secretary of state
Americannoun
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the head and chief administrator of the U.S. Department of State.
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British. any of several ministers in the British government.
A new secretary of state for the Home Department has been appointed.
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(in the U.S.) the appointed or elected official in a state government whose chief function is to distribute statutes, administer elections, keep archives, etc.
noun
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(in Britain) the head of any of several government departments
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(in the US) the head of the government department in charge of foreign affairs ( State Department )
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(in certain US states) an official with various duties, such as keeping records
Etymology
Origin of secretary of state
First recorded in 1610–20
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.
California’s secretary of state explicitly warned voters that counting would continue after Election Day, and election experts have spent years explaining why results often take days or even weeks to become final.
From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026
County election officials are required to provide the secretary of state with an updated tally of unprocessed ballots starting two days after election day and continuing every day until the count is complete.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
Vote-by-mail ballots postmarked on or before election day and received within seven days after the election, as well as any provisional ballots cast, must still be counted, the California secretary of state said.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
She served as U.S. secretary of state, 2005-09.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
In 1867, while still serving as secretary of state and still bearing the disfiguring facial scars of the knife attack, he purchased Alaska for the United States.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
