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
Jane and Michael Sterncalled 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
The Economistcalled also special sauce
Examples of secret sauce in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Apple’s secret sauce is entering existing markets with products that are the best.
—Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2025
So there’s a little bit of secret sauce in an ‘Avatar’ movie that has to do with emotion.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2025
Muschamp wasn’t the secret sauce to the 2017 team, for instance.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Whatever the secret sauce is, UVA needs to keep it in supply.
—David Teel, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for secret sauce
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2025
So there’s a little bit of secret sauce in an ‘Avatar’ movie that has to do with emotion.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2025
Muschamp wasn’t the secret sauce to the 2017 team, for instance.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Whatever the secret sauce is, UVA needs to keep it in supply.
—David Teel, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for secret sauce
Cite this Entry
“Secret sauce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secret%20sauce. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share