sausage
Americannoun
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minced pork, beef, or other meats, often combined, together with various added ingredients and seasonings, usually stuffed into a prepared intestine or other casing and often made in links.
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Aeronautics. a sausage-shaped observation balloon, formerly used in warfare.
noun
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finely minced meat, esp pork or beef, mixed with fat, cereal or bread, and seasonings ( sausage meat ), and packed into a tube-shaped animal intestine or synthetic casing
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an object shaped like a sausage
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informal aeronautics a captive balloon shaped like a sausage
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nothing at all
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of sausage
1400–50; late Middle English sausige < dialectal Old French sausiche < Late Latin salsīcia, neuter plural of salsīcius seasoned with salt, derivative of Latin salsus salted. See sauce, -itious
Compare meaning
How does sausage compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Sausage is a food made from meat that's minced or ground, flavored with seasonings, and encased in a thin skin. It's best not to think too much about what lives inside a sausage casing; just enjoy eating it. There are many kinds of sausage, some of which are sold raw, some cooked, and others smoked, cured, or dried. Traditionally, sausages have been a way to avoid waste, by using the less appealing parts of a butchered pig or cow, and a practical way to preserve meat so that it doesn't have to be cooked immediately or frozen. In the mid-fifteenth century, the word was spelled sawsyge, from a Latin root, salsus, or "salted."
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.
I liked the sausage and kale and look forward to making her blistered Jimmy Nardello pepper pizzas this summer.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
I used to order kale bites, which I’d eat with the meat from the sausage and egg sandwich, but they discontinued them so now I just get the sandwich.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
Breakfast options include the sausage McMuffin, sausage biscuit, sausage burrito, hash browns, and a medium coffee—all at under $3 each.
From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026
The protein shifted, too, from bacon to a combination that felt more complete: spicy pork sausage for depth, tender chicken breast for substance.
From Salon • Apr. 16, 2026
So I set the parcel with sausage on the table, smooth down my hair, and try to remember how to be a polite guest on a social call.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
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.
