Did you know?
If you guessed that the secret to the origins of secrete is the word secret, you are correct. Secrete developed in the mid-18th century as an alteration of a now obsolete verb secret. That verb had the meaning now carried by secrete and derived from the familiar noun secret ("something kept hidden or unexplained"). The noun, in turn, traces back to the Latin secretus, the past participle of the verb secernere, meaning "to separate" or "to distinguish." Incidentally, there is an earlier and distinct verb secrete with the more scientific meaning "to form and give off (a secretion)." That secrete is a back-formation from secretion, another word that can be traced back to secernere.
Examples of secrete in a Sentence
Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 16 June 2026
How the Living Eye Drops Work The Pitt team engineered Corynebacterium mastitidis, a benign microbe that already resides under the eyelid, to continuously secrete interleukin-10 (IL-10), a small protein that regulates inflammation.
—Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 16 June 2026
Additionally, cancer cells can secrete molecules that can deactivate the ability of immune cells to kill them.
—Charles J. Dimitroff, The Conversation, 12 June 2026
The pancreas secretes insulin after a meal to lower blood sugar levels.
—Carrie Madormo, Verywell Health, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for secrete
Cite this Entry
“Secrete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secrete. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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