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

What makes serial entrepreneurs excel in this situation is translating their secret sauce into a language that others can understand, use and amplify. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026

This whole experience taught me something about weddings — on top of amazing decor, fabulous food and fun dancing — the secret sauce to a good wedding is the love the bride and groom share. — Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 25 June 2026

Milly Alcock is the titular star of Supergirl, but the main attraction and secret sauce as far as I am concerned is a CGI dog named Krypto. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 24 June 2026

That is the secret sauce of the Harlem Children's Zone. — Jon Lapook, CBS News, 21 June 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