not keep.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Only when they arrive from their various locales, carrying their various loads of secrets, generosity and resentments, do the daughters discover what kind of help their mother wants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

There are secrets and stories held within the remains of this majestic creature.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

That ended with a multi-billion-dollar settlement and court case that spilled some of the family's secrets into the public domain.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

A story of friendship and power in ancient Rome, a novel of country-club secrets, a summer-camp coming-of-age tale and more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

“Because! The books only reveal their secrets to kids they choose. Kids who really, truly, completely believe in what’s inside.”

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Related Words

• classified
• covert
• furtive
• hush-hush
• mysterious
• obscure
• private
• secluded
• undercover
• underground
• undisclosed
• unknown
• unpublished