undersecretary
noun
un·der·sec·re·tary
ˌən-dər-ˈse-krə-ˌter-ē 
-ˈse-kə-
variants
or under secretary
: a secretary immediately subordinate to a principal secretary
—often capitalized when used as a title
the British Undersecretary for India
the Under Secretary of the Treasury
Examples of undersecretary in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Veterans Health Administration and the undersecretary for health agreed with the inspectors’ recommendations, which included improving image-sharing technology and adding staff.
—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
26 May 2026
John Hurley left his post as undersecretary for terrorism after raising privacy concerns about federal monitoring of international payments from the Minneapolis area.
—
Andrew Ackerman,
Washington Post,
28 Apr. 2026
Emil Michael, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said at an industry conference last month that the Pentagon plans to go big with the LUCAS drone.
—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
26 Apr. 2026
Hung Cao, the current undersecretary of the Navy, will serve as acting secretary.
—
Will Gottsegen,
The Atlantic,
22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for undersecretary
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Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
26 May 2026
John Hurley left his post as undersecretary for terrorism after raising privacy concerns about federal monitoring of international payments from the Minneapolis area.
—
Andrew Ackerman,
Washington Post,
28 Apr. 2026
Emil Michael, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said at an industry conference last month that the Pentagon plans to go big with the LUCAS drone.
—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
26 Apr. 2026
Hung Cao, the current undersecretary of the Navy, will serve as acting secretary.
—
Will Gottsegen,
The Atlantic,
22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for undersecretary
Cite this Entry
“Undersecretary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/undersecretary. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
undersecretary
noun
un·der·sec·re·tary
ˌən-dər-ˈsek-rə-ˌter-ē
: a secretary right under a principal secretary
undersecretary of state
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