trade secret

noun

: something (such as a formula) which has economic value to a business because it is not generally known or easily discoverable by observation and for which efforts have been made to maintain secrecy

Examples of trade secret in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But companies are also not being completely transparent about how these data centers actually work, and for good reason — those are valuable trade secrets. —Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 3 Dec. 2025

Despite his silence on those trade secrets, the podcast is worth listening to. —Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 2 Dec. 2025

Last month, Joby sued Archer over trade secrets. —Samantha Subin, CNBC, 2 Dec. 2025

This includes developing new rules for model-sharing, handling trade secrets, enabling cooperative R&D, and ensuring secure access for external researchers. —Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 28 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

trade secret

noun

trade se·​cret

: a formula, process, device, or item of information used by a business that has economic value because it is not generally known or easily discovered by observation or examination and for which reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy have been made

Note: Trade secrets are a form of intellectual property. Many states have enacted laws which create an action for damages or injunctive relief against misappropriation of trade secrets by improper means. Information contained in a patent is not protected as a trade secret.