salty

1 of 2

adjective

saltier; saltiest
1
a
: of, seasoned with, or containing salt
salty foods
b
: being, inducing, or marked by the one of the five basic taste sensations that is suggestive of seawater compare bitter entry 1 sense 1a, sour entry 1 sense 1, sweet entry 1 sense 1, umami entry 2
2
: smacking of the sea or nautical life
3
a
b
: earthy, crude
salty language
4
informal : feeling or showing resentment towards a person or situation : bitter
I completely forgot about our date and left my girlfriend waiting at the restaurant for over an hour. Now she's all salty.Nicole Lane
They made me shave my beard and cover up my tattoos, which I was a little salty about.Jon Niccum
saltily adverb
saltiness noun

salty

2 of 2

noun

: the taste sensation that is suggestive of seawater compare bitter entry 2 sense 1b, sour entry 2 sense 1b, sweet entry 3 sense 2, umami entry 1

Examples of salty in a Sentence

Adjective I think the soup tastes salty. salty sea water is safe to swim in, but you really shouldn't swallow it
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The salty air around the church, built in 1951, has proved corrosive, and decades of wear-and-tear have taken a toll. Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024 The aroma of dark fruits, campfire smoke and salty sea air comes wafting out of the glass almost as soon as it’s poured; those flavors translate to the palate, along with a light, tingly spice. Tony Sachs, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Flip-flops and salty hair are always welcome on the restaurant's generous front porch. Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 20 Feb. 2024 Meanwhile, Israel’s flooding of the tunnels under parts of the Gaza Strip with seawater risks killing remaining crops, leaving the land too salty and rendering it unstable and prone to sinkholes. Yara M. Asi, The Conversation, 15 Feb. 2024 Garten advises against adding too much salt because the Pecorino cheese (which goes in at the end) is quite salty itself. Christianna Silva, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Feb. 2024 Until then, the other big worry is how all of the underground stuff is faring in increasingly wet and increasingly salty conditions. Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024 Wrap this sweet bacon around a salty mini smoked hot dog and secure it with a toothpick for a perfect flavorful treat. Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 21 Feb. 2024 Savory, salty, spicy, sweet, sour: everything’s fair game during Snacky Hour. Ellen Fort, Saveur, 21 Feb. 2024
Noun
Start with a pinch and add more as needed, but stop before your drink starts tasting outright salty. Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 17 Aug. 2023 So add a little salty to all of your Easter sweets to keep with the lost tradition. Andrea Wurzburger, Peoplemag, 7 Apr. 2023 The Ravenous Pig Geisler describes the Rav Pig’s pretzel as salty-sweet. Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2023 Again, think about textures and flavors when adding the salty. Jais Tollette, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2022 The sweet accentuated the salty. Ben Cohen, WSJ, 27 Oct. 2022 It's got the salty from the fish sauce too. Gina Loveless, Men's Health, 3 May 2022 Her hair is long and blond and looks summer-camp salty. Amy Larocca, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2022 Sometimes, bur is split in half, the sambuus is placed inside and they are eaten together in a sweet-and-salty combo. Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'salty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1912, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of salty was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near salty

Cite this Entry

“Salty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salty. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

salty

adjective
saltier; saltiest
1
: seasoned with or containing salt : tasting of or like salt
2
: having the flavor of or suggesting the sea or things related to the sea
3
: racy entry 1 sense 2
a salty remark
saltiness noun

Medical Definition

salty

adjective
saltier; saltiest
: of, seasoned with, or containing salt
saltiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on salty

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