secrete
verb /sɪˈkriːt/
/sɪˈkriːt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they secrete | /sɪˈkriːt/ /sɪˈkriːt/ |
| he / she / it secretes | /sɪˈkriːts/ /sɪˈkriːts/ |
| past simple secreted | /sɪˈkriːtɪd/ /sɪˈkriːtɪd/ |
| past participle secreted | /sɪˈkriːtɪd/ /sɪˈkriːtɪd/ |
| -ing form secreting | /sɪˈkriːtɪŋ/ /sɪˈkriːtɪŋ/ |
- secrete something (of part of the body or a plant) to produce a liquid substance
- Insulin is secreted by the pancreas.
- More saliva is secreted while chewing.
- secrete something (in something) (formal) to hide something, especially something small
- The drugs were secreted in the lining of his case.
Word Originsense 1 early 18th cent.: back-formation from secretion.sense 2 mid 18th cent.: alteration of the obsolete verb secret ‘keep secret’.