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
Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 30 July 2025
The second deception was the lethal doses of poison the accused secreted in the homecooked beef Wellingtons.
—Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 7 July 2025
Hairs covering the stems, leaves and flowers have glands that secrete a sticky substance that can cause an itchy rash.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2025
Through gene expression studies, the team determined these proteins were actively produced and regulated – social control molecules secreted through their natural antennae, the spines.
—New Atlas, 20 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for secrete
Cite this Entry
“Secrete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secrete. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share