salty

[ sawl-tee ]

/ ˈsɔl ti /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR salty ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, salt·i·er, salt·i·est.

tasting of or containing salt; saline.

piquant; sharp; witty.

racy or coarse: salty humor.

of the sea, sailing, or life at sea.

Nearby words

Origin of salty

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at salt¹, -y¹

Related formssalt·i·ly, adverbsalt·i·ness, nouno·ver·salt·y, adjectiveun·salt·y, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for salty

But what about the screams, the salty puddles, and big empty packages of frozen fish lying on the ground outside the fence?
Activists: Moscow Sea Park Is ‘Torturing’ Its Orca Whales|Anna Nemtsova|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The wind blew dry, salty air from the former seabed far to the south and east.
The Aral Sea's Disappearing Act|Anna Nemtsova|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By the late 1990s the sea level dropped by 16 meters, leaving fishing boats and ships resting on the sandy and salty bottom.
The Aral Sea's Disappearing Act|Anna Nemtsova|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The buttery, nutty, and sweet and salty all work together to form a balance of flavors.
The Cronut Gives Way to the Penis Pretzel|Tim Teeman|August 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The chicken, fried in impeccably fresh peanut oil, is enveloped in a salty skin that peels away in bacon-rich strips.
Charlottesville Is Swimming in Finger Lickin’ Gas Station Fried Chicken|Jane & Michael Stern|May 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Water had to be hauled for miles, and it was muddy and salty, at that.
The Prairie Wife|Arthur Stringer
The fishermen themselves appear less picturesque and salty than they used to do.
A Poor Man's House|Stephen Sydney Reynolds
Font (F2) states that after having passed a "salty lagoon" (north of Irvington) they crossed five arroyos.
The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California|S. F. Cook
For a minute Betty looked blank, while Dotty consolingly remarked that the bacon would be salty enough anyhow.
Betty Lee, Sophomore|David Goodger (goodger@python.org)
As soon as she had shed them she was sorry, for it is not very comfortable to cry wet, watery, salty tears in freezing weather.
The Curlytops Snowed In|Howard R. Garis

British Dictionary definitions for salty

salty

/ (ˈsɔːltɪ) /

adjective saltier or saltiest

of, tasting of, or containing salt

(esp of humour) sharp; piquant

relating to life at sea

Derived Formssaltily, adverbsaltiness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for salty

salty

adj.

mid-15c., "tasting of salt, impregnated with salt," from salt (n.) + -y (2). Meaning "racy" is from 1866, from salt in the sense of "that which gives life or pungency" (1570s, originally of words or wit). Meaning "racy, sexy" is from 1866. U.S. slang sense of "angry, irritated" is first attested 1938 (probably from similar use with regard to sailors, "tough, aggressive," attested by 1920), especially in phrase jump salty "to unexpectedly become enraged." Related: Saltily.

salty

adjective, salt·i·er, salt·i·est.

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Nearby words

Origin of salty

Examples from the Web for salty

salty

adjective saltier or saltiest

salty