salad

noun

sal·​ad ˈsa-ləd 

1

: any of various usually cold dishes: such as

a

: raw greens (such as lettuce) often combined with other vegetables and toppings and served especially with dressing

b

: small pieces of food (such as pasta, meat, fruit, or vegetables) usually mixed with a dressing (such as mayonnaise) or set in gelatin

2

: a green vegetable or herb grown for salad

especially : lettuce

3

: a usually incongruous mixture : hodgepodge

Synonyms of salad

• medley
• variety
• assortment
• jumble
• collage

Examples of salad in a Sentence

For dinner we had roast chicken and a salad.

a salad of fresh greens

I tossed the salad with some oil and vinegar and set it on the table.

Would you like soup or salad with your sandwich?

Recent Examples on the Web

The menu is only two pages but covers a lot of diversified ground, offering burgers, sandwiches, steaks, salad, and pastas. —Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 6 Dec. 2025

Put out your best table cloth, the salad forks, the family china, the gravy boat. —Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 6 Dec. 2025

Serve up these cute shapes as a pasta salad appetizer at your next holiday party, or cook up a special macaroni dish for your next holiday movie night. —Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Dec. 2025

Top oatmeal, fruit salad, and French toast with a dash of nutmeg for a burst of nutty, sweet flavor. —Cristina Mutchler, Verywell Health, 5 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English salat, salade, borrowed from Middle French salade "dish of seasoned greens and herbs," borrowed from a medieval Upper Italian predecessor of modern dialectal (Piedmont) salada, salatta (Tuscan insalata) from salar "to add salt to, salt" (going back to Vulgar Latin *salāre, re-formation of Latin salīre, sallīre "to salt, preserve with salt," derivative of sal-, sāl "salt") + -ata, -ada -ade — more at salt entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing salad

• Caesar salad
• chef's salad
• Cobb salad
• corn salad
• garden salad
• Greek salad
• house salad
• house (salad) dressing
• salad bar
• salad cream
• salad days
• salad dressing
• salad greens
• salad oil
• tossed salad
• Waldorf salad
• word salad

Rhymes for salad

• ballad
• pallid
• valid

Kids Definition

salad

noun

sal·​ad ˈsal-əd 

1

: green vegetables (as lettuce) often with tomato, cucumber, or radish served with dressing

2

: a cold dish (as of meat, shellfish, fruit, or vegetables) usually prepared with a dressing