saltier; saltiest
1
a
: of, seasoned with, or containing salt
salty foods
b
: being, inducing, or marked by the one of the five basic taste sensations that is suggestive of seawater compare bitter entry 1 sense 1a, sour entry 1 sense 1, sweet entry 1 sense 1, umami entry 2
2
: smacking of the sea or nautical life
4
informal
: feeling or showing resentment towards a person or situation : bitter
I completely forgot about our date and left my girlfriend waiting at the restaurant for over an hour. Now she's all salty.—
Nicole Lane
Nicole LaneThey made me shave my beard and cover up my tattoos, which I was a little salty about.—Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
: the taste sensation that is suggestive of seawater compare bitter entry 2 sense 1b, sour entry 2 sense 1b, sweet entry 3 sense 2, umami entry 1
Synonyms
Examples of salty in a Sentence
Adjective
I think the soup tastes salty.
salty sea water is safe to swim in, but you really shouldn't swallow it
Recent Examples on the WebMorgan Fischer, The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2024
Amanda’s seafood was the standout of the two, with Colicchio saying Dan’s tuile was salty and leek undercooked.
—Rachel Bernhard, Journal Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2024
The cast included Roseanne’s big-hearted husband Dan (Goodman), their three salty young children Becky (Lecy Goranson), Darlene (Sara Gilbert) and D.J. (Michael Fishman) as well as Roseanne’s erratic sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf).
—Jim Halterman, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
Or the time to take raw, shrink-to-fits swimming in the ocean, as my dad used to do in the ’60s, so that all that salty goodness can eat away at the indigo?
—Jane Herman, Vogue, 7 Apr. 2024
TikTok and other social media outlets have been flooded with videos of people putting their strawberries in salty water.
—Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 3 Apr. 2024
Therefore, a cheese like Tillamook Extra Aged requires powerful flavors to stand up to its salty and savoriness.
—Jillian Dara, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
For starters, this earthy young lady spices her everyday sentences with the saltiest of language.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2024
Further observations with the Galileo spacecraft in the 90s led researchers to suspect that underneath Europa's frozen shell of ice is a large salty ocean.
—Discover Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024
Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 17 Aug. 2023
So add a little salty to all of your Easter sweets to keep with the lost tradition.
—Andrea Wurzburger, Peoplemag, 7 Apr. 2023
The Ravenous Pig Geisler describes the Rav Pig’s pretzel as salty-sweet.
—Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2023
Again, think about textures and flavors when adding the salty.
—Jais Tollette, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2022
The sweet accentuated the salty.
—Ben Cohen, WSJ, 27 Oct. 2022
It's got the salty from the fish sauce too.
—Gina Loveless, Men's Health, 3 May 2022
Her hair is long and blond and looks summer-camp salty.
—Amy Larocca, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2022
Sometimes, bur is split in half, the sambuus is placed inside and they are eaten together in a sweet-and-salty combo.
—Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2021
Adjective
Rather than self-serve soft drinks or salty snacks, the bodega contains an artisan wine club with bottles featuring crisp, funky labels, $10 miso potato chip chocolate bars, a $24 bottle of olive oil, various colorful incense, sage and crystals.
—Morgan Fischer, The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2024
Amanda’s seafood was the standout of the two, with Colicchio saying Dan’s tuile was salty and leek undercooked.
—Rachel Bernhard, Journal Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2024
The cast included Roseanne’s big-hearted husband Dan (Goodman), their three salty young children Becky (Lecy Goranson), Darlene (Sara Gilbert) and D.J. (Michael Fishman) as well as Roseanne’s erratic sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf).
—Jim Halterman, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
Or the time to take raw, shrink-to-fits swimming in the ocean, as my dad used to do in the ’60s, so that all that salty goodness can eat away at the indigo?
—Jane Herman, Vogue, 7 Apr. 2024
TikTok and other social media outlets have been flooded with videos of people putting their strawberries in salty water.
—Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 3 Apr. 2024
Therefore, a cheese like Tillamook Extra Aged requires powerful flavors to stand up to its salty and savoriness.
—Jillian Dara, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
For starters, this earthy young lady spices her everyday sentences with the saltiest of language.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2024
Further observations with the Galileo spacecraft in the 90s led researchers to suspect that underneath Europa's frozen shell of ice is a large salty ocean.
—Discover Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024
Noun
Start with a pinch and add more as needed, but stop before your drink starts tasting outright salty.
—Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 17 Aug. 2023
So add a little salty to all of your Easter sweets to keep with the lost tradition.
—Andrea Wurzburger, Peoplemag, 7 Apr. 2023
The Ravenous Pig Geisler describes the Rav Pig’s pretzel as salty-sweet.
—Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2023
Again, think about textures and flavors when adding the salty.
—Jais Tollette, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2022
The sweet accentuated the salty.
—Ben Cohen, WSJ, 27 Oct. 2022
It's got the salty from the fish sauce too.
—Gina Loveless, Men's Health, 3 May 2022
Her hair is long and blond and looks summer-camp salty.
—Amy Larocca, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2022
Sometimes, bur is split in half, the sambuus is placed inside and they are eaten together in a sweet-and-salty combo.
—Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'salty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near salty
Cite this Entry
“Salty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salty. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
salty
adjective
saltier; saltiest
1
: seasoned with or containing salt : tasting of or like salt
2
: having the flavor of or suggesting the sea or things related to the sea
3
: racy entry 1 sense 2
a salty remark
saltiness
noun
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