salad

American  

[sal-uhd] / ˈsæl əd /

noun

1. a usually cold dish consisting of vegetables, as lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, covered with a dressing and sometimes containing seafood, meat, or eggs.

2. any of various dishes consisting of foods, as meat, seafood, eggs, pasta, or fruit, prepared singly or combined, usually cut up, mixed with a dressing, and served cold.

   chicken salad; potato salad.

3. any herb or green vegetable, as lettuce, used for salads or eaten raw.

4. South Midland and Southern U.S. greens.

5. any mixture or assortment.

   The usual salad of writers, artists, and musicians attended the party.

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salad British  

/ ˈsæləd /

noun

1. a dish of raw vegetables, such as lettuce, tomatoes, etc, served as a separate course with cold meat, eggs, etc, or as part of a main course

2. any dish of cold vegetables or fruit

   potato salad

   fruit salad

3. any green vegetable used in such a dish, esp lettuce

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Etymology

Origin of salad

1350–1400; Middle English salad ( e ) < Middle French salade < Old Provençal salada < Vulgar Latin *salāta, feminine past participle of *salāre to salt, equivalent to sal-, stem of sāl salt ¹ + -āta -ate ¹

Explanation

A salad is a dish that's usually cold and often includes lettuce or other greens. However, some salads don't have any greens but instead have lots of mayo — like tuna salad or chicken salad. While your idea of a salad might be iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, croutons, and a creamy dressing, salads come in many different forms. You can make a pasta salad or a tuna salad or an egg salad. Other salads are based on big pieces of bread, or meat, or cheese — and still others are dessert salads made with gelatin or whipped cream and fruit. Salad comes from the Latin phrase herba salata, or "salted vegetables."

Example Sentences

They make an incredible kale salad and I love the San Gennaro pizza.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

Welcome to triple-egg egg salad — three expressions of egg, each playing a distinct role, all dressed to the same elegant effect.

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026

It’s a lot to put on a relatively new and small industry that remains, thus far, a cute and novel way to receive a salad or a few groceries.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

It added that it expects UK food inflation to reach at least 9% before the end of the year, which could mean higher prices and reduced availability of some salad items in supermarkets.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

We have already seen Kepler suggesting that even a salad requires a cook.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• potato salad