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.

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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

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Etymology

Origin of salt lick

An Americanism dating back to 1735–45

Example Sentences

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

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

From Washington Times • Aug. 30, 2020

A mad entomologist’s corner contains exquisite butterflies and beetles in shadowboxes, and a salt lick offers flavored salts and salted caramels by Jacobsen Salt Co., which harvests its mineral from the Oregon coast.

From Washington Post • Nov. 8, 2017

Steven Seagal—the human salt lick known for playing Steve Seagal in progressive early 90s Hollywood fare like Under Siege, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, and On Deadly Ground—is not a good person.

From Golf Digest • Sep. 27, 2017

Dey cotch de deer by makin' de salt lick, and uses a spring pole to cotch pigeons and birds.

From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves. Texas Narratives, Part 2 by Work Projects Administration