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Definition of 'secret'

Word Frequency

secret

(siːkrɪt )
Word forms: plural secrets
1. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun] [verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If something is secret, it is known about by only a small number of people, and is not told or shown to anyone else.
Soldiers have been training at a secret location.
The police have been trying to keep the documents secret.
Synonyms: undisclosed, unknown, confidential, underground   More Synonyms of secret
secretly   adverb [ADVERB with verb]
He wore a hidden microphone to secretly record conversations.
...secretly organised events.
Synonyms: in secret, privately, surreptitiously, quietly   More Synonyms of secret
Synonyms: privately, in your heart of hearts, in your innermost thoughts   More Synonyms of secret
2. 
See also top secret
3. countable noun
A secret is a fact that is known by only a small number of people, and is not told to anyone else.
I think he enjoyed keeping our love a secret.
I didn't want anyone to know about it, it was my secret.
4. singular noun
If you say that a particular way of doing things is the secret of achieving something, you mean that it is the best or only way to achieve it.
The secret of success is honesty and fair dealing. [+ of]
I learned something about writing. The secret is to say less than you need.
Synonyms: key, answer, formula, recipe   More Synonyms of secret
5. countable noun [usually plural, oft with poss]
Something's secrets are the things about it which have never been fully explained.
We have an opportunity now to really unlock the secrets of the universe. [+ of]
The past is riddled with deep dark secrets.
Synonyms: mystery, question, puzzle, paradox   More Synonyms of secret
6. 
in secret
7. 
to keep a secret
8. 
make no secret
More Synonyms of secret
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Video: pronunciation of 'secret'

Word Frequency

secret in British

(ˈsiːkrɪt )
adjective
1. 
kept hidden or separate from the knowledge of others
▶ Related adjective: cryptic
2. 
known only to initiates
a secret password
3. 
hidden from general view or use
a secret garden
4. 
able or tending to keep things private or to oneself
5. 
operating without the knowledge of outsiders
a secret society
6. 
outside the normal range of knowledge
noun
7. 
something kept or to be kept hidden
8. 
something unrevealed; mystery
9. 
an underlying explanation, reason, etc, that is not apparent
the secret of success
10. 
a method, plan, etc, known only to initiates
11. liturgy
a variable prayer, part of the Mass, said by the celebrant after the offertory and before the preface
12.  in the secret
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
secretly (ˈsecretly)
  adverb
Word origin of 'secret'
C14: via Old French from Latin sēcrētus concealed, from sēcernere to sift; see secern
Word Frequency

secret in American

(ˈsikrɪt ; sēˈkrit)
adjective
1. 
kept from public knowledge or from the knowledge of a certain person or persons
2. 
withdrawn, remote, or secluded
a secret hideaway
3. 
keeping one's affairs to oneself; secretive
4. 
beyond general knowledge or understanding; mysterious or esoteric
5. 
concealed from sight or notice; hidden
a secret drawer
6. 
acting in secret
a secret society
noun
7. 
something known only to a certain person or persons and purposely kept from the knowledge of others
8. 
something not revealed, understood, or explained; mystery
the secret of Stonehenge
9. 
the true cause or explanation, regarded as not obvious
the secret of one's success
10.  [S-]
a prayer said just before the Preface of the Mass
Idioms:
in secret
SYNONYMY NOTE: secret, the general term, implies a concealing or keeping from the knowledge of others, for whatever reason [my secret opinion of him]; covert implies a concealing as by disguising or veiling [a covert threat]; clandestine suggests that what is being kept secret is of an illicit, immoral, or proscribed nature [their clandestine meetings in the park]; stealthy implies a slow, quiet secrecy of action in an attempt to elude notice and often connotes deceit [the stealthy advance of the panther]; furtive adds to this connotations of slyness or watchfulness and suggests a reprehensible objective [the furtive movement of his hand toward my pocket]; surreptitious connotes a feeling of guilt in the one who is acting in a furtive or stealthy manner [she stole a surreptitious glance at him]; underhanded implies a stealthiness characterized by fraudulence or deceit [underhanded business dealings]
OPPOSITES:  open, obvious
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
secretly (ˈsecretly)
  adverb
Word origin of 'secret'
OFr < L secretus, pp. of secernere, to set apart < se-, apart (see secede) + cernere, to sift, distinguish: see harvest

