Secrete means to produce and release a substance from cells or glands in your body. Your mouth secretes saliva to help break down food when you chew. Your skin secretes sweat to cool you down when you're hot. A snail secretes slime that helps it glide smoothly across surfaces.

Different organs and glands secrete different things: your stomach secretes acid to digest food, your eyes secrete tears, and certain glands secrete hormones that control how you grow and develop.

Scientists who study biology talk about secretion (the noun form) when describing what various parts of living things produce. A bee secreting wax to build its hive, a tree secreting sap, or your pancreas secreting insulin are all examples of secretion at work.

Don't confuse this with the similar-sounding word “secret.” Secrete is about producing and releasing substances, not about keeping information hidden.