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

The secret sauce was relatability. —Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026

The secret sauce of any great CTE system is the teacher who has lived the craft. —Mujahid Muhammad, Baltimore Sun, 23 Jan. 2026

One of the biggest sticking points in the dealmaking process was what would happen to the algorithm -- the secret sauce that makes TikTok so addictive. —Elizabeth Schulze, ABC News, 22 Jan. 2026

Still, as the Hoosiers prepare to play for the ultimate prize, there’s no doubt other programs that don’t typically recruit at an elite level will be looking to replicate their secret sauce. —Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for secret sauce

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