Meaning

A person who keeps records, takes notes and handles general clerical work..

Definitions by Sense

1. A person who keeps records, takes notes and handles general clerical work.
2. (often capitalized) The head of a department of government.
3. A managerial or leading position in certain non-profit organizations, such as political parties, trade unions, international organizations.
4. (US) A type of desk, secretary desk; a secretaire.
5. A secretary bird, a bird of the species Sagittarius serpentarius.
6. (original sense, now obsolete) Someone entrusted with a secret; a confidant.
7. (obsolete) Someone employed as a scribe for personal correspondence.
8. (transitive) To serve as a secretary of.

Example Sentences

I have a personal secretary to help me organize my clients.

The secretary at the school is in charge of communication between parents, students, and staff.

None of us can type, Minister. Mrs. McKay types (laugh track). She's the secretary (laugh track).

Well briefly, sir, I am the Permanent Under Secretary of State, known as the Permanent Secretary.

Ban Ki-Moon was a secretary general of the United Nations.

As the Soviet Union collapsed, the party secretaries in the Central Asian republics found themselves leaders of newly-established sovereign countries.

"Do not give yourself any uneasiness about one so utterly unworthy of a thought! Sir George Kingston is without one grain of either honour or real feeling! The fact is, I have, for some months past, been his secretary, and wrote for him the letters which were sent you!"

Word Forms

• secretaries
• secretarie
• secretarying
• secretaried

Synonyms for secretary

Related Words

When Should You Use Secretary?

Use secretary when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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