top definitions
quizzes
related content
examples
explore dictionary
british
medical
scientific
cultural
idioms and phrases

salt

[ sawlt ]

/ sɔlt /

noun

a crystalline compound, sodium chloride, NaCl, occurring as a mineral, a constituent of seawater, etc., and used for seasoning food, as a preservative, etc.

table salt mixed with a particular herb or seasoning for which it is named: garlic salt; celery salt.

Chemistry. any of a class of compounds formed by the replacement of one or more hydrogen atoms of an acid with elements or groups, which are composed of anions and cations, and which usually ionize in solution; a product formed by the neutralization of an acid by a base.

salts, any of various salts used as purgatives, as Epsom salts.

an element that gives liveliness, piquancy, or pungency: Anecdotes are the salt of his narrative.

wit; pungency.

a small, usually open dish, as of silver or glass, used on the table for holding salt.

Informal. a sailor, especially an old or experienced one: He's an old salt who'll be happy to tell you about his years at sea.

verb (used with object)

to season with salt.

to cure, preserve, or treat with salt.

to furnish with salt: to salt cattle.

to treat with common salt or with any chemical salt.

to spread salt, especially rock salt, on so as to melt snow or ice: The highway department salted the roads after the storm.

to introduce rich ore or other valuable matter fraudulently into (a mine, the ground, a mineral sample, etc.) to create a false impression of value.

to add interest or excitement to: a novel salted with witty dialogue.

adjective

containing salt; having the taste of salt: salt water.

cured or preserved with salt: salt cod.

inundated by or growing in salt water: salt marsh.

producing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not sweet, sour, or bitter.

pungent or sharp: salt speech.

Verb Phrases

salt away,

Also salt down. to preserve by adding quantities of salt to, as meat.
Informal. to keep in reserve; store away; save: to salt away most of one's earnings.

salt out, to separate (a dissolved substance) from a solution by the addition of a salt, especially common salt.

QUIZZES

FOR POSTERITY’S SAKE, TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Are words your bailiwick? Take the latest quiz on the words from July 6 to July 12 to find out.

Question 1 of 7

bailiwick

a creature, variously described as a serpent, lizard, or dragon, said to kill by its breath or look.

place or source of origin.

a person's area of skill, knowledge, authority, or work.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms for salt

rub salt in/into someone's wounds, to make someone's bad situation even worse.

with a grain/pinch of salt, with reserve or allowance; with an attitude of skepticism: Diplomats took the reports of an impending crisis with a grain of salt.

worth one's salt, deserving of one's wages or salary: We couldn't find an assistant worth her salt.

Origin of salt

before 900; (noun and adj.) Middle English; Old English sealt; cognate with German Salz, Old Norse, Gothic salt; akin to Latin sāl, Greek háls (see halo-); (v.) Middle English salten, Old English s(e)altan; compare Old High German salzan, Old Norse salta, Dutch zouten; see salary

SYNONYMS FOR salt

5 flavor, savor.

8 See sailor.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR salt ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM salt

salt·like, adjective

Words nearby salt

salpingotomy, salpinx, salsa, salsa verde, salsify, salt, salt away, salt bath, salt cake, salt cedar, salt chuck

Definition for salt (2 of 5)

salt²

[ sawlt ]

/ sɔlt /

adjective Obsolete.

lustful; lecherous.

Origin of salt

1535–45; aphetic variant of assaut, Middle English a sawt < Middle French a saut on the jump; saut < Latin saltus a jump, equivalent to sal(īre) to jump + -tus suffix of v. action

Definition for salt (3 of 5)

SALT

[ sawlt ]

/ sɔlt /

noun

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.

Definition for salt (4 of 5)

SALT I

noun

See under Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.

Definition for salt (5 of 5)

SALT II

noun

See under Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for salt

Place the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt on parchment or wax paper.
Make ‘The Chew’s’ Carla Hall’s Sticky Toffee Pudding|Carla Hall|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Whisk in the half and half and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season liberally with salt.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Remove from heat and stir in the walnuts, rum, powdered sugar, and salt until fully incorporated.
Carla Hall’s Christmas Day Treat: Rum Balls|Carla Hall|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Rub the loin with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Make Carla Hall’s Roasted Pork Loin With Cranberries|Carla Hall|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He would have liked bread and salt, but was in no mood to grumble over his meal.
The Bungalow Boys North of Fifty-Three|Dexter J. Forrester
This species is found almost exclusively in salt marshes, where they skulk about like rats.
Bird Guide|Chester A. Reed
Sprinkle the salt over the top and cover with large cabbage leaves and then with a cheese-cloth wrung out of salt water.
Mrs. Wilson's Cook Book|Mary A. Wilson
With a little practice, salt rising bread becomes less work to make than hop yeast bread.
The Laurel Health Cookery|Evora Bucknum Perkins
Coals and salt, machinery and manufactured goods, can be distributed easily from the great towns that produce them.
Cheshire|Charles E. Kelsey

