soda
Americannoun
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sodas
plural
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sodium, as in carbonate of soda.
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a drink made with soda water, flavoring, such as fruit or other syrups, and often ice cream, milk, etc.
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(in faro) the card turned up in the dealing box before one begins to play.
noun
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any of a number of simple inorganic compounds of sodium, such as sodium carbonate ( washing soda ), sodium bicarbonate ( baking soda ), and sodium hydroxide ( caustic soda )
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See soda water
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a fizzy drink
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the top card of the pack in faro
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slang something easily done; a pushover
Regionalisms
See soda pop.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of soda
1550–60; (< Italian ) < Medieval Latin < Arabic suwwādah kind of plant; compare Middle French soulde, soude
Explanation
In many parts of the U.S., soda is a sweet, fizzy drink. There are also some places where you'd call soda "pop," a "soft drink," or "Coke" instead. While you may think of soda as something you order to drink at a restaurant, soda is also used for unflavored carbonated water, or seltzer, and for baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate. There's also sodium carbonate, or "washing soda," which is an ingredient in powdered soap and used to make some types of glass. This kind of soda was originally used to carbonate water, which led to the use of soda to mean "carbonated drink."
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:
Periodically, the soft-spoken and generous man flies his Cessna into town to scavenge soda pop for a dozen or so cherubic Mennonite children on a nearby homestead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
But for me, the ruling brought to mind Klotz’s orange soda bath and empty boasts.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
It’s not an –ade, or a soda, mind you.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
To quote infectious disease expert Jake Scott of Stanford Medicine, “every vaccine given at a baby’s two-month visit adds up to about half a teaspoon. A 20-ounce soda bottle is more than 200 times that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
I wasn’t sure how he was going to get his boots back on, even after daubing the worst of the blisters with a paste made of baking soda.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
In a world where influencers warn of spiked cortisol levels and disrupted circadian rhythms, plenty of consumers are turning to prebiotic sodas, sugar-free beverages, and refreshers as substitutes.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
"Our results suggest that replacing sugar-sweetened sodas with unsweetened sparkling water may help lower the risk of enamel erosion," said Zulfiqar.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
McDonald’s frequently calibrates its machines to ensure the right amount of Coke syrup concentrate in its sodas to help retain their flavor even after ice cubes melted in the drinks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
For generations, the cream-coloured clubhouse located on Safdarjung Road has functioned as a discreet world of retired generals, senior bureaucrats and old business families conducting negotiations over whisky sodas and kebabs.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
Waters, we decided, since even sodas were beyond our means by then.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
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.