Example sentences containing 'secret'

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…
Her secret work for social justice was an endless `Hail Mary ', penance for her self-confessed sins. Robert Wilson THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS (2002)He slowly closed his eye, and a small and secret smile spread across his mouth. Garth Nix LIRAEL: DAUGHTER OF THE CLAYR (2002)And maybe your DI thought Jax had let him in on their little secret. Anthony Masters CASCADES - THE DAY OF THE DEAD (2002)
But the secrets of the Nimrod mission remain very secret in our country. Patrick Robinson BARRACUDA 945 (2002)

Quotations

They have a skeleton in their closetWilliam Makepeace Thackeray The Newcomes
I know that's a secret, for it's whispered every whereWilliam Congreve Love for Love
For secrets are edged tools,
And must be kept from children and from fools
John Dryden Sir Martin Mar-All

Trends of 'secret'

Very Common. secret is one of the 4000 most commonly used words in the Collins dictionary

View usage for:

Translations for 'secret'

British English: secret /ˈsiːkrɪt/ ADJECTIVE
If something is secret, it is known about by only a small number of people, and is not told or shown to anyone else.
The police tried to keep the documents secret.
  • American English: secret
  • Arabic: سِرِّيّ
  • Brazilian Portuguese: secreto
  • Chinese: 秘密的
  • Croatian: tajni
  • Czech: tajný
  • Danish: hemmelig
  • Dutch: geheim
  • European Spanish: secreto
  • Finnish: salainen
  • French: secret
  • German: geheim
  • Greek: μυστικός
  • Italian: segreto
  • Japanese: 秘密の
  • Korean: 비밀의
  • Norwegian: hemmelig
  • Polish: tajny
  • European Portuguese: secreto
  • Romanian: secret
  • Russian: тайный
  • Spanish: secreto
  • Swedish: hemlig
  • Thai: เป็นความลับ
  • Turkish: gizli
  • Ukrainian: секретний
  • Vietnamese: bí mật
British English: secret /ˈsiːkrɪt/ NOUN
A secret is a fact that is known by only a small number of people, and is not told to anyone else.
Can you keep a secret?
  • American English: secret
  • Arabic: سِرّ
  • Brazilian Portuguese: segredo
  • Chinese: 秘密
  • Croatian: tajna
  • Czech: tajemství
  • Danish: hemmelighed
  • Dutch: geheim
  • European Spanish: secreto
  • Finnish: salaisuus
  • French: secret
  • German: Geheimnis
  • Greek: μυστικό
  • Italian: segreto
  • Japanese: 秘密
  • Korean: 비밀
  • Norwegian: hemmelighet
  • Polish: sekret
  • European Portuguese: segredo
  • Romanian: secret
  • Russian: секрет
  • Spanish: secreto
  • Swedish: hemlighet
  • Thai: ความลับ
  • Turkish: sır
  • Ukrainian: секрет
  • Vietnamese: điều bí mật

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Nearby words of 'secret'

  • secpar
  • secrecies
  • secrecy
  • secret
  • secret agent
  • secret history
  • secret mosquito

  • All ENGLISH words that begin with 'S'

Related Terms of 'secret'

  • in secret
  • open secret
  • top secret
  • top-secret
  • secret agent

  • View more related words

Source

Definition of secret from the Collins English Dictionary

The present simple tense

Typical forms of this tense are as in: I know her. He know s her. The present simple tense of do is used as the supporting auxiliary when you want to: ask a question, Do I know you? Does sh...
Read more about 'The present simple tense'
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Scrabble score for 'secret': 8
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