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• secrete
  secrete

  verb (used with object)

  to discharge, generate, or release by the process of secretion.
• secrète
  secrète

  noun

  a steel skullcap of the 17th century, worn under a soft hat.

secrete

¹ American  

[si-kreet] / sɪˈkrit /

verb (used with object)

secreted, secreting

1. to discharge, generate, or release by the process of secretion.

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secrete ² American  

[si-kreet] / sɪˈkrit /

verb (used with object)

secreted, secreting

1. to place out of sight; hide; conceal.

   squirrels secreting nuts in a hollow tree trunk.

   Synonyms:

   disguise, shroud, cover

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secrète ³ American  

[suh-kret] / səˈkrɛt /

noun

Armor.

1. a steel skullcap of the 17th century, worn under a soft hat.

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secrete ¹ British  

/ sɪˈkriːt /

verb

1. (of a cell, organ, etc) to synthesize and release (a secretion)

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secrete ² British  

/ sɪˈkriːt /

verb

1. (tr) to put in a hiding place

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secrete Scientific  

/ sĭ-krēt′ /

1. To produce and discharge a substance, especially from the cells of specialized glands. For example, the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas secrete the hormone insulin.

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Synonym Usage

See hide ¹.

Other Word Forms

• secretor
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of secrete¹

First recorded in 1700–10; back formation from secretion

Origin of secrete²

1735–45; alteration of obsolete secret, verb use of secret

Origin of secrète³

From French; see origin at secret

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Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

secrete secrète secreted secreting

"They remain metabolically active and have an inflammatory program causing them to secrete inflammatory molecules."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

RNA-based monitoring may offer an advantage because cancer cells actively secrete RNA rather than passively shedding DNA.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 17, 2026

Beavers were hunted to extinction in Britain 400 years ago for their meat, furry water-resistant pelts and a substance they secrete called castoreum - used in food, medicine and perfume.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025

Her team pays attention to other stress markers, such as that they secrete mucus when biologically stressed.

From Salon ● May 13, 2025

“It’s true. Your glands will secrete a cocoon.”

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Prieur wrote in her butt-covering memoir Agent secrète, published in 1995.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025

The novel — “La plus secrète mémoire des hommes” in French — was praised nearly universally, with Le Monde calling it “a great book.”

From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2022

We had only one battered paperback copy of “Brown Face, Big Master,” and though the book was secreted away, I found it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Anti-obesity treatments mimic a hormone secreted by the intestines, GLP-1.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

Due to their strength, they can be secreted in small volumes in parcels.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026

This led the team to investigate how these proteins are secreted into the plant's sap.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2025

Wilson Carbod, the center for the Culver Creek Nothings, had hemorrhoids, or at least he kept hemorrhoidal cream secreted away in the bottom drawer of his desk.

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green

"Our findings indicate that ERRγ is responsible for regulating the differentiation and maturation of these acid secreting PCs."

From Science Daily ● May 10, 2024

The researchers isolated vSSCs from people undergoing spinal surgery and found that human vSSCs secreting MFGE8 were more likely to interact with cancer cells than vSSCs that were not secreting the protein.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 14, 2023

He adds that this is the first record of land-dwelling invertebrates producing and secreting this particular neurotoxin.

From National Geographic ● Aug. 4, 2023

The bacteria works by secreting a small molecule, known as harmane, which inhibits the early stages of the malaria parasite growing in the mosquito's gut.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2023

When it was his move, he pulled the visor way down and often rested his chin on his chest, almost as if he were a poker player secreting his cards.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

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