having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding; "mysterious symbols"; "the mystical style of Blake"; "occult lore"; "the secret learning of the ancients"
information known only to a special group; "the secret of Cajun cooking"
something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on); "the combination to the safe was a secret"; "he tried to keep his drinking a secret"
the next to highest level of official classification for documents
not expressed; "secret (or private) thoughts"
indulging only covertly; "a secret alcoholic"
communicated covertly; "their secret signal was a wink"; "secret messages"
not open or public; kept private or not revealed; "a secret formula"; "secret ingredients"; "secret talks"
fail to win; "We lost the battle but we won the war"
suffer the loss of a person through death or removal; "She lost her husband in the war"; "The couple that wanted to adopt the child lost her when the biological parents claimed her"
allow to go out of sight; "The detective lost the man he was shadowing after he had to stop at a red light"
miss from one's possessions; lose sight of; "I've lost my glasses again!"
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense; "She lost her purse when she left it unattended on her seat"
fail to get or obtain; "I lost the opportunity to spend a year abroad"
fail to make money in a business; make a loss or fail to profit; "I lost thousands of dollars on that bad investment!"; "The company turned a loss after the first year"
protective covering consisting, for example, of a layer of boards applied to the studs and joists of a building to strengthen it and serve as a foundation for a weatherproof exterior