secret sauce

noun

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 It’s the secret sauce for turning a group into a team. — Alain Hunkins, Forbes, 16 Sep. 2021 The secret sauce for sticking to your workout routine includes just a few key elements, a large new study found. — Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC News, 9 Dec. 2021 As with ranchland at DeLuca Preserve, Corrigan Ranch has a secret sauce for finicky sparrows. — Kevin Spear, orlandosentinel.com, 5 Dec. 2021 That pragmatic, realistic approach is actually the secret sauce of Love Life Season 2. — Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 29 Nov. 2021 This group of exfoliating acids is most commonly known for being part of the not-so-secret sauce found in chemical peels. — Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 19 Nov. 2021 Collaboration between doctors, relevant associations and tech may well be the secret sauce of the game. — Joao Mendes-roter, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021 In short, Core IP and EDA are technologies that supply the recipe and the ingredients for the chip-makers’ secret sauce. — George Calhoun, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2021 Netflix’s early mix of original and licensed TV and film, viewable anywhere, on any device, mobile or stationary, was the company’s Hollywood-disrupting secret sauce that gave it a head start in the war for streaming supremacy. — Adario Strange, Quartz, 14 Oct. 2021

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.