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.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

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

For the past few months, the Atlantic’s Clint Smith has been trying to understand what it’s like for Black service members to report to a secretary of defense like Pete Hegseth.

From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2026

Mara Karlin, who served as assistant secretary of defense for strategy during the Biden administration, said the priority then was beefing up the military presence in the Pacific.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

On Veep, he played a comical version of the US secretary of defense, who runs for office against the main character, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2025

The president had just finished his lunchtime swim when the secretary of defense called with the U-2 news.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin