salve
1 Americannoun
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a medicinal ointment for healing or relieving wounds and sores.
-
anything that soothes, mollifies, or relieves.
verb (used with object)
verb (used with or without object)
interjection
noun
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an ointment for wounds, sores, etc
-
anything that heals or soothes
verb
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to apply salve to (a wound, sore, etc)
-
to soothe, comfort, or appease
Etymology
Origin of salve1
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun salve, salwe, salf(e), Old English sealf, salf; cognate with German Salbe “ointment, salve,” Sanskrit sarpís “melted butter, fat”; verb derivative of the noun
Origin of salve2
First recorded in 1700–10; back formation from salvage
Origin of salve3
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin salvē! literally, “be in good health!”; cf. salute
Explanation
A salve is something that soothes. You can use an ointment as a salve for an itchy rash, or maybe your kind words can act as a salve to comfort a heartsick friend. In some parts of the world, people pronounce salve the way it's spelled, but in the U.S. the correct pronunciation has a silent L. You can use this word for things that make people feel better — not just ointment: "A hot cup of tea is a salve for me." And you can also use it as a verb: "The nurse will salve your wounds now." Salve comes from a Proto-Indo-European root that means "fat" or "butter."
Vocabulary lists containing salve
Much Ado About Nothing
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The Diary of a Young Girl
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Fallen Angels
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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.
But these interventions appear to be no salve for investors.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
Cheaper money is always a salve for the economy.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 23, 2025
More than that, some are betting that AI and robotics will be the salve to our nation’s debt troubles.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025
Brazil is also a major source of beef exports to the U.S., a salve at a time when meat prices are driving inflation.
From Slate • Jul. 14, 2025
Mama and I were back in the house and I was rubbing some Raleigh salve on my henpecked hands when I thought of my little sister.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
