# hidden

/ˈhɪdən/ (US) · /hˈɪdən/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/hidden
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. out of sight

adjective · CEFR A2

kept out of sight so that people cannot see or find it.

For teachers: positioned or kept out of sight; concealed from view.

- The children found a hidden door behind the old bookshelf.
- The valley remained hidden from the main road by a dense screen of ancient pine trees, preserving its quiet atmosphere.

### 2. difficult to understand

adjective · CEFR B2

not easy to notice or understand; having a secret meaning.

For teachers: obscure or not easily perceived by the intellect; containing a deeper or non-obvious meaning.

- The movie has a hidden message about protecting the environment.
- The contract contained several hidden costs that the small business owner failed to notice during the initial negotiations.

### 4. wordplay clue

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a type of puzzle clue where the answer is written inside other words.

For teachers: a cryptic crossword clue where the solution is found consecutively within the letters of the clue's wordplay.

- I finally solved the hidden in the third row of the crossword.
- The setter used a clever hidden, concealing the eight-letter answer across three separate words in the middle of the sentence.

## Examples

- The children found a hidden room in the old house.
- The hikers discovered a hidden waterfall deep within the forest that was not marked on any map.
- The journalist spent months investigating the hidden costs of the infrastructure project, eventually revealing millions in unaccounted expenditures.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.