saline

[ sey-leen, -lahyn ]

/ ˈseɪ lin, -laɪn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR saline ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of, containing, or resembling common table salt; salty or saltlike: a saline solution.

of or relating to a chemical salt, especially of sodium, potassium, magnesium, etc., as used as a cathartic.

of or relating to a method of abortion involving injection of hypertonic saline solution into the amniotic cavity during the second trimester.

noun

a sterile solution of sodium chloride used to dilute medications or for intravenous therapy.

salty water; a salty solution.

RELATED WORDS

briny, brackish

Nearby words

Origin of saline

1400–50; Middle English: composed of salt < Latin salīnus salty, equivalent to sal sal + -īnus -ine¹

Related forms

sa·lin·i·ty

[suh-lin-i-tee] /səˈlɪn ɪ ti/, nounhy·per·sa·line, adjectivehy·per·sa·lin·i·ty, nounnon·sa·line, adjective

non·sa·lin·i·ty, nounsem·i·sa·line, adjectivesub·sa·line, adjectivesub·sa·lin·i·ty, nounun·sa·line, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for saline

A nurse at Saline Memorial Hospice, she was leaving work when her ex-boyfriend fatally shot her before turning the gun on himself.
Use Your Vote to Take Stand Against Domestic Violence|Shannon Watts|October 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Discouting the gross factor of swimming in that saline cesspool, there are some awesome images.
Rand Paul Swims in the Dead Sea|Justin Green|January 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I had saline mixed with Lidocaine pumped into my face to constrict my blood vessels and numb me so I could endure the zapping.
Hey, Ashley Judd: I’m Puffy From Cosmetic Surgery—And Proud of It|Samantha Marshall|April 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Each subject went through this process twice, once being given a saline vial, once a vial of actual tears.
Why Women's Tears Turn Off Men|Casey Schwartz|January 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST

The free use of water in saline solutions directly injected into the tissues was found of great service.
Alcohol: A Dangerous and Unnecessary Medicine, How and Why|Martha M. Allen
The design of this operation is to combine with the Fixed Alkali all the saline acrid parts of the quick-lime.
Elements of the Theory and Practice of Chymistry, 5th ed.|Pierre Joseph Macquer
Passed through the town of Marshall, the seat of justice for Saline county.
Early Western Travels 1748-1846, Volume XXX|Joel Palmer
We have only to evaporate a portion of the water to dryness, and redissolve the saline residue in distilled water.
A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons|Fredrick Accum
It is the saline basis of a good name that gives enduring richness to its memory.
Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution|L. Carroll Judson

British Dictionary definitions for saline

saline

/ (ˈseɪlaɪn) /

adjective

of, concerned with, consisting of, or containing common salta saline taste

med of or relating to a saline

of, concerned with, consisting of, or containing any chemical salt, esp a metallic salt resembling sodium chloride

noun

med an isotonic solution of sodium chloride in distilled water

Derived Formssalinity (səˈlɪnɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for saline

C15: from Late Latin salīnus, from Latin sal salt

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

Word Origin and History for saline

saline

adj.

"made of salt," c.1500, probably from a Latin word related to salinum "salt cellar" and salinae "salt pits," from sal (genitive salis) "salt" (see salt (n.)). Also in Middle English as a noun meaning "salt pit" (13c.). Saline solution attested from 1833.

Medicine definitions for saline

saline

[ sā′lēn′, -līn′ ]

adj.

Of, relating to, or containing salt; salty.

Of or relating to chemical salts.

n.

A salt of magnesium or of the alkalis, used in medicine as a cathartic.

A saline solution, especially one that is isotonic to blood.

Science definitions for saline

saline

[ sā′lēn′ ]

Of or containing salt.