secretariat

noun

sec·​re·​tar·​i·​at ˌse-krə-ˈter-ē-ət 

-ē-ˌat

1

: the office of secretary

2

: a secretarial corps

specifically : the clerical staff of an organization

3

: the administrative department of a governmental organization

Examples of secretariat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Four years on, von der Leyen has transformed her Brussels shop from a bureaucratic secretariat implementing the will of European national leaders into a major macroeconomic and geoeconomic actor in its own right. —Matthias Matthijs, Foreign Affairs, 22 Aug. 2023

Climate change is driving many amphibians toward extinction The majority of frog legs sold to the E.U., with France the biggest consumer, are collected from the wild, according to a report published last year by the CITES secretariat. —Frances Vinall, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024

After Francis became pope, Becciu, who formerly served as de facto chief of staff at the Vatican’s secretariat of state — its diplomatic arm — would frequently travel with him and was seen as one of the few men within the Holy See who could freely knock on the pope’s door. —Stefano Pitrelli, Washington Post, 16 Dec. 2023

The main responsibilities of our secretariat is to co-create strategy and pillars of transformation with the districts, connect the districts with the right implementation partners for collective actions, and incentivizing good behaviors and progress so everyone stays motivated. —Ashoka, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

French secrétariat, from Medieval Latin secretariatus, from secretarius

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

secretariat

noun

sec·​re·​tar·​i·​at ˌsek-rə-ˈter-ē-ət 

-ē-ˌat

1

: the secretaries of an organization

2

: the division of administration of a governmental organization

the United Nations secretariat