undersecretary

British

/ ˌʌndəˈsɛkrətrɪ /

noun

1. any of various senior civil servants in certain government departments
2. short for undersecretary of state: any of various high officials subordinate only to the minister in charge of a department
(in the US) a high government official subordinate only to the secretary in charge of a department

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

undersecretaryship noun

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.

Emil Michael, the undersecretary of war for research and engineering, shared a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, earlier Thursday noting that mass surveillance is already illegal under the Fourth Amendment.

From The Wall Street Journal

He served as a naval officer and as deputy undersecretary of the Navy and is the author of “Mayday” and “Seablindness.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Luke Lindberg, the U.S. undersecretary of agriculture for trade and foreign affairs, said the biggest win from the Malaysia deal was the government’s commitment to recognizing America’s food safety system for meat, dairy and poultry.

From The Wall Street Journal

She is married to David McCormick, a Republican who won a key Pennsylvania Senate race in 2024 and had been undersecretary of the Treasury for international affairs during the George W. Bush administration.

From The Wall Street Journal

“They’re not going to do to it without help from the Department of Labor and a rule that can last,” the undersecretary said.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023