secret sauce

noun

: 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

: 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

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Their secret sauce: Little flourishes that make visitors feel like family. —

Isaac Avilucea, Axios, 17 Jan. 2025 There’s been some interest in buying the platform without its secret sauce, most notably from billionaire Frank McCourt, and multiple outlets reported this week that China was exploring a sale to Musk — but both of these outcomes feel like moonshots as the ban deadline draws near. —

Ryan Bort, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2025 Smith and Gilmore shared that this is the secret sauce. —

Alec Lewis, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024 Empathy Empathy is the secret sauce of omnichannel success. —

Expert Panel®, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for secret sauce