secret sauce

noun

1

: a sauce that adds an important element to a dish and that has ingredients which are typically kept secret

A frank of beef, pork, and veal … is split lengthwise, coated with secret sauce, and cooked on a grill.

—Jane Stern and Michael Stern

called also special sauce

2

: an element, quality, ability, or practice that makes something or someone successful or distinctive

If leadership has a secret sauce, it may well be humility. A humble boss understands that there are things he doesn't know.

—The Economist

called also special sauce

Examples of secret sauce in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Variety caught up with Topic film and documentary head Ryan Heller to discuss the company’s secret sauce, surviving without M&A and what’s next. — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

Asked what the secret sauce is to effecting a brand turnaround of this magnitude, Shamah said a key is to start by inviting the consumer behind the proverbial velvet rope. — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 31 Aug. 2026

Global flavors with local pedigrees provide the secret sauce for Seattle’s culinary scene. — Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 29 Aug. 2026

Across the decades, Star Wars' secret sauce has always been a feeling – an intoxicating mixture of whimsy and adventure that’s nearly impossible to replicate. — Hayes Madsen, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for secret sauce

• albatross
• applesauce
• barabbas
• helios
• kshatriyas
• menelaus
• across
• backcross
• crisscross
• lacrosse
• recross
• tomas