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

Staff have told me they want clear direction and an end to the salami slicing of resources.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

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

Roast turkey and mortadella, vegan salami and imitation tuna salad.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025

I, for one, will keep having the occasional slice of salami.

From Slate ● Aug. 2, 2025

Harry unwrapped a salami sandwich and silently offered half of it to Joe.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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

From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2025

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

A scrapbook on display at the deli shows photos of other famous visitors - including Robert DeNiro and Hillary Clinton - chowing down and posing with enormous hunks of cheese and whole salamis.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 12, 2016

“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