secrete
- 01 C1 Advanced
to produce and release a liquid substance from a cell, gland, or organ.
to generate and release a substance from a cell or gland for a specific physiological function or as waste.
Simple“The glands in your skin secrete oil to keep it soft and healthy.”
In context“The pancreas secretes insulin directly into the bloodstream to regulate glucose levels after a meal.”
UsageThe verb is transitive and takes the substance produced as its direct object.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
to hide something in a secret place.
to conceal or hide something away, often in a small or private space.
Simple“He managed to secrete the stolen documents inside the lining of his coat.”
In context“The spy had secreted a miniature camera within a hollowed-out book on the library shelf.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is much less common than the biological one and is found mostly in formal literature or crime reports.
“In the early 1980s, humans discovered that the toad’s poison glands secrete a venom that contains, among other chemicals, 5-MeO-DMT, a potent hallucinogen also known as the “God molecule”.”
“Unlike other pests that eat crops outright, Hessian fly larvae secrete chemicals through their saliva into plant cells.”
First attested in 1678: from Latin sēcrētus (“[having been] separated”).
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.
Alteration of secret.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.