Definition of secret adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary



    BrE BrE//ˈsiːkrət//
    ; NAmE NAmE//ˈsiːkrət//
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  1. 1  known about by only a few people; kept hidden from others secret information/meetings/talks secret (from somebody) He tried to keep it secret from his family. Details of the proposals remain secret. a secret passage leading to the beach see also top secret
  2. 2  [only before noun] used to describe actions and behaviour that you do not tell other people about He's a secret drinker. I didn't know you were a secret football fan. her secret fears a secret room
  3. 3[not usually before noun] secret (about something) (of a person or their behaviour) liking to have secrets that other people do not know about; showing this synonym secretive They were so secret about everything. Jessica caught a secret smile flitting between the two of them.
  4. Word Origin late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin secretus (adjective) ‘separate, set apart’, from the verb secernere, from se- ‘apart’ + cernere ‘sift’.Extra examples They managed to keep the party more or less secret from Christine. a top secret meeting revealing the text of the hitherto secret treaty He’s a secret drinker. I didn’t know you were a secret football fan. Perhaps he has secret hopes that she’ll go back to him. She could not tell him her secret hopes and fears. She told me about her secret fears for the future. The ceasefire was agreed following secret talks between the two leaders. There’s a secret passage leading to the beach. This information has been classified top secret.
See the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary entry: secret