bath salts

plural noun

1

: a usually colored crystalline compound for perfuming and softening bathwater

2

: any of various synthetic illicit drugs with stimulant and sometimes hallucinogenic properties that are used (as by being injected or snorted) typically in the form of a white or brown crystalline powder

Examples of bath salts in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the episode, Meghan combined Epsom salt, Himalayan salt, arnica oil, and lavender oil to create the bath salts, inspiring many fans to try their own version. —Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 8 May 2025

If the guest room has its own bathroom, turn it into a spa getaway with fancy bath salts, face masks, and soothing lotions. —Lauren Thomann, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 May 2025

Think about it: Would a woman who makes her own bath salts and jams from scratch be satisfied with a color straight out of the bottle? —Ariana Yaptangco, Glamour, 13 Mar. 2025

This looks like setting up snacks, towels, and spa-like bath salts and tea bags for her guests. —Claire Hoppe Norgaard, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bath salts

• asphalts
• assaults
• basalts
• defaults
• exalts
• faults
• halts
• malts
• vaults
• waltz
• somersaults
• thunderbolts

Medical Definition

bath salts

noun plural

1

: a usually colored crystalline compound for perfuming and softening bathwater

2

: any of various synthetic, illicit, stimulant drugs that contain derivatives of cathinone (such as MDPV) and are typically sold as white or brown crystalline powders

Los Angeles County health officials warned Tuesday against the use of bath salts—the designer drug involved in a series of bizarre incidents and arrests—just one week after a new study charted a skyrocketing number of calls to U.S. poison control centers about the drug.

—Wesley Lowery, The Los Angeles Times

—sometimes singular

Although the man was later proven to not be under the influence of bath salt, the incident nonetheless brought the drug national attention.

—Lauren McGaughy, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana)