salve

¹ American  

[sav, sahv] / sæv, sɑv /

noun

salves plural

1. a medicinal ointment for healing or relieving wounds and sores.

2. anything that soothes, mollifies, or relieves.

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verb (used with object)

salved, salving

1. to soothe with or as if with salve; assuage.

   to salve one's conscience.

   Synonyms:

   mollify, alleviate, ease

salve ² American  

[salv] / sælv /

verb (used with or without object)

salved, salving

1. to save from loss or destruction; to salvage.

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salve ³ American  

[sal-vee, sahl-wey] / ˈsæl vi, ˈsɑl weɪ /

interjection

1. hail!

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salve ¹ British  

/ sælv, sɑːv /

noun

1. an ointment for wounds, sores, etc

2. anything that heals or soothes

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verb

1. to apply salve to (a wound, sore, etc)

2. to soothe, comfort, or appease

salve ² British  

/ sælv /

verb

1. a less common word for salvage

2. an archaic word for save 1

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• salves
  plural

Etymology

Origin of salve¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun salve, salwe, salf(e), Old English sealf, salf; cognate with German Salbe “ointment, salve,” Sanskrit sarpís “melted butter, fat”; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of salve²

First recorded in 1700–10; back formation from salvage

Origin of salve³

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin salvē! literally, “be in good health!”; cf. salute

Explanation

A salve is something that soothes. You can use an ointment as a salve for an itchy rash, or maybe your kind words can act as a salve to comfort a heartsick friend. In some parts of the world, people pronounce salve the way it's spelled, but in the U.S. the correct pronunciation has a silent L. You can use this word for things that make people feel better — not just ointment: "A hot cup of tea is a salve for me." And you can also use it as a verb: "The nurse will salve your wounds now." Salve comes from a Proto-Indo-European root that means "fat" or "butter."

Example Sentences

They have this Nectar Salve that I’m obsessed with.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2025

Foremost among these studies is one produced by the Nationhood Lab at Salve Regina University's Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, and first reported on in Politico.

From Salon • May 1, 2023

Jim Ludes, a former national defense analyst who now leads the Pell Center for International Affairs and Public Policy at Salve Regina University, said political parrying is inevitable.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 13, 2023

As the slogan on the back of Santos’s T-shirt put it: “Plante árvores. Salve vidas”: “Plant trees. Save lives.”

From New York Times • Jul. 13, 2022

It was a miracle, everyone said, so that was the new name they gave Mother’s recipe: after Dad’s burn it was known as Miracle Salve.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Related Words

• alleviate
• assuage
• mollify
• pacify
• unburden