What does "secrete" mean?
To extract a substance from blood, sap, or similar to produce and emit waste for excretion or for the fulfilling of a physiological function.
Secrete
/sɪˈkɹiːt/ adj, verb
adj, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To extract a substance from blood, sap, or similar to produce and emit waste for excretion or for the fulfilling of a physiological function.
- Grammar: secrete is listed as adj, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: release, accumulate, amass, backlog.
- Useful contrasts: absorb, display, expose.
- Usage evidence: If a woman masturbates, she will secrete female hormones and become more feminine.
How to use "secrete"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "secrete" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "secrete" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "secrete" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "secrete" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "secrete" is acting as adj, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "release" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "secrete", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To extract a substance from blood, sap, or similar to produce and emit waste for excretion or for the fulfilling of a physiological function. transitive, usually
"Why one set of cells should secrete bile, another urea, and so on, we do not know."
- 2 To conceal. transitive
"With those words the passenger opened the coach-door and got in; not at all assisted by his fellow-passengers, who had expeditiously secreted their watches and purses in their boots, and were now making a general pretence of being asleep."
- 3 generate and separate from cells or bodily fluids wordnet
- 4 To exude or yield. figuratively, transitive
"If you won’t believe my great new doctrine (which, by the bye, is as old as the Greeks), that souls secrete their bodies, as snails do shells, you will remain in outer darkness."
- 5 place out of sight; keep secret wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Separated. not-comparable, obsolete, rare
"[…] they ſuppoſing Two other Divine Hypoſtaſes Superiour thereunto, which were perfectly Secrete from Matter. […] This ſo containeth all things, as not being yet ſecrete and diſtinct; whereas in the Second they are diſcerned and diſtinguiſhed by Reaſon; that is, they are Actually diſtinguiſhed in their Ideas; whereas the Firſt is the Simple and Fecund Power of all things."
- 2 Archaic form of secret. alt-of, archaic
"a secrete breach, a secrete bed (Spenser)"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"If a woman masturbates, she will secrete female hormones and become more feminine."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "secrete"?
Common synonyms include: release, accumulate, amass, backlog, bosom, bottle up.
How do you use "secrete" in a sentence?
If a woman masturbates, she will secrete female hormones and become more feminine.
How do you pronounce "secrete"?
Pronounced /sɪˈkɹiːt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
First attested in 1678: from Latin sēcrētus (“[having been] separated”).
Etymology 2
First directly attested in 1728; attested as the past-participial adjective secreted in 1707: from Latin sēcrētus, perfect passive participle of sēcernō (“I separate”); reinforced by back-formation from secretion; compare secern; cognate with French sécréter and the Spanish secretar.
Etymology 3
Alteration of secret.