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

Collaborative problem-solving is a framework for addressing complex problems and is the secret sauce to strong productivity, culture and innovation. —Chris Williams, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025

Maryland’s loaded starting lineup, aka the Crab Five, has fueled the Terps’ success, but the secret sauce has been their ability to play through their bigs. —Jim Root, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025

There’s some secret sauce that turns an odd collection of prebiotic compounds and molecules into self-reproducing structures that undergo Darwinian evolution. —ArsTechnica, 26 Mar. 2025

In an interview, McCourt says that if his bid succeeds, ByteDance’s recommendation engine — the secret sauce behind TikTok’s addictive feed — won’t be part of the deal. —Esat Dedezade, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for secret sauce

• albatross
• applesauce
• barabbas
• helios
• kshatriyas
• across
• backcross
• crisscross
• lacrosse
• recross
• tomas
• blas