salsa

American  

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

noun

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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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

Example Sentences

At one point, they create a “Jaws” parody with a tortilla chip and jar of salsa.

From The Wall Street Journal

Chile used for processing — for salsas, sauces and spices, for example — account for most of that value while fresh chile brought in about $4.4 million.

From Seattle Times

Some had fallen asleep at restaurant tables as the bars continued to blare salsa.

From New York Times

The carnitas were fatty and crispy, made even better with a squirt of housemade green salsa, while the al pastor had a medium level of spice and was perfect as is.

From Seattle Times

Raised in the barrio of Caimito in south San Juan, he grew up surrounded by music, mainly his grandmother’s: salsa, merengue, old school boleros — if it was classic Latin music, she was playing it.

From New York Times

Related Words

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