a piece of information that is only known by one person or a few people and should not be told to others
A close couple should have no secrets from each other.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
noun
something that you do not or must not tell other people:
I can't tell you where I'm going – it's a secret.
Can you keep a secret (= not tell other people)?
in secret without other people knowing:
They met in secret.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
II. secret2 S3 W3 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Word Family: noun: ↑secrecy, ↑secret, ↑secretiveness; adverb: ↑secretly, ↑secretively; adjective: ↑secret, ↑secretive; verb: ↑secrete]
1. something that is kept hidden or that is known about by only a few people ⇨ secrecy:
I can’t tell you. It’s a secret.
It was no secret that the two men hated each other.
Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me (=I won’t tell anyone about it).
2. in secret in a private way or place that other people do not know about:
The negotiations were conducted in secret.
3. the secret a particular way of achieving a good result, that is the best or only way
the secret to (doing) something
The secret to making good pastry is to use very cold water.
Your hair always looks so great – what’s your secret?
What do you think is the secret of her success?
4. make no secret of something to make your opinions about something clear:
Louise made no secret of her dislike for John.
5. the secrets of life/nature/the universe etc the things no one yet knows about life, nature etc
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ have a secret We have no secrets from each other.
▪ know a secret (=about someone else) You can tell Tom that I know his secret.
▪ keep a secret (=not tell it to anyone) Can you keep a secret?
▪ tell somebody a secret Shall I tell you a secret?
▪ let somebody in on a secret (=tell them a secret) Frank let me in on the secret.
▪ reveal/divulge a secret formal (=tell it to someone) He was accused of revealing state secrets.
▪ give away a secret (=tell it to someone carelessly or by mistake) I had to be careful not to give away any secrets.
▪ share a secret (=tell it to someone because you trust them) I trusted Alexander, so I decided to share my secret with him.
▪ discover/find out a secret He was afraid that someone would discover his secret.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + secret
▪ a big secret (=an important secret or one that very few people know) The event was supposed to be a big secret, but everyone knew about it.
▪ a little secret (=a personal secret that very few people know) You must promise me that this will be our little secret.
▪ a closely guarded/well-kept secret (=a secret that few people are allowed to know) The recipe is a closely guarded secret.
▪ an open secret (=something that a lot of people know, but do not talk about because it is supposed to be a secret) It was an open secret that he was having an affair.
▪ a dark/terrible secret (=a secret about something bad) I’m sure every family has a few dark secrets.
▪ a dirty secret (=a shameful secret) The exclusion of black people from the film industry is one of Hollywood’s dirty little secrets.
▪ a guilty secret (=a secret that someone feels guilty about) He had finally discovered Jo’s guilty secret.
▪ sb’s innermost secrets (=very private or personal secrets) She wasn’t confident enough to share her innermost secrets with him.
▪ a family secret Their normally strong relationship is threatened when he has to reveal a family secret.
▪ a state/official secret (=a government secret) He was accused of passing on state secrets to a foreign power.
▪ a trade secret (=a company or business secret) They must not betray their employer 's trust, for instance by giving away trade secrets.
▪ military secrets He was sent to prison for five years in 1933 for selling military secrets to Germany.
■ COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say ˈsay a secretˈ or ˈsay your secretsˈ. Say tell somebody a secret or tell somebody your secrets.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
noun
1. countable something that is known about by only a few people and not told to others
• Can you keep a secret?
• The location of the ship is a closely guarded secret.
• Shall we let him in on (= tell him) the secret?
• He made no secret of his ambition (= he didn't try to hide it).
• She was dismissed for revealing trade secrets.
• official/State secrets
• dark secrets from his past
2. (usually the secret) singular the best or only way to achieve sth; the way a particular person achieves sth
• Careful planning is the secret of success.
• She still looks so young. What's her secret?
3. countable, usually plural a thing that is not yet fully understood or that is difficult to understand
• the secrets of the universe
more at a guilty secret at guilty adj., be an open secret at open adj.
Word Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin secretus (adjective) ‘separate, set apart’, from the verb secernere, from se- ‘apart’ + cernere ‘sift’.
