salami

American  

[suh-lah-mee] / səˈlɑ mi /

noun

salamis plural

1. a kind of sausage, originally Italian, often flavored with garlic.

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salami British  

/ səˈlɑːmɪ /

noun

1. a highly seasoned type of sausage, usually flavoured with garlic

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• salamis
  plural

Etymology

Origin of salami

1850–55; < Italian, plural of salame < Vulgar Latin *salāmen, equivalent to *salā ( re ) to salt + Latin -men noun suffix; see sal

Explanation

Salami is a type of cured sausage that's very common in sandwiches. This slightly spicy, salty meat is almost always served thinly sliced and is rarely heated or cooked. Salami is traditionally made from dried and fermented beef or pork, and seasoned with white pepper, garlic, salt, and herbs. It's a popular sandwich ingredient, as it's easy to slice and tastes great cold. The word salami is the plural form of the Italian salame, "spiced pork sausage," from the Latin root sal, or "salt."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

salami salamis

In an email, Bodner referred questions about the situation, which he called “the salami incident,” to his lawyer, Marc Rosen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

Slice the chub of salami into 1/4-inch thick circular rounds, then cut them each into 4 equal-sized chunks.

From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026

"I'm going to make pigs in blankets but wrap them in salami instead of bacon, and we'll add a couple of Yorkshire puddings," he said.

From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2025

Vachon, who long taught a class on charcuterie — “we do pâtés, terrines,” he said — was particularly proud of the dry-aging refrigerators, where salami hung.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025

She makes us cucumber sandwiches, the edges scalloped to look like flowers, filled with thin slices of salami.

From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar

This trio showcases three of their standout dry-aged salamis, each one worthy of its own moment.

From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2025

There are also cooked salamis and soft cured salmis.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 26, 2023

Inventory management was a serious issue, our backpacks stuffed with first-aid kits, bread and salamis, just like in the game.

From The Verge ● Apr. 29, 2021

It is these that give salamis, bacons and cooked hams their alluring pink colour.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 1, 2018

“I have the passion of cooking, pickling, curing salamis, sausage, making wine in the fall. This is my life. I do this with my friends. It’s to my heart.”

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan