secretary of defense

Cultural  

1. The civilian head of the United States Department of Defense and a member of the cabinet, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The secretary of defense works with civilian and military advisers to formulate American military policies and make foreign policy recommendations to the president.

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Example Sentences

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secretary of defense

Their sense of responsibility is that they take an oath, not to a president, not to a secretary of defense, but to the Constitution.

From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2026

Federal statutes require the secretary of defense, or secretary of one of the services, to jump through various hoops in order to delay the promotion of an officer.

From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026

Her former colleague Pete Hegseth, now secretary of defense, sold more than 300,000 copies of his last two books, both of which were military grievance memoirs.

From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2026

Cerberus’s former co-chief executive, Stephen Feinberg, left the firm last year to become the Trump administration’s deputy secretary of defense.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026

He called in his new secretary of defense, Clark Clifford, recently appointed to replace Robert McNamara.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge