secretary
Americannoun
plural
secretaries-
a person, usually an official, who is in charge of the records, correspondence, minutes of meetings, and related affairs of an organization, company, association, etc..
the secretary of the Linguistic Society of America.
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a person employed to handle correspondence and do routine work in a business office, usually involving taking dictation, typing, filing, and the like.
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(often initial capital letter) an officer of state charged with the superintendence and management of a particular department of government, as a member of the president's cabinet in the U.S..
Secretary of the Treasury.
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Also called diplomatic secretary. a diplomatic official of an embassy or legation who ranks below a counselor and is usually assigned as first secretary, second secretary, or third secretary.
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a piece of furniture for use as a writing desk.
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Also called secretary bookcase. a desk with bookshelves on top of it.
noun
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a person who handles correspondence, keeps records, and does general clerical work for an individual, organization, etc
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the official manager of the day-to-day business of a society or board
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(in Britain) a senior civil servant who assists a government minister
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(in the US and New Zealand) the head of a government administrative department
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(in Britain) See secretary of state
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(in Australia) the head of a public service department
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diplomacy the assistant to an ambassador or diplomatic minister of certain countries
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another name for secretaire
Other Word Forms
- secretarial adjective
- secretaryship noun
- subsecretary noun
- subsecretaryship noun
- undersecretaryship noun
Etymology
Origin of secretary
1350–1400; Middle English secretarie one trusted with private or secret matters; confidant < Medieval Latin sēcrētārius < Latin sēcrēt ( um ) secret (noun) + -ārius -ary
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the home secretary, speaking to the BBC at the British Embassy in Copenhagen, said the importance of her changes should not be underestimated.
From BBC
The former shadow secretary of state for health and social care said he had put off a routine health check from his GP.
From BBC
He served as deputy secretary of health and human services, 2007-09.
The defence secretary said the government was reviewing the terror threat level in the UK.
From BBC
The only glitch in the matrix: Rubio was not planning to bring any reporters on his plane, in a rare break with decades of precedent for US secretaries of state.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
