salsa

American  

[sahl-suh, sahl-sah] / ˈsɑl sə, ˈsɑl sɑ /

noun

• salsas
  plural

1. Mexican Cooking. a hot sauce of tomatoes and chile peppers with onion and garlic, and sometimes seasoned with cumin or fresh cilantro, often used as a condiment or served as a dip.

2. a lively, vigorous type of contemporary Latin American popular music, blending predominantly Cuban rhythms with elements of jazz, rock, and soul music.

3. a ballroom dance of Puerto Rican origin, performed to this music, similar to the mambo, but faster with the accent on the first beat instead of the second beat of each measure.

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verb (used without object)

1. to dance the salsa.

salsa British  

/ ˈsælsə /

noun

1. a type of Latin American big-band dance music

2. a dance performed to this kind of music

3. Mexican cookery a spicy tomato-based sauce

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• salsas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of salsa

First recorded in 1845–50, and in 1970–75 salsa for defs. 2, 3; from Latin American Spanish, Spanish: literally, “sauce”; the dance and music were probably so called originally because of the mixture of styles

Explanation

The spicy, tomato-based sauce that's served with your burrito is salsa. Salsa is also great for dipping tortilla chips in. Officially, the familiar Mexican type of salsa is called salsa picante, or "spicy sauce" in Spanish. In fact, salsa — which is rooted in the Latin salsa, "salty food" or "condiment" — means "sauce" in both Spanish and Italian. There is also a genre of music called salsa, which gets its name from the implied "spiciness" of the sauce, as well as the blending of Cuban and Puerto Rican styles of dance music.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

salsa salsas

Then come the chips: hot, sturdy, generously salted, piled into black woven baskets alongside ramekins of fire-engine-red mild salsa and a darker, spicier version flecked with onion and jalapeño.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

I was happy to pay $10 and not risk seeing my bag of chips and jar of salsa sit unopened on the kitchen counter.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

Exercise options included familiar activities such as salsa and tango, along with outdoor group workouts in public parks.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

The salsa star led what has now come to be held as a legendary day-long concert, which included Cuban and mariachi musicians, a large gospel choir, Flea, Herbie Hancock and Taj Mahal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

“It’s sort of about the boys,” I admitted, licking salsa off my hand.

From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee

The produce supplier said it was removing certain products including guacamoles and salsas from shelves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Taylor Farms said it was removing certain products including guacamoles and salsas from grocery shelves over concerns of salmonella contamination, weeks after the produce supplier recalled lettuce implicated in a widespread cyclospora outbreak.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

I ordered a fat carne asada burrito that came with two delicious salsas and a grilled jalapeño.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026

But after weeks of tangos, salsas and foxtrots, it was Carney and Gu's night as they topped the public vote.

From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2025

It’s merengues and salsas with horns and bongos and singers crooning about la estrellita de Belén.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina

Related Words

• dressing
• gravy
• horseradish
• ketchup
• mustard
• pepper
• relish
• salt
• sauce
• seasoning
• spice