Did you know?
If you guessed that the secret to the origins of secrete is the word secret, you are correct. Secrete developed in the mid-18th century as an alteration of a now obsolete verb secret. That verb had the meaning now carried by secrete and derived from the familiar noun secret ("something kept hidden or unexplained"). The noun, in turn, traces back to the Latin secretus, the past participle of the verb secernere, meaning "to separate" or "to distinguish." Incidentally, there is an earlier and distinct verb secrete with the more scientific meaning "to form and give off (a secretion)." That secrete is a back-formation from secretion, another word that can be traced back to secernere.
Examples of secrete in a Sentence
Melissa Nieves, Verywell Health, 24 Sep. 2024
The male white-nest swiftlet (also called the edible-nest swiftlet) creates the pale nest by secreting saliva from a pair of glands under his tongue.
—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Sep. 2024
These invasive amphibians secrete toxins from their skin, killing pets and other predators that eat them.
—Gennaro Tomma, Scientific American, 17 June 2024
In a new study, a global team of researchers hijacked the system Toxoplasma uses to secrete proteins into its host cell.
—Bill Sullivan, Discover Magazine, 12 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for secrete 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'secrete.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near secrete
Cite this Entry
“Secrete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secrete. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.
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