secret sauce

Definition of secret sauce

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 So let’s dive right in, starting with one editor’s secret sauce for glowing skin. — Elizabeth Siegel, Allure, "The January 2021 Allure Beauty Box: See All the Product Samples You Could Get This Month," 4 Jan. 2021 That means no leeching of nickel or other metals into food, and a BPA-free delivery system to get all of your secret sauce—and nothing else—deep inside the dish. — The Editors, Outdoor Life, "Three Key Features You Want in a Marinade Injector," 10 Oct. 2019 The secret sauce for On the Table seems to be the mix of people who share one clear value: a love for their community, said Laura Glawe, vice president of marketing and communication at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. — James E. Causey, jsonline.com, "What happens when the subject of race is on the table? We invited a diverse group of people to our house to find out.," 18 Dec. 2020 The secret sauce is motors that control the legs and adjust based on changes in ground pressure. — Washington Post, "The U.S. Air Force is entering a robotic future," 7 Dec. 2020 The secret sauce for polling therefore is thorough stirring. — Xiao-li Meng, Scientific American, "The Secret Sauce in Opinion Polling Can Also Be a Source of Spoilage," 6 Dec. 2020 This isn’t to say the Heat’s secret sauce in drafting Precious Achiuwa on Wednesday was his name. — Dave Hyde, sun-sentinel.com, "Hyde: ‘Run it back’ for Heat is best of limited options — with one name change | Commentary," 19 Nov. 2020 Denmark does not possess some sort of secret sauce; many places in the U.S. and around the world have high levels of community engagement and support, which have led to more COVID-19 precautions and fewer deaths. — Marie Helweg-larsen, The Conversation, "As the pandemic rages, the US could use a little bit more ‘samfundssind’," 4 Dec. 2020 The real secret sauce for coming back from Covid-19 has been a mix of the two: getting the virus under control early, and benefiting from an existing export-heavy economic model. — Mike Bird, WSJ, "Why the U.S. Can’t Replicate South Korea’s Impressive Economic Recovery," 27 Oct. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'secret sauce.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.