secrete1
/sɪˈkriːt
/verb [with object]
(Of a cell, gland, or organ) produce and discharge (a substance): insulin is secreted in response to rising levels of glucose in the blood...
- Melatonin, produced naturally from the amino acid tryptophan, is a hormone secreted by a gland in the brain.
- Natural interferons are a group of small proteins secreted by cells following viral infection.
- Sweat is secreted by glands in the skin when it is necessary to lose excess heat from the body.
Synonyms
produce, discharge, emit, excrete, exude, ooze, leak, leach, emanate, give off, release, send out;
Medicine extravasate
Derivatives
secretor
- A person who is an ABH secretor will secrete antigens according to their blood group.
- The level of this antibody is usually even higher among non-A female secretors than for males.
- In contrast, monkeys (Old and New World) lack ABH on red cells and are secretors of ABH in saliva.
secretory
- Golgi apparatus producing secretory vesicles, and mitochondria were found throughout the tube.
- In plants, particularly due to the size of the vacuole, the secretory organelles account for the majority of the cell volume.
- The secretory histology confers no prognostic significance over and above the diagnosis of meningioma.
Origin
Early 18th century: back-formation from secretion.
Rhymes
secrete2
/sɪˈkriːt/verb [with object]
Conceal; hide: the assets had been secreted in Swiss bank accounts...
- The vials were secreted in a briefcase hidden in a truck in the courtyard of the house.
- Nonetheless, in my view, as will be seen, the two most important bottles were secreted and hidden by the accused.
- Hardly had we secreted ourselves when we spied a flotilla of a Roman expeditionary force sailing hard upstream.
Synonyms
conceal, hide, cover up, veil, shroud, disguise, screen, bury, stow away, sequester, cache
informal stash away
Origin
Mid 18th century: alteration of the obsolete verb secret 'keep secret'.