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 secluded, sheltered, or withdrawn.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

His passion for YouTube has to be the secret reason why Berkshire became so bullish on Alphabet, right?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Did the West win the Cold War and avert nuclear armageddon because of the sexual incapacity of an obscure secret agent?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Here lies the central conundrum of the Man City scandal, which is, like so much else about this story, a dirty secret that is no secret at all.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

To let you in on a wee secret, a defense and discipline-oriented culture goes a long way to being competitive at the level Trojan fans expect.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

I did not know that he had put into my hands the secret that would open far darker rooms than this—places where there was not, on a human level, anything to love at all.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

The Chinese technology giant is accused of violating Iran sanctions and stealing competitors’ trade secrets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Still, she looms large in Lowen’s imagination, especially when she finds a secret autobiography in which Verity reveals her darkest secrets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

"It is an opportunity to have a front-row seat to the most extreme forces of the Universe and discover more of its secrets."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

It was their proof that they had gained access to OpenAI’s secrets, they said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

As he raised his head to stare at the shifting green leaves, the tree murmured secrets to itself, shutting him out.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Related Words

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• unpublished