secretary-general

American

[sek-ri-ter-ee-jen-er-uhl] / ˈsɛk rɪˌtɛr iˈdʒɛn ər əl /

noun

plural

secretaries-general

the head or chief administrative officer of a secretariat.

secretary-general British

noun

a chief administrative official, as of the United Nations

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of secretary-general

First recorded in 1695–1705

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.

Chile's Bachelet, a former UN human rights chief, said the secretary-general should be "physically present in the field" wherever problems need solving -- a position also taken by Grossi.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

“I think the cardinals were looking for three things,” said Alistair Dutton, secretary-general of Caritas Internationalis, the global confederation of Catholic humanitarian organizations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026

The Costa Rican former vice-president said she wanted to rebuild global trust in the United Nations if she becomes its next secretary-general.

From Barron's • Feb. 28, 2026

“The problem now is that the rate of closures is too slow,” said David Zhang, an independent auto analyst and secretary-general for the International Intelligent Vehicle Engineering Association in China.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

Cyril Ramaphosa was elected secretary-general, evidence that the torch was being passed from an older generation of leadership to a younger one.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023