salsa

noun sal·sa \ ˈsȯl-sə , ˈsäl- \

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Definition of salsa

1 : a usually spicy sauce of chopped tomatoes, onions, and peppers that is commonly served with Mexican food; also : a similar sauce made with a main ingredient other than tomatoes

peach salsa

2 : popular music of Latin American origin that has absorbed characteristics of rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock

See salsa defined for English-language learners

See salsa defined for kids

Examples of salsa in a Sentence

The band was playing salsa.
We're taking classes in salsa.

Recent Examples of salsa from the Web

There's guacamole in several variations or chips and salsa.

— polly campbell, Cincinnati.com, "Condado Tacos a natural fit at The Banks. Here are our recommendations.," 29 June 2018
The United States gave Cuba baseball, clothing styles, and new musical genres; Cuba gave the United States its style of salsa.

— shanna baker, Smithsonian, "The Quest to Preserve the Last of Castro’s Crocodiles," 21 June 2018
Johnnie Young, a general manager at Duffy’s in Deerfield Beach, brought more than 100 wings, sandwiches, chips and salsa for Broward Health North hospital staff, the victims and their families.

— chabeli herrera and sarah blaskey, miamiherald, "Broward hospitals had just run an active shooter drill — then they faced the real thing," 15 Feb. 2018
The asada was straightforward, enlivened by a squeeze of simple salsa.

— alex kiesig, idahostatesman, "'I love this city': Eat your way through the Capital City Public Market," 6 July 2018
Today's recipes features grilled salmon served with a nice summer salsa that includes another healthful fat: avocados.

— susan selasky, Detroit Free Press, "Full of healthful fat, salmon is one of the easiest fish to grill," 24 June 2018
The Baked chili salmon with pineapple mango salsa is limited to catering menus.

— claire perez, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Just in time for mango season: Bahia Mar's baked salmon recipe," 8 June 2018
Over his renowned career, Eddie Palmieri has evolved from rebel Mambo King to wise sage of salsa.

— deborah ramírez, miamiherald, "Eddie Palmieri brings his 'Wisdom' to Miami's Olympia Theater | Miami Herald," 24 May 2018
Originally an offshoot of the New York City program that spawned the 2005 documentary Mad Hot Ballroom, the Conga Kids curriculum has since been crafted to suit L.A. by eliminating waltz and replacing it with salsa.

— gwynedd stuart, Los Angeles Magazine, "Next School Year, This Local Program Will Teach 10,000 Kids to Dance," 22 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'salsa.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of salsa

Spanish, literally, sauce, from Latin, feminine of salsus salted — more at sauce

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1962

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

SALSA Defined for English Language Learners

salsa

noun

Definition of salsa for English Language Learners

: a spicy sauce made with tomatoes, onions, and hot peppers that is commonly served with Mexican food
: a type of popular Latin-American music
: dancing that is done to salsa music