secretnoun
uk/ˈsiː.krət/us/ˈsiː.krət/B1 [ C ] a piece of information that is only known by one person or a few people and should not be told to others:
Why did you have to go and tell Bob about my illness? You just can't keep a secret, can you?
A close couple should have no secrets from each other.
Aren't you going to let me in on (= tell me) the secret?
There's no secret (= everyone knows) about his homosexuality.
She makes no secret of (= makes very clear) her dislike of her father.
That restaurant is one of the best-kept secrets in Rome.
[ C ] a fact about a subject that is not known:
the secrets of the universe
B2 [ S ] the particular knowledge and skills needed to do something very well:
So what's the secret of being a good cook?
More examples
- a closely guarded secret
- It's a secret, so don't give the game away, will you?
- A secret report incriminating the company was leaked last week.
- Shall I let you in on a little secret?
- He revealed the secret under torture.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Secrecy and privacy
- anonymity
- anonymize
- anonymous
- backroom
- backstage
- counsel
- dissimulate
- dissimulation
- entre nous
- executive privilege
- furtive
- lid
- lip
- private
- privately
- privileged
- sanctum
- secrecy
- skeleton
- sweep
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Knowledge and awareness
Idiom(s)
in secret
your secret's safe with me
secretadjective
uk/ˈsiː.krət/us/ˈsiː.krət/B1 If something is secret, other people are not allowed to know about it:
The president escaped through a secret passage underneath the parliament building.
We ought to keep these proposals secret from the chairman for the time being.
This is top (= extremely) secret information.
Do you think we'll manage to keep the surprise party secret from Mum until her birthday?
[ before noun ] used to refer to someone who has a particular habit, hobby, or feeling but does not tell or show other people that they do:
a secret drinker
a secret admirer
More examples
- A secret buyer is understood to have paid £1 million for the three pictures .
- She's got a secret admirer who keeps sending her gifts.
- The amazing thing is that it was kept secret for so long.
- The man's identity was being kept secret while he was helping police with enquiries.
- The trial was kept secret because of the risk of public disorder.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Secrecy and privacy
- anonymity
- anonymize
- anonymous
- backroom
- backstage
- counsel
- dissimulate
- dissimulation
- entre nous
- executive privilege
- furtive
- lid
- lip
- private
- privately
- privileged
- sanctum
- secrecy
- skeleton
- sweep
See more results »
secretly
adverb uk/ˈsiː.krət.li/us/ˈsiː.krət.li/
B1
She said she didn't care about it, but I believe she was secretly delighted.
He was convicted on the evidence of secretly recorded phone conversations.