secret sauce

noun

1

: a sauce that adds an important element to a dish and that has ingredients which are typically kept secret

A frank of beef, pork, and veal … is split lengthwise, coated with secret sauce, and cooked on a grill.

—Jane and Michael Stern

called also special sauce

2

: an element, quality, ability, or practice that makes something or someone successful or distinctive

If leadership has a secret sauce, it may well be humility. A humble boss understands that there are things he doesn't know.

—The Economist

called also special sauce

Examples of secret sauce in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The woman later posted a scathing online review, listing the full ingredients of the secret sauce and accusing the restaurant of negligence. —David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Feb. 2025

This is how Cloudflare sells, upsells, and cross-sells its numerous software and tech products–is the second aspect of its secret sauce. —Stockstory Team, CNBC, 4 Feb. 2025

And that is the secret sauce with respect to gamma. —Shirley Halperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Feb. 2025

For years, dating back to before the Thunder were even contenders, Joe was part of the secret sauce. —Fred Katz, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined at sense 2