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
Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
The pancreas secretes insulin after a meal to lower blood sugar levels.
—Carrie Madormo, Verywell Health, 19 Jan. 2026
Upon hydration from even slight rain, the cyanobacteria activate and proliferate, secreting a biomass-rich matrix that binds sand particles.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 1 Jan. 2026
But a new study from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst found that donkeys’ skin secretes a chemical that ticks avoid.
—Maggie Koerth, CNN Money, 25 Dec. 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 27 Jan. 2026.
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