0 a piece of information that is only known by one person or a few people and should not be told to others: --
So what's the secret of being a good cook?
the secrets of the universe
That restaurant is one of the best-kept secrets in Rome.
She makes no secret of (= makes very clear) her dislike of her father.
There's no secret (= everyone knows) about his homosexuality.
Why did you have to go and tell Bob about my illness? You just can't keep a secret, can you?
1 If something is secret, other people are not allowed to know about it: --
a secret admirer
a secret drinker
Do you think we'll manage to keep the surprise party secret from Mum until her birthday?
This is top (= extremely) secret information.
We ought to keep these proposals secret from the chairman for the time being.
The president escaped through a secret passage underneath the parliament building.
2 a piece of information that is not generally known or is not known by someone else and should not be told to others: --
3 known, done, or kept without others knowing: --
secret information
4 if something is secret, only particular people are allowed to know about it: --
5 an important piece of information that only a few people know and that should not be told to anyone else: --
The ingredients of the drink are a closely-guarded secret.
We keep secrets from ourselves that all along we know.
The old aristocrats had some secrets, or amabanga, as well.
To the antebellum rogue, the city's gigantic web of secrets held unlimited financial rewards, if only it could be interpreted properly.
In the degraded moral climate of the city, secrets were easily translatable into commodities.
Without giving away current editorial secrets, we agreed on the following stages.
Furthermore, the trust that developed through the befriender's continuity and reliability allowed secrets to be shared.
Both stories are constructed around shameful secrets and unmentionable activities.
I consider three "sites" from which meaning is generated: the spectacle; otherness and sameness/misrecognition and identity; and secrets and closets.
