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rock salt

American

noun

common salt occurring in extensive, irregular beds in rocklike masses.

rock salt British

noun

another name for halite

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Reducing the oxygen in the tube furnace limits how many oxygen atoms are available, allowing the desired rock salt structure to form.

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

Supplies of rock salt and snow shovels were flying off shelves on Tuesday at Rocky's Ace Hardware in Worcester, Massachusetts, west of Boston, said the manager, Joshua Rivera.

From Reuters • Mar. 15, 2023

It was sodium-24, produced by the bombardment of ordinary rock salt by deuterons.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023