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 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 is Shijaku’s vision, which conjures the sort of Italy foreigners dream of — in terms of elegance, decor and inviting charm. —Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 10 Oct. 2025

What has lived as a secret sauce inside Carlyle for more than a decade might now inform policymakers flying blind. —Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2025

Its menu features traditional soul food dishes, including its signature fried chicken with its secret sauce and 24-hour brine soak before frying. —Susan Selasky, Freep.com, 7 Oct. 2025

Apple’s secret sauce is entering existing markets with products that are the best. —Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2025

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