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

For her Hollywood Bowl gig, Peluso will be accompanied by the Colombian salsa collective Grupo Niche, a Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winning group that has been around since the late ’70s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Serve it with warm corn tortillas, diced onion, cilantro and a flavorful salsa, and you have the makings of an outdoor taco night that largely takes care of itself.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

In Bad Bunny’s “DtMF” and Karol G’s “Tropicoqueta,” classic genres like salsa, plena and cumbia took center stage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

Some have posted online about the free chips and salsa that comes at Hispanic restaurants or the free re-fills offered at nearly every eatery.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

Eight floors below, I hear the mix of salsa and rap over the scatter of nighttime voices and the movement of people out causing mischief on Halloween night.

From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles

Many of the employees were Latino or Mexican, or maneuvered like veteran hospitality people, flipping tortillas and preparing salsas, or furiously mixing drinks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2025

Think salsas, pasta sauces, chimichurri, housemade condiments and dips.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2025

Still, he has found work fixing cars and trucks; together they cater birthday parties and baby showers, providing large buffets of meat, rice, beans and salsas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2025

Nuts can be the secret, always-accessible ingredient that opens the door to silky sauces, fiery salsas, smooth milks and so much more.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2025

It’s mostly condiment bottles—like a dozen different kinds of salsas.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Related Words

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