soap

American  

[sohp] / soʊp /

noun

1. 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.

2. any metallic salt of an acid derived from a fat.

3. Slang. money, especially as used for bribery in politics.

4. Slang. Also soap opera.

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verb (used with object)

1. to rub, cover, lather, or treat with soap.

idioms

1. no soap, no go.

   He wanted me to vote for him, but I told him no soap.

soap British  

/ səʊp /

noun

1. 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

2. any metallic salt of a fatty acid, such as palmitic or stearic acid See also metallic soap

3. slang flattery or persuasive talk (esp in the phrase soft soap )

4. informal short for soap opera

5. slang money, esp for bribery

6. slang not possible or successful

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verb

1. (tr) to apply soap to

2. slang

   1. to flatter or talk persuasively to

   2. to bribe

soap Scientific  

/ sōp /

1. 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.

2. Compare detergent

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soap More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing soap

• no dice (soap)
• on one's soapbox
• soft soap

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Other Word Forms

• oversoap
  verb (used with object)
• soapless
  adjective
• soaplike
  adjective
• unsoaped
  adjective

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

"Musk was creating noise around this lawsuit but ultimately it was more of a soap opera than a long-term negative for OpenAI," he added.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

Goodrem, who is known to UK TV fans for her role in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, is one of the biggest-selling female artists in her home country.

From BBC • May 14, 2026

Harmon left the soap in 1978, but returned in the early 1990s to play a lawyer representing Cathy’s rival Viki Lord.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

First, a soapy sponge—nothing fancy, just one of the cheap ones, sudsed up with a dish soap that smells good.

From Salon • May 5, 2026

I know from experience that it smells way better than that nasty institutional soap.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

Related Words

• detergent
• soapsuds