secret service
noun
the branch of governmental service that conducts secret investigations, especially investigations into the military strength of other nations.
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secret service
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Secret Service
Secret Servicenouna US government agency responsible for the protection of the president, the suppression of counterfeiting, and certain other police activities
secret service
Americannoun
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the branch of governmental service that conducts secret investigations, especially investigations into the military strength of other nations.
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(initial capital letters) the branch of the U.S. Department of the Treasury charged chiefly with the discovery and apprehension of counterfeiters and with providing protection for the president and the president's immediate family.
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secret work for a government, especially espionage.
Secret Service
1
British
noun
secret service
2
British
noun
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a government agency or department that conducts intelligence or counterintelligence operations
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such operations
Secret Service
Cultural
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of secret service
First recorded in 1730–40
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:
For decades, the Cuban secret service, trained during the Soviet era by the KGB, enjoyed a reputation for invincibility.
From Barron's ● Jan. 10, 2026
“As far as I can tell, a crazy person tried to break in by hammering the windows. I’m grateful to the secret service and the Cincinnati police for responding quickly.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026
On Thursday, Evans entertained a guest with secret service stature.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025
She said the Austrian secret service thinks there are other spy cells and that their activity has continued after the arrest of the six Bulgarians in the UK.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2025
If she squinted, she could almost pretend they were secret service and she was the president.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
CNN reporter Betsy Klein said a Secret Service agent told her her badge had been deactivated.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
A Secret Service agent gave Oxford a polygraph test.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The Secret Service has erected a security ring of steel around the site of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
I was shooed away by uniformed Secret Service agents.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
Secret Service agents, with their earpieces and guns and deliberately flat expressions, stood outside our doors, doing their best to stay out of our family’s private life.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
