secretary

CEFRA2

/ˈsɛk.ɹə.tə.ɹi/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A person who manages office work and records.

  2. 02

    noun

    An official who leads a government department.

Examples

  • She chatted for a few minutes about the qualities she considered desirable in a secretary.

  • The records of our discussions are kept by the secretary.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A managerial or leading position in certain non-profit organizations, such as political parties, trade unions, international organizations.

  2. The head of a department of government.

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

More examples

In context

  • Tom made Jill his secretary.

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

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

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank scheduled all meetings and answered phone calls for the busy manager.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

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Origin

noun

From Medieval Latin secrētārius (“one entrusted with secrets”), from Latin secrētus (“private, secret”), past participle of secernere (“to separate, set apart”), from se- (“apart”) + cernere (“to separate”).