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
New Atlas, 16 June 2025
The pancreas secretes insulin to shuttle glucose to the cells for energy.
—Barbie Cervoni, Verywell Health, 11 June 2025
Daniel discovered papers relating to the assignment in an old bread box where his father had secreted them, including proof of the army of French Resistance fighters that his father and his fellows had led.
—The Know, Denver Post, 18 May 2025
The team traced the therapeutic effect to a compound secreted by the fungus: FF-C1.
—Discover Magazine, 6 May 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 Jun. 2025.
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