secretariat

American  

[sek-ri-tair-ee-uht] / ˌsɛk rɪˈtɛər i ət /

Or secretariate

noun

• secretariats
  plural

1. the officials or office entrusted with administrative duties, maintaining records, and overseeing or performing secretarial duties, especially for an international organization.

   the secretariat of the United Nations.

2. a group or department of secretaries.

3. the place where a secretary transacts business, preserves records, etc.

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secretariat British  

/ ˌsɛkrɪˈtɛərɪət /

noun

1. 1. an office responsible for the secretarial, clerical, and administrative affairs of a legislative body, executive council, or international organization

   2. the staff of such an office

   3. the building or rooms in which such an office is housed

2. a body of secretaries

3. a secretary's place of work; office

4. the position of a secretary

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• secretariats
  plural

Etymology

Origin of secretariat

1805–15; < French secrétariat < Medieval Latin sēcrētāriātus. See secretary, -ate ³

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

secretariat secretariats

Onigbinde listed the checks a genuine agency must go through - an office in the federal secretariat, sign-off from the civil service, a budget code, and a multi-step approval to open a bank account.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

Velasco, a millennial who came of age in the digital era, is among the youngest officials to head the secretariat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026

The group’s secretariat will provide further details of how this collective action will be implemented in due course.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 11, 2026

These purges, analysts say, effectively have transformed the Central Military Commission from a decision-making body into a personal secretariat, cementing Xi as the sole arbiter of military power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

A group of streets formed a zone directed by a chief steward, who was in turn responsible to the secretariat of the local branch of the ANC.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Already he had spoken with members of Para state’s secretariats of education and health who visited the park, as well also officials of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s general secretariat at the convention center.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 7, 2023

Massa is set to lead a vastly expanded economy ministry, in which the agriculture, production and trade secretariats will answer to him.

From Reuters ● Aug. 3, 2022

Gov. Claudio Castro said on Twitter that he was mustering all heavy machinery belonging to several state secretariats to help dig out the buried area.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 16, 2022

We have commissions, tribunals and secretariats to fight racism.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 3, 2016

The old Colonel's cerebral caloric burns with a feeble flicker, like that of Madras secretariats, and never consumes a subject.

From Twenty-One Days in India; and, the Teapot Series by George Robert Aberigh-Mackay