See hide 1.
First recorded in 1700–10; back formation from secretion
1735–45; alteration of obsolete secret, verb use of secret
From French; see origin at secret
Secrete is all about secrets. It means both "to hide" and "to release." When you squeeze a lemon, it secretes juice. When you stuff your money in a mattress, you secrete it there. It's easy to remember that secrete's all about secrets when you see the word secret inside secrete. Imagine the first person who squeezed a lemon and secreted the juice. Probably felt like he'd discovered a secret stash of citrus goodness. If he was greedy, maybe he gathered all the lemons he could find and secreted them away in a box so no one else would learn the secret of the juice-secretion.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Who would have thought serums infused with snail mucin - the sticky substance they secrete - would become a part of skincare routines around the world?
From BBC • Jan. 2, 2026
Her team pays attention to other stress markers, such as that they secrete mucus when biologically stressed.
From Salon • May 13, 2025
Hairs covering the stems, leaves and flowers have glands that secrete a sticky substance containing prenylated phenols, which cause an itchy rash, according to Lewis.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2025
Other recent work by Dr. Lyden and colleagues has shown that cancer cells can secrete EV-packaged proteins and fatty acids that make the liver more hospitable for metastatic tumor development.
From Science Daily • Dec. 3, 2024
Maybe: they secrete chemicals the way insects do, or perhaps the movements of their eyestalks is a form of language similar to the dance of a bee.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
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.
