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

For items used less-frequently like bath salts and hair masks, store them in a drawer or cabinet and pull out as needed. —Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 20 June 2025

The resulting fragrance is Commune’s hero one and is used across its core products, including bath salts, body wash, body and hand cream, shampoo, and conditioner. —Angelina Villa-Clarke, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025

This 100% Turkish cotton set from one of our favorite bedding and bath brands would pair perfectly with her favorite bath salts and a book from her Goodreads wishlist. —Sarah Madaus, Architectural Digest, 17 Apr. 2025

During that time, emergency room personnel told of a continuing toll from aggressive, delusional patients brought in after ingesting synthetic drugs labeled as incense and bath salts. —Jimmy Lovrien, Twin Cities, 17 Dec. 2024

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)