salsa
Americannoun
-
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.
-
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.
verb (used without object)
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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing salsa
World Cuisine - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
World Cuisine - Middle School and High School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“You can make a salsa verde or a chimichurri out of it,” he added, noting that the ramp also pairs well with proteins like beef and chicken as well as pork and fish.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
She also put up LED lights and brought her own shower and a cooler, which she "filled with drinks and snacks like hummus and salsa".
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
Lisa de-Laune tried meditation, solo travelling, learning to salsa and eating oysters as part of her efforts to "take back control" when her life became tough.
From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026
Both 72, they call the event Los Tradicionales — “the traditional ones” — because their goal is to help preserve Cuba’s rich dance heritage, from rumba to timba to casino, an ancestor of salsa.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026
“It’s sort of about the boys,” I admitted, licking salsa off my hand.
From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
