salt

1 of 5

noun

ˈsȯlt 

1

a

: a crystalline compound NaCl that consists of sodium chloride, is abundant in nature, and is used especially to season or preserve food or in industry

called also common salt

b

: a substance (such as Glauber's salt) resembling common salt

c salts plural

(1)

: a mineral or saline mixture (such as Epsom salts) used as an aperient or cathartic

(2)

: smelling salts

d

: any of various compounds that result from replacement of part or all of the acid hydrogen of an acid by a metal or a group acting like a metal : an ionic crystalline compound

2

: a container for salt at table

—often used in the phrases above the salt and below the salt alluding to the former custom of seating persons of higher rank above and those of lower rank below a saltcellar placed in the middle of a long table

3

a

: an ingredient that gives savor, piquancy, or zest : flavor

a people … full of life, vigor, and the salt of personality

—Clifton Fadiman

b

: sharpness of wit : pungency

c

: common sense

d

: reserve, skepticism see grain of salt

e

: a dependable steadfast person or group of people

—usually used in the phrase salt of the earth

4

: sailor

a tale worthy of an old salt

5

: keep sense 1

—usually used in the phrase worth one's salt

saltlike

ˈsȯlt-ˌlīk 

adjective

salt

2 of 5

verb

salted; salting; salts

transitive verb

1

a

: to treat, provide, or season with common salt

salt the food

salt a driveway

b

: to preserve (food) with salt or in brine

a supply of salted beef/fish

c

: to supply (an animal) with salt

the field where cattle are salted

2

: to give flavor or piquancy to (something, such as a story)

3

a

: to enrich (a mine) artificially by secretly placing valuable mineral in some of the working places

b

: to add something to secretly

salted the files with forged papers

also : to insert or place secretly

salted the mines along the road

4

a

: to sprinkle with or as if with a salt

b

: scatter, intersperse

salter

ˈsȯl-tər 

noun

salt

3 of 5

adjective (1)

1

a

: full of or containing salt : saline, salty sense 1a

salt tears

a salt solution

b

: being, inducing, or marked by the one of the five basic taste sensations that is suggestive of seawater : salty sense 1b compare bitter entry 1 sense 1a, sour entry 1 sense 1, sweet entry 1 sense 1, umami entry 2

2

: cured or seasoned with salt : salted

salt cod

3

: overflowed with salt water

a salt pond

4

: sharp, pungent

saltness noun

salt

4 of 5

adjective (2)

obsolete

: lustful, lascivious

SALT

5 of 5

abbreviation

ˈsȯlt 

1

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks

2

state and local taxes

Synonyms

Noun

• gob
• hearty
• jack
• jack-tar
• mariner
• navigator
• sailor
• sea dog
• seafarer
• seaman
• shipman
• swab
• swabbie [slang]
• swabby
• tar

Verb

• interlace
• intersperse
• interweave
• lace
• thread
• weave
• wreathe

Adjective (1)

• brackish
• briny
• saline
• salty

Examples of salt in a Sentence

Noun

The soup needs a little more salt.

Season the meat with salt and pepper.

Verb

The meat was preserved by being salted and smoked.

The city salted the roads after the snowstorm.

Adjective (1)

the oceans are salt water

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This tough, low-maintenance podocarpus tolerates salt, drought, and heat, and resists deer browsing. —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 25 Apr. 2025

Clouds form when water vapor condenses around tiny particles like dust or salt. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025

Verb

Just a few years before, the same newspaper instructed readers that salting watermelon was the best way to prepare the fruit.1 In South American and Latin cuisine, watermelon is commonly paired with chili powder and lime, as are apples, guava, and pineapples. —Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 26 Apr. 2025

Project 2025 is the product of political machinery that has sprung up around Trump that seeks to tear out the roots of American democracy and then salt the ground. —Garry Kasparov, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2025

Adjective

Lauren's house was wiped clean of all physical evidence, right down to stray hairs in her drain, which is really salt in the wound. —Sara Netzley, EW.com, 25 Feb. 2025

The only seasonings in this corn casserole are salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. —Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 8 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English sealt; akin to Old High German salz salt, Lithuanian saldus sweet, Latin sal salt, Greek hals salt, sea

Adjective (2)

by shortening & alteration from assaut, from Middle English, from Anglo-French en saut in rut

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective (2)

1598, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing salt

• bile salt
• common salt
• double salt
• Epsom salt
• garlic salt
• Glauber's salt
• grain of salt
• old salt
• pepper-and-salt
• pinch of salt
• Rochelle salt
• rock salt
• rub salt in/into someone's wounds
• rub salt in/into the wound
• salt-and-pepper
• salt away
• salt cedar
• salt dome
• salt flat
• salt gland
• salt grass
• salt lake
• salt lick
• salt marsh
• salt out
• salt pan
• salt pork
• salt water
• salt water taffy
• salt with
• sea salt
• table salt
• take (something) with a grain/pinch of salt
• the salt of the earth
• worth one's salt

Rhymes for salt

• alt
• fault
• gault
• halt
• malt
• sault
• vault
• walt
• asphalt
• assault
• basalt
• cobalt

Kids Definition

salt

1 of 3 noun

ˈsȯlt 

1

a

: a compound in the form of crystals that consists of sodium chloride and is used especially for seasoning or preserving food and in industry

called also common salt

b

: any of numerous compounds formed by replacement of part or all of the hydrogen of an acid by a metal or by a group acting like a metal

2

: an element that gives an appealing or enlivening quality to (as one's life)

3

: skepticism

—usually used in the phrases with a grain of salt and with a pinch of salt

4

: sailor

salt

2 of 3 verb

: to treat, preserve, flavor, or supply with salt

salt

3 of 3 adjective

1

a

: containing salt : saline, salty

salt water

b

: having or being one of the four basic taste sensations compare bitter sense 1, sour entry 1 sense 1, sweet entry 1 sense 1b

2

: prepared for use or seasoned with salt

salt pork

saltness noun

Medical Definition

salt

1 of 2 noun

ˈsȯlt 

1

a

: a crystalline compound NaCl that is the chloride of sodium, is abundant in nature, and is used especially to season or preserve food or in industry

called also common salt, sodium chloride

b

: a substance (as Glauber's salt) resembling common salt

c

: any of numerous compounds that result from replacement of part or all of the acid hydrogen of an acid by a metal or a group acting like a metal : an ionic crystalline compound

2

salts plural

a

: a mineral or saline mixture (as Epsom salts) used as an aperient or cathartic

b

: smelling salts

salt

2 of 2 adjective

1

: saline, salty

2

: being or inducing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is suggestive of seawater compare bitter, sour entry 1, sweet entry 1

Geographical Definition

Salt

geographical name

ˈsȯlt 

1

river 200 miles (322 kilometers) long in Arizona flowing west into the Gila River

2

river 100 miles (161 kilometers) long in north central Kentucky flowing into the Ohio River

3

river 200 miles (322 kilometers) long in northeastern Missouri flowing southeast into the Mississippi River