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
F.d. Flam, Twin Cities, 2 July 2025
Researchers have long known that plants secrete a natural chemical called isoprene, but exactly why and how plants did this was sort of an enigma.
—Jay Kakade
june 30, New Atlas, 30 June 2025
Melatonin Melatonin is a hormone secreted primarily by the pineal gland (located deep in the brain).
—Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 23 June 2025
The worms don't bite but do secrete a poisonous chemical that may cause skin irritation.
—Greta Cross, USA Today, 14 June 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 9 Jul. 2025.
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