secretary

American  

[sek-ri-ter-ee] / ˈsɛk rɪˌtɛr i /

noun

• secretaries
  plural

1. a person, usually an official, who is in charge of the records, correspondence, minutes of meetings, and related affairs of an organization, company, association, etc..

   the secretary of the Linguistic Society of America.

2. a person employed to handle correspondence and do routine work in a business office, usually involving taking dictation, typing, filing, and the like.

3. private secretary.

4. (often initial capital letter) an officer of state charged with the superintendence and management of a particular department of government, as a member of the president's cabinet in the U.S..

   Secretary of the Treasury.

5. Also called diplomatic secretary. a diplomatic official of an embassy or legation who ranks below a counselor and is usually assigned as first secretary, second secretary, or third secretary.

6. a piece of furniture for use as a writing desk.

7. Also called secretary bookcase. a desk with bookshelves on top of it.

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secretary British  

/ ˈsɛkrətrɪ, -ərɪ /

noun

1. a person who handles correspondence, keeps records, and does general clerical work for an individual, organization, etc

2. the official manager of the day-to-day business of a society or board

3. (in Britain) a senior civil servant who assists a government minister

4. (in the US and New Zealand) the head of a government administrative department

5. (in Britain) See secretary of state

6. (in Australia) the head of a public service department

7. diplomacy the assistant to an ambassador or diplomatic minister of certain countries

8. another name for secretaire

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• secretaryship
  noun
• subsecretary
  noun
• subsecretaryship
  noun
• undersecretaryship
  noun
• secretarial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• secretaries
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of secretary

1350–1400; Middle English secretarie one trusted with private or secret matters; confidant < Medieval Latin sēcrētārius < Latin sēcrēt ( um ) secret (noun) + -ārius -ary

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Explanation

If you handle the correspondence and clerical work for your boss or your company, you are a secretary. One of your duties as a secretary is to open the mail. Today, the preferred term for the kind of secretary who works in an office is administrative assistant. The noun secretary can also refer to the person who is in charge of an administrative department in the government, like the Secretary of Defense. A secretary can also be a piece of furniture — specifically, a type of writing desk.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

secretary secretaries

“When I see that, I say, ‘OK, well, it’s pretty clear that Jensen Huang is the chair,’” said Doug Chia, former corporate secretary of Johnson & Johnson and president of consulting firm Soundboard Governance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026

More than $400 million had been spent on the three intertwined ballot measures, with more than 90% spent opposing the billionaire tax, according to fundraising disclosures filed with the secretary of state’s office.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026

“It’s an internal corporate matter for them, so I’m just not going to comment on that topic,” the secretary of State and national security advisor said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026

The energy secretary has stressed that affordability is her "overriding objective", as she said reducing bills would be key to maintaining public support for climate action.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026

No, Powell said, the doctor said he had to deliver it personally to the secretary of state and instruct him how to take the medicine.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Only two Cabinet secretaries have been impeached in US history, and neither was removed by the Senate.

From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026

Brady said that she was the "line-manager" for permanent secretaries in government departments.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

There are no long meetings with press secretaries.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

But there were also 961,610 “medical secretaries and administrative assistants.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

These were the junior-staff quarters, where the secretaries and drivers lived, Aunty Ifeoma explained, and Amaka added, “If they are lucky enough to get it.”

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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Related Words

• assistant
• clerk
• executive secretary

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