secretary
Other forms: secretaries
If you handle the correspondence and clerical work for your boss or your company, you are a secretary. One of your duties as a secretary is to open the mail.
Today, the preferred term for the kind of secretary who works in an office is administrative assistant. The noun secretary can also refer to the person who is in charge of an administrative department in the government, like the Secretary of Defense. A secretary can also be a piece of furniture — specifically, a type of writing desk.
Definitions of secretary
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an assistant who handles correspondence and clerical work for a boss or an organization
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synonyms:
secretarial assistant
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types:
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executive secretary
a secretary having administrative duties and responsibilities
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receptionist
a secretary whose main duty is to answer the telephone and receive visitors
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social secretary
a personal secretary who handles your social correspondence and appointments
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amanuensis, shorthand typist, stenographer
someone skilled in the transcription of speech (especially dictation)
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a person who is head of an administrative department of government
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types:
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Attorney General, US Attorney General, United States Attorney General
the person who holds the position of secretary of the Justice Department
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Agriculture Secretary, Secretary of Agriculture
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Agriculture
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Commerce Secretary, Secretary of Commerce
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Commerce
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Defense Secretary, Secretary of Defense
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Defense Department
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Education Secretary, Secretary of Education
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Education
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Energy Secretary, Secretary of Energy
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Energy
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Secretary of Health and Human Services
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Health and Human Services
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Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Labor Secretary, Secretary of Labor
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Labor
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Secretary of State
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of State
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Interior Secretary, Secretary of the Interior
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Interior Department
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Secretary of the Treasury, Treasury Secretary
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Treasury Department
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Secretary of Transportation, Transportation Secretary
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Transportation
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Secretary of Veterans Affairs
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Veterans Affairs
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undersecretary
a secretary immediately subordinate to the head of a department of government
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a person to whom a secret is entrusted
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synonyms:
repository
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a desk used for writing
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synonyms:
escritoire, secretaire, writing table
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type of:
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desk
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
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desk
Pronunciation
US
/ˌsɛkrəˈtɛri/
UK
/ˈsɛkrətri/
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘secretary'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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