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

Lady Gaga made a cameo to perform a few bars of “Die with a Smile,” delivered with a salsa kick.

From Salon

The set featured a traditional casita structure, block party salsa dancing, Puerto Rican flags and a mock sugarcane field.

From BBC

The couple signed their nuptials as Lady Gaga performed a salsa rendition of her ballad “Die With a Smile” — notably without collaborator Bruno Mars.

From Los Angeles Times

For most of the past week, that referred almost entirely to the salsa, guacamole, and blue cheese dressing for Super Bowl snacks.

From Barron's

The album, released just over a year ago, embraces rhythms native to Puerto Rico, like plena and salsa, and centers the island’s colonial history.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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