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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

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Do you study our Words of the Day with great assiduity? See how many you remember from March 30 to April 5!

Question 1 of 7

transliterate

to remove or destroy all traces of.

to change (letters, words, etc.), into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language.

to explain in terms that can be more easily understood.

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

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

British Dictionary definitions for salt away (1 of 3)

salt away

less commonly salt down

verb

(tr, adverb) to hoard or save (money, valuables, etc)

British Dictionary definitions for salt away (2 of 3)

SALT

/ (sɔːlt) /

n acronym for

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks or Treaty

British Dictionary definitions for salt away (3 of 3)

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

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 away

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 away

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 away

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 away (1 of 2)

salt away

Also, salt down. Keep in reserve, store, save, as in He salted away most of his earnings in a bank account. This idiom alludes to using salt as a food preservative. [Mid-1800s]

Idioms and Phrases with salt away (2 of 2)

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

salt

noun

verb (used with object)

adjective

Verb Phrases

QUIZZES

THIS WEEK’S WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ IS POSITIVELY FELICIFIC

Idioms for salt

Origin of salt

SYNONYMS FOR salt

OTHER WORDS FROM salt

Words nearby salt

Words related to salt away

British Dictionary definitions for salt away (1 of 3)

less commonly salt down

verb

British Dictionary definitions for salt away (2 of 3)

n acronym for

British Dictionary definitions for salt away (3 of 3)

noun

verb (tr)

adjective

Derived forms of salt

Word Origin for salt

Medical definitions for salt away

n.

Scientific definitions for salt away

Cultural definitions for salt away

notes for salt

Idioms and Phrases with salt away (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with salt away (2 of 2)