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
Annie Blay-Tettey, Allure, 5 Mar. 2026
Shellac derives from the resinous material secreted by the lac bug, much like honey comes from a bee.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026
And the arsenal was only the latest example of his infatuation with secreting away weaponry.
—James Verini, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Amylin is hormone co-secreted with insulin in the pancreas to suppress appetite and reduce food intake.
—Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 6 Feb. 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 9 Mar. 2026.
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