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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

As with the other foods, skip additives like butter and salt and serve them plain. —Melissa Rudy, Fox News, 25 Nov. 2023

All-purpose flour and cornmeal, baking soda, salt, and pepper make up the dry mix. —Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 24 Nov. 2023

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. —Florence O'Connor, Vogue, 22 Nov. 2023

Mix the oats, milk, spices and salt and pepper in a large bowl. —The View, ABC News, 22 Nov. 2023

Step 2 Make the crust: To a food processor, add the pecans, pine nuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt and pulse until the mixture resembles small pebbles. —Lois Ellen Frank and Walter Whitewater, Saveur, 22 Nov. 2023

Its products include mayonnaise, oil, salt, hot sauce and pasta sauce, as well as merchandise such as hoodies and spatulas. —Kamaron Leach, Fortune, 22 Nov. 2023

Any new med device founder worth their salt knows to apply to MTI: for the mentorship, but also for exposure to the most powerful companies in the industry. —Lizzy Lawrence, STAT, 21 Nov. 2023

The signature Nordic Circuit consists of alternating between hot and cold treatments at leisure, from the Finnish sauna to cold plunges, steam rooms, hot tubs, and salt lounges. —Zoe Baillargeon, Vogue, 15 Nov. 2023

Verb

Usually at the slaughterhouse, the isolated submucosa is salted to dry and preserve the casing. —Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 21 Nov. 2023

The study showed that people who frequently added salt to their meals were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people who rarely or never salted their food. —Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 15 Nov. 2023

Whereas each bite of a regular Saltine alternates between too salty and not salty enough, the one-bite mini is evenly and perfectly salted all around, likely thanks to its size. —Carey Polis, Bon Appétit, 13 Nov. 2023

Heat salted butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in preheated oven 5 minutes. —Pam Lolley, Southern Living, 10 Nov. 2023

Around the year 1000, the Vikings showed up to fish cod, then dry and salt it for transport across the Atlantic. —Nina Caplan, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2023

The mottled beans that are parboiled and salted, the toxic pokeweed cooked into tasty greens, the dumplings wrapped in hickory leaves and tied with stalks of rush — these, like the milkies, are meant to be shared. —Jacey Fortin Mike Belleme, New York Times, 21 Oct. 2023

Storage or disposal sites at Yucca Mountain in Nevada; the Lyons salt mine in Kansas; in Tennessee; and in New England and the Upper Midwest, have all been set adrift via the courts, Congress or in the court of public opinion over the past six decades. —Geoffrey H. Fettus, Scientific American, 18 Oct. 2023

To help set Rachel up for scallop success, Kendra and Chris gave a few more pointers: Pat the scallops dry, salt them before cooking, and then sear them almost entirely on one side before flipping to keep them from sticking to the pan. —The Bon Appétit Staff & Contributors, Bon Appétit, 28 Aug. 2023

Adjective

Here, the country starts looking seriously poor—more salt scrub than sagebrush. —Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2023

In addition to the obvious damage done to a vehicle’s upholstery and carpeting, floodwater is a corrosive and abrasive mixture of water and dirt (and sometimes salt) that works its way virtually everywhere within a vehicle. —Jim Gorzelany, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2023

At the center of the home’s grounds is a 82-foot swimming pool complete with eco-friendly salt-water filtration system. —David Kaufman, Robb Report, 22 Feb. 2023

After accounting for taxes and depreciation, depletion, and amortization costs, the company estimates its forward breakeven level of its pre-salt operations to be ~$20/barrel. —David Trainer, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2021

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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

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

See More

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

See More

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