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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
Richard Thomas came out carrying venison and beef sausage, banana nut bread, a dog toy and a jar of apple maple bacon jam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Pop star Olivia Rodrigo has told how she ended up only eating sausage rolls all day during a visit to a Welsh town.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
What you will find are the lovable supporting actors of the meat world: skirt steak, pork riblets, chuck roast, spicy sausage, the occasional coil of chorizo.
From Salon ● 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
According to Julia that's exactly what sausage rolls're made of.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
It follows a similar uproar in 2022 when Cracker Barrel faced online backlash from some customers after adding plant-based sausages to its breakfast menu.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
In the original 2009 paper, the concept was that any food which required some form of cooking—including bread, cured sausages, corn chips, etc.—would be considered an “ultra” processed food product.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026
Chef and co-owner Danny Castillo has earned national acclaim for his Texas-style smoked brisket, chickens, sausages and other meats informed by the ethnic backgrounds of his crew — white, Mexican, Argentine, Filipino and others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
Talk about two very different definitions of sausages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
She sent a giant box full of summer sausages, fancy cheeses, crackers, mints, and stuff.
From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle
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.
