secretary

American  

[sek-ri-ter-ee] / ˈsɛk rɪˌtɛr i /

noun

plural

secretaries

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

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

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

Neighbors First was formed last fall as a nonprofit public benefit corporation, with San Rafael-based attorney Steven S. Lucas serving as its chief financial officer, according to paperwork filed with the secretary of state.

From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2026

With press secretary Karoline Leavitt out on maternity leave, the White House is having other top administration officials guest-host press briefings until she returns.

From Slate • May 9, 2026

Pete Hegseth is no Melvin Laird — Nixon’s defense secretary who was so incompetent as to be blamed for losing the Vietnam War.

From Salon • May 8, 2026

The Treasury secretary has warned top banking executives about the risks posed by Mythos, which is so good at finding software vulnerabilities that Anthropic isn’t releasing it publicly.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

No, Powell said, the doctor said he had to deliver it personally to the secretary of state and instruct him how to take the medicine.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Related Words

• assistant
• clerk
• executive secretary