salsa

[ sahl-suh; Spanish sahl-sah ]

/ ˈsɑl sə; Spanish ˈsɑl sɑ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR salsa ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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.

Mexican Cookery. a sauce, especially a hot sauce containing chilies.

verb (used without object)

to dance the salsa.

Nearby words

salpingoplasty, salpingorrhaphy, salpingostomy, salpingotomy, salpinx, salsa, salsa verde, salsify, salt, salt away, salt bath

Origin of salsa

1970–75; < American Spanish, Spanish: literally, sauce; probably so called orig. because of its mixture of styles

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

Examples from the Web for salsa

Occasionally a pamphlet for a salsa class might be tossed on a doorstop or stuck on a pole near a bus stop.
Iran’s Becoming a Footloose Nation as Dance Lessons Spread|IranWire|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
At under 200 pages, the book seems like chips and salsa on the table when you are expecting a four course meal.
Noam Chomsky—Infuriating and Necessary|David Masciotra|September 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They ate chips and salsa and guacamole and steak fajitas and slept in a real bed for the first time in days, indoors.
We Survived the Triumph: Passengers Describe Their Doomed Carnival Cruise|Winston Ross, Eliza Shapiro, Sam Register|February 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
To make the salsa, toast the chiles until the oils and aromas are released.
Cinco de Mayo Recipes: Tacos for One and All||May 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST

To assemble taco place crème fraiche, salsa, chicken, and plantains in a tortilla.
Cinco de Mayo Recipes: Tacos for One and All||May 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
You could serve her old tires and she'd eat 'em if she could smother them in salsa.
Little Brother|Cory Doctorow
In the same locality is the basilica of Saint Salsa erected over her tomb.
The American Journal of Archaeology, 1893-1|Various

British Dictionary definitions for salsa

salsa

/ (ˈsælsə) /

noun

a type of Latin American big-band dance music

a dance performed to this kind of music

Mexican cookery a spicy tomato-based sauce

Word Origin for salsa

C20: from Spanish: sauce

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