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salt lick

American  

noun

  1. a place to which animals go to lick naturally occurring salt deposits.

  2. a block of salt or salt preparation provided, as in a pasture, for cattle, horses, etc.


salt lick British  

noun

  1. a place where wild animals go to lick naturally occurring salt deposits

  2. a block of salt or a salt preparation given to domestic or farm animals to lick

"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

Etymology

Origin of salt lick

An Americanism dating back to 1735–45

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.

See Examples For:

In 2021, Seattle artist Aurora San Miguel made a salt lick shaped like one of the Elemental Stones seen in the 1997 science fiction film “The Fifth Element.”

From Seattle Times Aug. 29, 2023

You'll end up with a real salt lick.

From Salon Jan. 21, 2023

Their three-bed cabin was reached by a rickety ladder and built into the branches of an ancient fig tree, overlooking a waterhole and salt lick.

From Washington Post Feb. 4, 2022

Mountain goats, searching for salt, lick the rocks and dig in the dirt where humans have peed.

From Washington Times Aug. 30, 2020

There is still another method of night hunting by the salt lick.

From Camp Life in the Woods and the Tricks of Trapping and Trap Making by Gibson, William Hamilton

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