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

And therein lies his secret sauce. —Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2026

But for as much as Rick and Morty understands geekdom and storytelling conventions, the secret sauce is how much the series is interested in understanding feelings. —Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2026

But the other idea at work is to improve the bottom of the roster and add the secret sauce of competition. —Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 16 Mar. 2026

That’s what gives it the hip factor that’s the key to the SXSW secret sauce. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 Mar. 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