Collins English-English Dictionary

secret ['siːkrɪt]

1. 1. adj kept hidden or separate from the knowledge of others

2. 2. adj known only to initiates

   a secret password

3. 3. adj hidden from general view or use

   a secret garden

4. 4. adj able or tending to keep things private or to oneself

5. 5. adj operating without the knowledge of outsiders

   a secret society

6. 6. adj outside the normal range of knowledge

7. 7. n something kept or to be kept hidden

8. 8. n something unrevealed; mystery

9. 9. n an underlying explanation, reason, etc, that is not apparent

   the secret of success

10. 10. n a method, plan, etc, known only to initiates

11. 11. n [liturgy] a variable prayer, part of the Mass, said by the celebrant after the offertory and before the preface

12. 12. n in the secret. among the people who know a secret

13. 13. n [Etymology] C14: via Old French from Latin secretus concealed, from secernere to sift; see secern