secretary-general

noun

sec·​re·​tary-gen·​er·​al ˈse-krə-ˌter-ē-ˈjen-rəl How to pronounce secretary-general (audio)
-ˈje-nə-rəl
plural secretaries-general
: a principal administrative officer
secretary-general of the United Nations

Examples of secretary-general in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Staff members from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will be deployed to Cuba and Jamaica this week as conditions allow, said Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general. Matt Nighswander, NBC news, 29 Oct. 2025 But Zelensky was not alone: joining him at his meeting with Trump were the leaders of Finland, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, as well as the European secretary-general of NATO and the president of the European Commission. Michael J. Green, Foreign Affairs, 17 Oct. 2025 According to Prof Thomas Perlmann, secretary-general of the Nobel Assembly, only Sakaguchi could be reached at the time of the announcement. Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 7 Oct. 2025 The Israeli army took out the entire leadership of the organization, including Hassan Nasrallah, its secretary-general, along with several thousand fighters and tens of thousands of rockets aimed at the heartland. Michael M. Rosen, The Washington Examiner, 26 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for secretary-general

Word History

First Known Use

1701, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of secretary-general was in 1701

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Cite this Entry

“Secretary-general.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secretary-general. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

secretary-general

noun
plural secretaries-general
: a principal officer of administration
secretary-general of the United Nations
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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