Thesaurus:
secret noun
1. C
• The two leaders held a number of secret talks.
confidential • • private • • classified • • undisclosed • • personal • • intimate •
Opp: open
secret/confidential/private/classified/undisclosed/personal information
secret/confidential/private/cassified/personal documents
keep sth secret/confidential/private
2. only before noun
• He was a secret agent during the war.
undercover • • underground • |formal covert • |formal, usually disapproving clandestine •
secret/undercover/underground/covert/clandestine activity
a secret/clandestine meeting/relationship/affair
a secret/an undercover agent
Example Bank:
• Can you keep a secret?
• He refuses to make any secret of his political allegiances.
• How did the secret get out?
• I have no secrets from you.
• She let us into her secret— she was engaged.
• She revealed the secret behind her extraordinary success.
• That evening she had revealed many of her innermost secrets.
• The film stars were married in secret to avoid publicity.
• Their affair is an open secret.
• Their relationship remained a secret.
• There was some secret about the source of his wealth.
• These animals may hold the secret to combating the virus.
• Uncle Charlie hides a dark secret.
• a charming museum that is one of the city's best-kept secrets
• the secrets of staying healthy
• He made no secret of his ambition.
• He spent much of his childhood here, learning the secrets of the woods.
• Shall we let him in on the secret?
• The location of the ship is a closely guarded secret.
• They hope to unlock the secrets of the universe.
• trade/official/State secrets
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
secret / ˈsiː.krət / noun
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 London.
[ 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?
Word partners for secret noun
harbour / have / keep a secret • let sb in on / reveal / tell sb a secret • a guilty / terrible / well-kept secret • a big secret • do sth in secret
Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
secret
[si͟ːkrɪt]
♦♦
secrets
1) ADJ-GRADED: ADJ n, v n ADJ, v-link ADJ If something is secret, it is known about by only a small number of people, and is not told or shown to anyone else.
→ See also top secret
Soldiers have been training at a secret location...
The police have been trying to keep the documents secret.
Derived words:
secretly ADV-GRADED ADV with v, ADV adj/n He wore a hidden microphone to secretly tape-record conversations. ...secretly organised events.
2) N-COUNT A secret is a fact that is known by only a small number of people, and is not told to anyone else.
I think he enjoyed keeping our love a secret...
I didn't want anyone to know about it, it was my secret.
3) N-SING: the N, oft the N of n If you say that a particular way of doing things is the secret of achieving something, you mean that it is the best or only way to achieve it.
The secret of success is honesty and fair dealing...
I learned something about writing. The secret is to say less than you need.
4) N-COUNT: usu pl, oft with poss Something's secrets are the things about it which have never been fully explained.
We have an opportunity now to really unlock the secrets of the universe...
The past is riddled with deep dark secrets.
5) PHRASE: PHR after v If you do something in secret, you do it without anyone else knowing.
Dan found out that I had been meeting my ex-boyfriend in secret.
6) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that someone can keep a secret, you mean that they can be trusted not to tell other people a secret that you have told them.
Tom was utterly indiscreet, and could never keep a secret.
7) PHRASE: V inflects, PHR of n If you make no secret of something, you tell others about it openly and clearly.
His wife made no secret of her hatred for the formal occasions...
Ministers are making no secret about their wish to buy American weapons.
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
secret
2secret noun, pl -crets [count]
1 : a fact or piece of information that is kept hidden from other people
• Don't tell him about the party—it's a secret.
• I'm going to tell you a secret, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else.
• They're getting married. The secret is out. [=everyone now knows that they're getting married]
• He knows how to keep a secret. [=if you tell him a secret he won't tell it to anyone else]
• This wine may be Italy's best-kept secret. [=something very good that not many people know about]
• It's no secret [=many people know] that he has connections to the Mafia.
• I'll let you in on a (little) secret. [=I'll tell you a secret]
• The report disclosed the company's dirty little secret. [=something bad that the company does not want people to know]
• Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. [=I won't tell anyone your secret]
- see also trade secret
2 : a special or unusual way of doing something to achieve a good result
• You always look great. What's your secret?
• She shared her beauty secrets with the group.
• The secret to/of a good sauce is the base.
• What is the secret to your success? [=why are you so successful?]
3 : something that cannot be explained
• the secrets of the universe
• one of nature's greatest secrets
in secret : in a private place or manner
• They met in secret. [=secretly]
make no secret of : to show or express (something) openly : to not try to hide (something)
• She made no secret of her dislike for him.