salt

¹salt

noun \ˈsȯlt\

Definition of SALT

1

a : a crystalline compound NaCl that consists of sodium chloride, is abundant in nature, and is used especially to season or preserve food or in industry —called also common salt

b : a substance (as Glauber's salt) resembling common salt

c plural (1) : a mineral or saline mixture (as Epsom salts) used as an aperient or cathartic (2) : smelling salts

d : any of various compounds that result from replacement of part or all of the acid hydrogen of an acid by a metal or a group acting like a metal : an ionic crystalline compound

2

: a container for salt at table —often used in the phrases above the salt and below the salt alluding to the former custom of seating persons of higher rank above and those of lower rank below a saltcellar placed in the middle of a long table

3

a : an ingredient that gives savor, piquancy, or zest : flavor <a people…full of life, vigor, and the salt of personality — Clifton Fadiman>

b : sharpness of wit : pungency

c : common sense

d : reserve, skepticism —usually used in the phrases with a grain of salt and with a pinch of salt

e : a dependable steadfast person or group of people —usually used in the phrase salt of the earth

4

: sailor <a tale worthy of an old salt>

5

: keep 3 —usually used in the phrase worth one's salt

— salt·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

Examples of SALT

1. The soup needs a little more salt.
2. Season the meat with salt and pepper.

Origin of SALT

Middle English, from Old English sealt; akin to Old High German salz salt, Lithuanian saldus sweet, Latin sal salt, Greek hals salt, sea

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to SALT

Synonyms

gob, hearty, jack, jack-tar, mariner, navigator, sailor, sea dog, seafarer, seaman, shipman, swab, swabbie (also swabby) [slang], tar

Related Words

coxswain, crewman, deckhand, shipmate; able-bodied seaman, able seaman, lubber; powerboater, sailboater; lime-juicer [slang], limey [slang]

Other Chemical Engineering Terms

alkali, cation, decant, hygroscopic, isotope, oxidize, slurry, solute, viscous

Rhymes with SALT

Balt, fault, gault, halt, malt, Olt, smalt, vault, volt

²salt

transitive verb

Definition of SALT

1

a : to treat, provide, or season with common salt

b : to preserve (food) with salt or in brine

c : to supply (as an animal) with salt

2

: to give flavor or piquancy to (as a story)

3

a : to enrich (as a mine) artificially by secretly placing valuable mineral in some of the working places

b : to add something to secretly <salted the files with forged papers>; also : to insert or place secretly <salted the mines along the road>

4

a : to sprinkle with or as if with a salt

b : scatter, intersperse

— salt·er \ˈsȯl-tər\ noun

Examples of SALT

1. The meat was preserved by being salted and smoked.
2. The city salted the roads after the snowstorm.

First Known Use of SALT

before 12th century

Related to SALT

Synonyms

interlace, intersperse, interweave, lace, thread, weave, wreathe

Related Words

insert, intermingle, mingle, mix; alternate, juxtapose; amalgamate, assimilate, blend, combine, commingle, embody, fuse, incorporate, integrate, merge

Other Food Terms

Reuben, calamari, chuck, curry, edamame, foie gras, hummus, leaven, nonpareil, peel

³salt

adjective

Definition of SALT

1

a : saline, salty

b : being or inducing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is suggestive of seawater — compare bitter, sour, sweet

2

: cured or seasoned with salt : salted <salt cod>

3

: overflowed with salt water <a salt pond>

4

: sharp, pungent

— salt·ness noun

First Known Use of SALT

before 12th century

Other Food Terms

Reuben, calamari, chuck, curry, edamame, foie gras, hummus, leaven, nonpareil, peel

⁴salt

adjective

Definition of SALT

obsolete

: lustful, lascivious

Origin of SALT

by shortening & alteration from assaut, from Middle English, from Anglo-French en saut in rut

First Known Use: 1598

SALT

abbreviation

Definition of SALT

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

Salt

geographical name \ˈsȯlt\

Definition of SALT

1

river 200 miles (322 kilometers) Arizona flowing W into the Gila

2

river 100 miles (161 kilometers) N cen Kentucky flowing into Ohio River

3

river 200 miles (322 kilometers) NE Missouri flowing SE into Mississippi River

salt

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Chemical compound formed when the hydrogen of an acid is replaced by a metal or its equivalent, such as ammonium (NH). Typically, an acid and a base react to form a salt and water. Most inorganic salts ionize (see ion) in water solution. Sodium chloride—common table salt—is the most familiar salt; sodium bicarbonate (bicarbonate of soda), silver nitrate, and calcium carbonate are others.