soap
Americannoun
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soaps
plural
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a substance used for washing and cleansing purposes, usually made by treating a fat with an alkali, as sodium or potassium hydroxide, and consisting chiefly of the sodium or potassium salts of the acids contained in the fat.
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any metallic salt of an acid derived from a fat.
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Slang. money, especially as used for bribery in politics.
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Slang. Also soap opera.
verb (used with object)
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soaps,
present (3rd person singular)
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soaped,
past participle, past
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soaping
present participle
idioms
noun
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a cleaning or emulsifying agent made by reacting animal or vegetable fats or oils with potassium or sodium hydroxide. Soaps often contain colouring matter and perfume and act by emulsifying grease and lowering the surface tension of water, so that it more readily penetrates open materials such as textiles See also detergent
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any metallic salt of a fatty acid, such as palmitic or stearic acid See also metallic soap
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slang flattery or persuasive talk (esp in the phrase soft soap )
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informal short for soap opera
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slang money, esp for bribery
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slang not possible or successful
verb
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(tr) to apply soap to
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slang
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to flatter or talk persuasively to
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to bribe
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A substance used for washing or cleaning, consisting of a mixture of sodium or potassium salts of naturally occurring fatty acids. Like detergents, soaps work by surrounding particles of grease or dirt with their molecules, thereby allowing them to be carried away. Unlike detergents, soaps react with the minerals common in most water, forming an insoluble film that remains on fabrics. For this reason soap is not as efficient a cleaner as most detergents. The film is also what causes rings to form in bathtubs.
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Compare detergent
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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soapsimple
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soapssimple
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have soapedperfect
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has soapedperfect
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am soapingprogressive
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are soapingprogressive
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is soapingprogressive
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have been soapingperfect progressive
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has been soapingperfect progressive
Past
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soapedsimple
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had soapedperfect
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was soapingprogressive
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were soapingprogressive
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had been soapingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of soap
before 1000; Middle English sope, Old English sāpe, cognate with German Seife, Dutch zeep, all < West Germanic (perhaps ≫ Latin sāpō; cf. saponify)
Explanation
Soap gets bubbly and helps cut through dirt and oil. People use soap for cleaning things like clothes, dishes, hands, and bodies. Don’t bother washing your mouth out with soap, though. It doesn’t get rid of bad words. If you ask a chemist about soap, she'll call it a surfactant, a substance that reduces the surface tension of a liquid, making it spreadable. Think of what happens when you lather up a bar of soap under running water and wash your hands with the lather. Soap is made out of natural fats or oils mixed with lye. The Old English root, sape, originally referred to the red hair dye Germanic warriors used to appear scarier.
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:
For best drama actress, Rosen says it will be a race between "Pluribus" star Rhea Seehorn and Keri Russell for political soap opera "The Diplomat."
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
ABC News learned of Coca-Cola’s retreat and interrupted a daytime soap opera, “General Hospital,” to break the news.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
She got her chance in 1997 after quitting her role as builder's apprentice Beth Brennan in Aussie soap Neighbours.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
Then came paper towels, Method cleaner, dish soap, lime sparkling water and grapefruit-scented antibacterial wipes.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
We used Fab laundry detergent to wash our hair because soap and shampoo were too mild to cut the sulfur and oil in the water.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
While her parents worked, she and her brother watched a lot of TV, sitcoms like “Diff’rent Strokes” and “Small Wonder” and soaps like “Dynasty” and “Dallas.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
In those studies, the researchers developed approaches for converting other types of plastic waste into surfactants used in products such as soaps and detergents.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026
The soaps and fragrances retailer logged higher profit in the quarter after its digital business returned to growth for the first time in five years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The executive aims to modernize the Columbus, Ohio-based retailer of fragrances, scented candles, body creams and decorative soaps through an expanded digital presence, refreshed product mix and more-creative marketing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Instead of the kitchen soap I usually used, I helped myself to Hattie’s store of bath oils and fragrant soaps.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
“In the stables, the Queen’s horses were again at the ready, coats groomed, saddles and bridles soaped and stirrups polished,’’ Dimbleby wrote.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2022
Rhoda soaped a washcloth and began to scrub beneath the folds of her daughter’s skin.
From New York Times ● Jan. 21, 2015
Actually, according to the Post, he “took some large metal pans that did not appear to be dirty, soaped them up and rinsed them…as the cameras clicked and the TV cameras rolled.”
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2012
The tune "Sticky Situation," for instance, mushrooms into the spectacle of a half-dozen boys getting their mouths soaped by moms.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 10, 2010
In the shower he stood under the pounding spray for a long time after he’d soaped and rinsed off.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
He worked six days a week, hosing down cars, soaping them up and vacuuming inside.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2025
Exuberant young men splashing around in a pool with one theatrically soaping himself as a crowd cheered.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2024
Set up an assembly line from soaping and scrubbing to rinsing to drying.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
Doing it while a shower is running and then soaping up, thus creating a steamy-sudsy environment, would be even better for masking the odors your body produces.
From Slate ● May 25, 2020
“She’s weak from the blerry flies. I suppose you’ll want to baptize the baby,” Dr. van Heerden said, soaping his hands as he prepared to deliver the calf.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
