salt

¹

[ sawlt ]

noun

1. a crystalline compound, sodium chloride, NaCl, occurring as a mineral, a constituent of seawater, etc., and used for seasoning food, as a preservative, etc.
2. table salt mixed with a particular herb or seasoning for which it is named:

   garlic salt;

   celery salt.

3. Chemistry. any of a class of compounds formed by the replacement of one or more hydrogen atoms of an acid with elements or groups, which are composed of anions and cations, and which usually ionize in solution; a product formed by the neutralization of an acid by a base.
4. salts, any of various salts used as purgatives, as Epsom salts.
5. an element that gives liveliness, piquancy, or pungency:

   Anecdotes are the salt of his narrative.

   Synonyms: zest, flavor

6. wit; pungency.
7. a small, usually open dish, as of silver or glass, used on the table for holding salt.
8. Informal. a sailor, especially an old or experienced one:

   He's an old salt who'll be happy to tell you about his years at sea.

verb (used with object)

1. to season with salt.
2. to cure, preserve, or treat with salt.
3. to furnish with salt:

   to salt cattle.

4. to treat with common salt or with any chemical salt.
5. to spread salt, especially rock salt, on so as to melt snow or ice:

   The highway department salted the roads after the storm.

6. to introduce rich ore or other valuable matter fraudulently into (a mine, the ground, a mineral sample, etc.) to create a false impression of value.
7. to add interest or excitement to:

   a novel salted with witty dialogue.

adjective

1. containing salt; having the taste of salt:

   salt water.

2. cured or preserved with salt:

   salt cod.

3. inundated by or growing in salt water:

   salt marsh.

4. producing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not sweet, sour, or bitter.
5. pungent or sharp:

   salt speech.

verb phrase

1. to separate (a dissolved substance) from a solution by the addition of a salt, especially common salt.
2. 1. Also salt down. to preserve by adding quantities of salt to, as meat.
   2. Informal. to keep in reserve; store away; save:

      to salt away most of one's earnings.

salt

²

[ sawlt ]

adjective

, Obsolete.

1. lustful; lecherous.

SALT

³

[ sawlt ]

noun

1. Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.

salt

¹

/ sɔːlt /

noun

1. a white powder or colourless crystalline solid, consisting mainly of sodium chloride and used for seasoning and preserving food
2. modifier preserved in, flooded with, containing, or growing in salt or salty water

   salt marshes

   salt pork

3. chem any of a class of usually crystalline solid compounds that are formed from, or can be regarded as formed from, an acid and a base by replacement of one or more hydrogen atoms in the acid molecules by positive ions from the base
4. liveliness or pungency

   his wit added salt to the discussion

5. dry or laconic wit
6. a sailor, esp one who is old and experienced
7. See saltcellar
   short for saltcellar
8. rub salt into someone's wounds
   rub salt into someone's wounds to make someone's pain, shame, etc, even worse
9. salt of the earth
   salt of the earth a person or group of people regarded as the finest of their kind
10. with a grain of salt
    with a grain of saltwith a pinch of salt with reservations; sceptically
11. worth one's salt
    worth one's salt efficient; worthy of one's pay

verb

1. to season or preserve with salt
2. to scatter salt over (an icy road, path, etc) to melt the ice
3. to add zest to
4. often foll bydown or away to preserve or cure with salt or saline solution
5. chem to treat with common salt or other chemical salt
6. to provide (cattle, etc) with salt
7. to give a false appearance of value to, esp to introduce valuable ore fraudulently into (a mine, sample, etc)

adjective

1. not sour, sweet, or bitter; salty
2. obsolete.
   rank or lascivious (esp in the phrase a salt wit )

SALT

²

/ sɔːlt /

acronym for

1. Strategic Arms Limitation Talks or Treaty

salt

/ sôlt /

1. Any of a large class of chemical compounds formed when a positively charged ion (a cation) bonds with a negatively charged ion (an anion), as when a halogen bonds with a metal. Salts are water soluble; when dissolved, the ions are freed from each other, and the electrical conductivity of the water is increased.
2. See more at complex salt
3. A colorless or white crystalline salt in which a sodium atom (the cation) is bonded to a chlorine atom (the anion). This salt is found naturally in all animal fluids, in seawater, and in underground deposits (when it is often called halite ). It is used widely as a food seasoning and preservative. Also called common salt, sodium chloride, table salt. Chemical formula: NaCl.

salt

1. In chemistry , a compound resulting from the combination of an acid and a base , which neutralize each other.

Notes

Common table salt is sodium chloride.

Derived Forms

• ˈsaltish, adjective
• ˈsaltˌlike, adjective
• ˈsaltness, noun
• ˈsaltless, adjective

Other Words From

• saltlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of salt¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; noun and adjective salt, salte, zalt, Old English sealt; cognate with German Salz, Old Norse, Gothic salt, all from Germanic saltam; akin to Latin sal, Greek háls, Slavic ( Polish ) sol-, Celtic ( Irish ) salann ; Middle English verb salten, Old English saltan, sealtan; compare Old High German salzan, Old Norse salta, Dutch zouten; akin to Latin sallere “to sprinkle with salt”; halo- ( def ), salary, sauce

Origin of salt²

First recorded in 1515–25; by shortening and alteration of assaut, Middle English a sawt, from Middle French a saut “on the jump,” from a- a- ⁵( def ) + saut “a jump,” from Latin saltus, equivalent to sal(īre) “to jump” + -tus suffix of verbal action; halter ²( def ), salacious

Word History and Origins

Origin of salt¹

Old English sealt; related to Old Norse, Gothic salt, German Salz, Lettish sāls, Latin sāl, Greek hals

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. rub salt in / into someone's wounds, to make someone's bad situation even worse.
2. with a grain / pinch of salt, with reserve or allowance; with an attitude of skepticism:

   Diplomats took the reports of an impending crisis with a grain of salt.

3. worth one's salt, deserving of one's wages or salary:

   We couldn't find an assistant worth her salt.

More idioms and phrases containing salt

• back to the salt mines
• with a grain of salt

Synonym Study

See sailor.

Example Sentences

Along with the expected water and salts, the geysers contain organic compounds.

From Nautilus

The salts found on the surface are important in helping to maintain liquid water within an environment like Ceres.

From MIT Technology Review

He also learned how salt marshes can protect inland communities by buffering those waves.

From Science News For Students

For some tastes, such as salt, scientists can isolate the taste alone, dropping salty water right into the mouth.

From Science News For Students

The team also tested the device with artificial sweat that included water and salts.

From Science News For Students

Place the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt on parchment or wax paper.

From The Daily Beast

Whisk in the half and half and season to taste with salt and pepper.

From The Daily Beast

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season liberally with salt.

From The Daily Beast

Remove from heat and stir in the walnuts, rum, powdered sugar, and salt until fully incorporated.

From The Daily Beast

Rub the loin with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

From The Daily Beast

The Afghan was true to his salt, and their own retainers, who had come with them from Lucknow, remained steadfast at this crisis.

From Project Gutenberg

Robert Fitzgerald received a patent in England for making salt water fresh.

From Project Gutenberg

The men arrived in very bad condition, and many of them blinded with the salt water which had dashed into their eyes.

From Project Gutenberg

He shall pour frost as salt upon the earth: and when it freezeth, it shall become like the tops of thistles.

From Project Gutenberg

How still it was, with only the voice of the sea whispering through the reeds that grew in the salt-water pools!

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• flavoring
• spice