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
Howard Halle, ARTnews.com, 10 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, carbs—the body’s primary energy source—increase your blood sugar, or blood glucose, and, in turn, trigger the pancreas to secrete insulin (a hormone that tells the body’s cells to absorb glucose to prevent an overload).
—Caroline Tien, SELF, 9 Apr. 2026
Its roots secrete toxic chemicals that harm nearby plants.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 8 Apr. 2026
The authors may even be right about the growing evidence for the existence of God secreted away in the latest science.
—Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 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 18 Apr. 2026.
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