undersecretary

noun

un·​der·​sec·​re·​tary ˌən-dər-ˈse-krə-ˌter-ē 

-ˈse-kə-

variants or under secretary

: a secretary immediately subordinate to a principal secretary

—often capitalized when used as a title

the British Undersecretary for India

the Under Secretary of the Treasury

Examples of undersecretary in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hegseth is set to give a major speech on the subject Friday and is said to be considering such radical changes as moving the department that coordinates with foreign militaries from the office of the undersecretary for policy to the office of the undersecretary for acquisitions. —Ben Smith, semafor.com, 3 Nov. 2025

But only 894 people completed the quarterly wage check, or just under 7% of enrollees who got the text, according to Drew Maranto, undersecretary for the Louisiana Department of Health. —Rae Ellen Bichell, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2025

Amy Rosenthal, executive director of the nonprofit Health Care For All, will join state government next month as undersecretary of health, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday. —Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 16 Oct. 2025

That includes confirming a qualified undersecretary of health, restoring staff self-governance, keeping protocols evidence-based, and protecting VA research independence from administrative interference. —Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1687, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for undersecretary

• beneficiary
• bronchopulmonary
• evolutionary
• expeditionary
• extramedullary
• extraordinary
• extrapulmonary
• genitourinary
• geostationary
• hepatobiliary
• illocutionary
• insurrectionary

Kids Definition

undersecretary

noun

un·​der·​sec·​re·​tary ˌən-dər-ˈsek-rə-ˌter-ē 

: a secretary right under a principal secretary

undersecretary of state