(in Britain) the head of any of several government departments (in the US) the head of the government department in charge of foreign affairs (State Department)
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
sec′retary of state′,
- Governmentthe head and chief administrator of the U.S. Department of State. Cf. foreign minister.
- British Terms, Governmentany of several ministers in the British government:A new secretary of state for the Home Department has been appointed.
- Government(in the U.S.) the appointed or elected official in a state government whose chief function is to distribute statutes, administer elections, keep archives, etc.
- 1610–20
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'Secretary of State' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Acheson
- Adams
- Beckett
- Bolingbroke
- Burghley
- Byrnes
- Carrington
- Carteret
- Churchill
- Clay
- Clayton
- Clinton
- Dewar
- Dulles
- Duncan Smith
- European Recovery Program
- Foot
- Granville
- Haldane
- Herter
- Heseltine
- Home Secretary
- Hull
- Kellogg
- Kerry
- Kissinger
- Knox
- Lansing
- Marshall
- Morley
- Mowlam
- Muskie
- National Security Council
- Powell
- Randolph
- Rogers
- Rusk
- Seward
- Seward's Folly
- Shultz
- Stettinius
- Stimson
- Tirpitz
- Walsingham
- closet
- disinvolvement
- fish
- foreign minister
- heavy hitter
- hull