secretary

American  

[sek-ri-ter-ee] / ˈsɛk rɪˌtɛr i /

noun

secretaries plural

1. 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.

2. a person employed to handle correspondence and do routine work in a business office, usually involving taking dictation, typing, filing, and the like.

3. private secretary.

4. (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.

5. 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.

6. a piece of furniture for use as a writing desk.

7. Also called secretary bookcase.  a desk with bookshelves on top of it.

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secretary British  

/ -ərɪ, ˈsɛkrətrɪ, ˌsɛkrɪˈtɛərɪəl /

noun

1. a person who handles correspondence, keeps records, and does general clerical work for an individual, organization, etc

2. the official manager of the day-to-day business of a society or board

3. (in Britain) a senior civil servant who assists a government minister

4. (in the US and New Zealand) the head of a government administrative department

5. (in Britain) See secretary of state

6. (in Australia) the head of a public service department

7. diplomacy the assistant to an ambassador or diplomatic minister of certain countries

8. another name for secretaire

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• secretaryship
  noun
• subsecretaryship
  noun
• subsecretary
  noun
• undersecretaryship
  noun
• secretarial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• secretaries
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

The home secretary had been best placed to judge the impact of those threats, said the court.

From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026

The California secretary of state still needs to certify the results.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2026

The Conservative's shadow business and trade secretary Andrew Griffith said his party welcomed "any deal that brings investment" to the UK.

From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026

Former defence secretary John Healey was privately pushing for the UK to join an international investment bank to raise more money for defence spending, BBC News has been told.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

The envelope read: "To the Honorable Don Sancho Panza, Governor of Barataria Island, in his own hands or in the hands of his secretary."

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

Related Words

• assistant
• clerk
• executive secretary