British Dictionary definitions for salt (1 of 2)

salt

/ (sɔːlt) /

noun

a white powder or colourless crystalline solid, consisting mainly of sodium chloride and used for seasoning and preserving food

(modifier) preserved in, flooded with, containing, or growing in salt or salty watersalt pork; salt marshes

chem any of a class of usually crystalline solid compounds that are formed from, or can be regarded as formed from, an acid and a base by replacement of one or more hydrogen atoms in the acid molecules by positive ions from the base

liveliness or pungencyhis wit added salt to the discussion

dry or laconic wit

a sailor, esp one who is old and experienced

short for saltcellar

rub salt into someone's wounds to make someone's pain, shame, etc, even worse

salt of the earth a person or group of people regarded as the finest of their kind

with a grain of salt or with a pinch of salt with reservations; sceptically

worth one's salt efficient; worthy of one's pay

verb (tr)

to season or preserve with salt

to scatter salt over (an icy road, path, etc) to melt the ice

to add zest to

(often foll by down or away) to preserve or cure with salt or saline solution

chem to treat with common salt or other chemical salt

to provide (cattle, etc) with salt

to give a false appearance of value to, esp to introduce valuable ore fraudulently into (a mine, sample, etc)

adjective

not sour, sweet, or bitter; salty

obsolete rank or lascivious (esp in the phrase a salt wit)

Derived forms of salt

saltish, adjectivesaltless, adjectivesaltlike, adjectivesaltness, noun

Word Origin for salt

Old English sealt; related to Old Norse, Gothic salt, German Salz, Lettish sāls, Latin sāl, Greek hals

British Dictionary definitions for salt (2 of 2)

SALT

/ (sɔːlt) /

n acronym for

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks or Treaty

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

Medical definitions for salt

salt

[ sôlt ]

n.

A colorless or white crystalline solid, chiefly sodium chloride, used extensively as a food seasoning and preservative.

A chemical compound replacing all or part of the hydrogen ions of an acid with metal ions or electropositive radicals.

salts Any of various mineral salts, such as magnesium sulfate, sodium sulfate, or potassium sodium tartrate, used as laxatives or cathartics.

salts Smelling salts.

salts Epsom salts.

Scientific definitions for salt

salt

[ sôlt ]

Any of a large class of chemical compounds formed when a positively charged ion (a cation) bonds with a negatively charged ion (an anion), as when a halogen bonds with a metal. Salts are water soluble; when dissolved, the ions are freed from each other, and the electrical conductivity of the water is increased. See more at complex salt double salt simple salt.

A colorless or white crystalline salt in which a sodium atom (the cation) is bonded to a chlorine atom (the anion). This salt is found naturally in all animal fluids, in seawater, and in underground deposits (when it is often called halite). It is used widely as a food seasoning and preservative. Also called common salt, sodium chloride, table salt. Chemical formula: NaCl.

Cultural definitions for salt

salt

In chemistry, a compound resulting from the combination of an acid and a base, which neutralize each other.

notes for salt

Common table salt is sodium chloride.

Idioms and Phrases with salt

salt

In addition to the idioms beginning with salt

salt away
salt of the earth, the

also see:

back to the salt mines
with a grain of salt

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

salt

noun

verb (used with object)

adjective

Verb Phrases

QUIZZES

FOR POSTERITY’S SAKE, TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Idioms for salt

Origin of salt

SYNONYMS FOR salt

OTHER WORDS FROM salt

Words nearby salt

Definition for salt (2 of 5)

adjective Obsolete.

Origin of salt

Definition for salt (3 of 5)

noun

Definition for salt (4 of 5)

noun

Definition for salt (5 of 5)

noun

Words related to salt

Example sentences from the Web for salt

British Dictionary definitions for salt (1 of 2)

noun

verb (tr)

adjective

Derived forms of salt

Word Origin for salt

British Dictionary definitions for salt (2 of 2)

n acronym for

Medical definitions for salt

n.

Scientific definitions for salt

Cultural definitions for salt

notes for salt

Idioms and Phrases with salt