secretary of defense
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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In Defense of the Figurative Use of LiterallyBy Rebekah Otto Recently the wordsmiths of the United States have availed themselves once again to decry the figurative use of the word literally. This particular spate of analysis finds its origins in a Reddit post titled, “We did it guys, we finally killed English,” which featured an image of Google’s definition for the word. Since that popular post, journalists and language experts have added their voices …
Nearby words
- secretaire,
- secretarial,
- secretariat,
- secretary,
- secretary bird,
- secretary of state,
- secretary-general,
- secrete,
- secretin,
- secretion
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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The secretary-of-defense nominee will take on the Senate—and the toughest questions might come from his own party.