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

The deal, first reported by Axios Thursday, hasn’t satisfied China hawks who are taking issue with the fact that the content recommendation algorithm, TikTok’s secret sauce, will be licensed from ByteDance by the US consortium. —Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 19 Dec. 2025

Its secret sauce however is our emotional connection through the Sully family. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2025

The secret sauce in this shampoo is its 1% Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B5), coupled with biotin and rosemary oil to hydrate your scalp and promote hair growth. —Brigitt Earley, Glamour, 15 Dec. 2025

Tatcha’s secret sauce is Hadasei-3, a potent blend of superfoods, amino acids, and AHAs. —Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 29 Nov. 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