salad

American  

[sal-uhd] / ˈsæl əd /

noun

salads plural

1. a usually cold dish consisting of vegetables, as lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, covered with a dressing and sometimes containing seafood, meat, or eggs.

2. any of various dishes consisting of foods, as meat, seafood, eggs, pasta, or fruit, prepared singly or combined, usually cut up, mixed with a dressing, and served cold.

   chicken salad; potato salad.

3. any herb or green vegetable, as lettuce, used for salads or eaten raw.

4. South Midland and Southern U.S. greens.

5. any mixture or assortment.

   The usual salad of writers, artists, and musicians attended the party.

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salad British  

/ ˈsæləd /

noun

1. a dish of raw vegetables, such as lettuce, tomatoes, etc, served as a separate course with cold meat, eggs, etc, or as part of a main course

2. any dish of cold vegetables or fruit

   potato salad

   fruit salad

3. any green vegetable used in such a dish, esp lettuce

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• salads
  plural

Etymology

Origin of salad

1350–1400; Middle English salad ( e ) < Middle French salade < Old Provençal salada < Vulgar Latin *salāta, feminine past participle of *salāre to salt, equivalent to sal-, stem of sāl salt ¹ + -āta -ate ¹

Explanation

A salad is a dish that's usually cold and often includes lettuce or other greens. However, some salads don't have any greens but instead have lots of mayo — like tuna salad or chicken salad. While your idea of a salad might be iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, croutons, and a creamy dressing, salads come in many different forms. You can make a pasta salad or a tuna salad or an egg salad. Other salads are based on big pieces of bread, or meat, or cheese — and still others are dessert salads made with gelatin or whipped cream and fruit. Salad comes from the Latin phrase herba salata, or "salted vegetables."

Example Sentences

The smoky cucumber salad offers a refreshing contrast, while the pork belly rice bowl is rich and satisfying enough to stand as a meal on its own.

From Salon • Jun. 11, 2026

Homemade salad dressing is one of those things that sounds more impressive than it actually is.

From Salon • Jun. 11, 2026

A cube of feta tucked into a tomato salad.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026

Now thousands of the 12,000-plus locations in the U.S. serve the most iconic item from their Japanese counterparts: an egg salad sandwich with Kewpie mayonnaise on milk bread.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026

Dad is tossing a salad while Aunt Melissa spoons chicken noodle soup into bowls.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

• potato salad