rock salt
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of rock salt
First recorded in 1700–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The winter storm that sent Americans scurrying to buy snowblowers, shovels, and rock salt now has them in a deep freeze.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
To stabilize these ceramics, manganese and iron atoms must remain in the 2+ oxidation state, forming what is known as a rock salt structure where each atom bonds with only two oxygen atoms.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2025
It also warns owners to wash their paws thoroughly after walking in areas that may have been gritted with rock salt, which can be poisonous to pets.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2024
In my adult life as a contractor, I mostly come into contact with the powdery substance thanks to the rock salt used on the roads in central New Hampshire during snowstorms and icy conditions.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 26, 2022
So he left the bag of rock salt in the stairwell, and took the shovel upstairs.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
