Definition

1. Noun:
   • An administrative unit responsible for maintaining records and other secretarial duties; especially for international organizations: A secretariate is an office or department that handles administrative, clerical, and record-keeping tasks, often serving as the central administrative body for a large organization, committee, or government.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The UN secretariate manages the day-to-day operations and documentation for the General Assembly.
  • She works in the secretariate of the international trade commission.
  • The conference's secretariate is responsible for distributing all official papers to the delegates.

Advanced Usage

• "The secretariate of...": Used to specify the administrative body of a particular organization.
  • The secretariate of the European Union is based in Brussels.
• "Head of the secretariate": Refers to the person in charge of this administrative unit.
  • The head of the secretariate presented the annual report.

Variants and Related Words

• Secretariat (n): The more common spelling and form of the same word, with identical meaning.
  • The secretariat issued a new policy directive.
• Secretary (n): An individual who performs clerical and administrative duties. (Note: This is a related role, not a variant of the unit "secretariate").
  • The secretary took minutes during the meeting.

Synonyms

• Administrative office: A department handling management and clerical work.
• Bureau: An office or department for specific business or services.
• Administration: The process or activity of running an organization.

Related Phrases

• "Secretarial duties": Tasks typically associated with a secretary or secretariate, such as filing, correspondence, and scheduling.
  • Her job involves many secretarial duties like answering phones and organizing files.
• "Secretarial staff": The group of employees who perform administrative support work.
  • The secretarial staff prepared all the documents for the board meeting.

Noun

1. an administrative unit responsible for maintaining records and other secretarial duties; especially for international organizations