What does secretariat mean?
Word: Secretariat
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Secretariat means the department that handles the daily business of a large organisation, such as a government or the United Nations.
Synonyms: administration
How do you spell secretariat?
Syllables: sec - re - tar - i - at
Tricky part: The ending is iat, which looks odd and is said 'ee-uht'. Secretariate and secretariet are common slips.
Watch out for: secretariate, secretariet
Memory tip: Read the last three letters as 'I AT work': i, a, t, where all the officials are at their desks.
Secretariat in a sentence
Example 1: My uncle works as an engineer at the state secretariat in Hyderabad.
Example 2: The conference secretariat answers questions from visiting scientists.
Example 3: The event's secretariat sent out all the invitations.
Fun Fact
Kolkata's Writers' Building housed the West Bengal secretariat for decades; it is named after the 'writers', or clerks, of the East India Company who once worked there.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
secr_t_riat
a) i, a
b) e, a
c) e, e
d) a, a
Show answer
b) e, a. Both gaps hold vowel sounds: an e first, then an a.
Word Cookie
One letter in this word is not needed. Find it:
secretarriat
a) t
b) e
c) r
d) a
Show answer
c) r. Only one r is needed in the middle of the word.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word secretariat as used in the sentence:
The Commonwealth Secretariat in London helps its member countries work together.
a) festival
b) assembly
c) office
d) election
Show answer
c) office. A secretariat is an office that runs an organisation's work; an assembly is a meeting of members, not its staff.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word in the list.
1. secretariat 2. governmint 3. parliamint 4. ministery
a) a government department led by a minister
b) the group of people who rule a country
c) the elected group that makes a country's laws
d) the staff who run the daily business of a big organisation
Show answer
d) the staff who run the daily business of a big organisation. Parliament and government both end in ment, and ministry has no e.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Who usually leads the United Nations Secretariat?
a) the Secretary-General
b) the Mayor of New York
c) the President of the United States
d) the President of the General Assembly
Show answer
a) the Secretary-General
2. Work in a secretariat includes ____.
a) harvesting rice in the fields
b) repairing ships at the docks
c) preparing reports for ministers
d) teaching Class 3 at a school
Show answer
c) preparing reports for ministers
