trade secret

noun

: something (such as a formula) which has economic value to a business because it is not generally known or easily discoverable by observation and for which efforts have been made to maintain secrecy

Examples of trade secret in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The company also relies on trade secrets and proprietary technologies. —Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2025

More than a year’s worth of internal communications from one of the world’s most active ransomware syndicates have been published online in a leak that exposes tactics, trade secrets, and internal rifts of its members. —Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2025

Are trade secrets going to be revealed from factory worker-bots? —New Atlas, 21 Feb. 2025

That can include trade secrets, whistleblower information, and employee and profitability data, according to two of the employees—some of which may belong to Musk’s competitors. —Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

trade secret

noun

trade se·​cret

: a formula, process, device, or item of information used by a business that has economic value because it is not generally known or easily discovered by observation or examination and for which reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy have been made

Note: Trade secrets are a form of intellectual property. Many states have enacted laws which create an action for damages or injunctive relief against misappropriation of trade secrets by improper means. Information contained in a patent is not protected as a trade secret.