a crystalline compound, sodium chloride, NaCl, occurring as a mineral, a constituent of seawater, etc., and used for seasoning food, as a preservative, etc.
table salt mixed with a particular herb or seasoning for which it is named: garlic salt; celery salt.
Chemistry. any of a class of compounds formed by the replacement of one or more hydrogen atoms of an acid with elements or groups, which are composed of anions and cations, and which usually ionize in solution; a product formed by the neutralization of an acid by a base.
salts,any of various salts used as purgatives, as Epsom salts.
an element that gives liveliness, piquancy, or pungency: Anecdotes are the salt of his narrative.
wit; pungency.
a small, usually open dish, as of silver or glass, used on the table for holding salt.
Informal. a sailor, especially an old or experienced one: He's an old salt who'll be happy to tell you about his years at sea.
verb (used with object)
to season with salt.
to cure, preserve, or treat with salt.
to furnish with salt: to salt cattle.
to treat with common salt or with any chemical salt.
to spread salt, especially rock salt, on so as to melt snow or ice: The highway department salted the roads after the storm.
to introduce rich ore or other valuable matter fraudulently into (a mine, the ground, a mineral sample, etc.) to create a false impression of value.
to add interest or excitement to: a novel salted with witty dialogue.
adjective
containing salt; having the taste of salt: salt water.
cured or preserved with salt: salt cod.
inundated by or growing in salt water: salt marsh.
producing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not sweet, sour, or bitter.
pungent or sharp: salt speech.
Verb Phrases
salt away,
Also salt down .to preserve by adding quantities of salt to, as meat.
Informal.to keep in reserve; store away; save: to salt away most of one's earnings.
salt out,to separate (a dissolved substance) from a solution by the addition of a salt, especially common salt.
Idioms for salt
rub salt in / into someone's wounds, to make someone's bad situation even worse.
with a grain / pinch of salt, with reserve or allowance; with an attitude of skepticism: Diplomats took the reports of an impending crisis with a grain of salt.
worth one's salt, deserving of one's wages or salary: We couldn't find an assistant worth her salt.
Origin of salt
1
First recorded before 900; (noun and adective) Middle English; Old English sealt; cognate with German Salz, Old Norse, Gothic salt, all from Germanic saltam; akin to Latin sal, Greek háls (see halo-), Slavic (Polish ) sol-, Celtic (Irish ) salann ; (verb) Middle English salten, Old English saltan, sealtan; compare Old High German salzan, Old Norse salta, Dutch zouten; akin to Latin sallere “to sprinkle with salt, salt”; see salary,sauce
First recorded in 1515–25; by shortening and alteration of assaut, Middle English a sawt, from Middle French a saut “on the jump,” from a- a-5 + saut “a jump,” from Latin saltus, equivalent to sal(īre) “to jump” + -tus suffix of verbal action
Whisk in the half and half and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season liberally with salt.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Remove from heat and stir in the walnuts, rum, powdered sugar, and salt until fully incorporated.
Carla Hall’s Christmas Day Treat: Rum Balls|Carla Hall|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rub the loin with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Make Carla Hall’s Roasted Pork Loin With Cranberries|Carla Hall|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He would have liked bread and salt, but was in no mood to grumble over his meal.
The Bungalow Boys North of Fifty-Three|Dexter J. Forrester
This species is found almost exclusively in salt marshes, where they skulk about like rats.
Bird Guide|Chester A. Reed
Sprinkle the salt over the top and cover with large cabbage leaves and then with a cheese-cloth wrung out of salt water.
Mrs. Wilson's Cook Book|Mary A. Wilson
With a little practice, salt rising bread becomes less work to make than hop yeast bread.
The Laurel Health Cookery|Evora Bucknum Perkins
Coals and salt, machinery and manufactured goods, can be distributed easily from the great towns that produce them.
Cheshire|Charles E. Kelsey
British Dictionary definitions for salt (1 of 2)
salt
/ (sɔːlt) /
noun
a white powder or colourless crystalline solid, consisting mainly of sodium chloride and used for seasoning and preserving food
(modifier)preserved in, flooded with, containing, or growing in salt or salty watersalt pork; salt marshes
chemany of a class of usually crystalline solid compounds that are formed from, or can be regarded as formed from, an acid and a base by replacement of one or more hydrogen atoms in the acid molecules by positive ions from the base
liveliness or pungencyhis wit added salt to the discussion
dry or laconic wit
a sailor, esp one who is old and experienced
short for saltcellar
rub salt into someone's woundsto make someone's pain, shame, etc, even worse
salt of the eartha person or group of people regarded as the finest of their kind
with a grain of saltorwith a pinch of saltwith reservations; sceptically
worth one's saltefficient; worthy of one's pay
verb(tr)
to season or preserve with salt
to scatter salt over (an icy road, path, etc) to melt the ice
to add zest to
(often foll by down or away) to preserve or cure with salt or saline solution
chemto treat with common salt or other chemical salt
to provide (cattle, etc) with salt
to give a false appearance of value to, esp to introduce valuable ore fraudulently into (a mine, sample, etc)
adjective
not sour, sweet, or bitter; salty
obsoleterank or lascivious (esp in the phrase a salt wit)
Any of a large class of chemical compounds formed when a positively charged ion (a cation) bonds with a negatively charged ion (an anion), as when a halogen bonds with a metal. Salts are water soluble; when dissolved, the ions are freed from each other, and the electrical conductivity of the water is increased. See more at complex saltdouble saltsimple salt.
A colorless or white crystalline salt in which a sodium atom (the cation) is bonded to a chlorine atom (the anion). This salt is found naturally in all animal fluids, in seawater, and in underground deposits (when it is often called halite). It is used widely as a food seasoning and preservative. Also called common salt, sodium chloride, table salt. Chemical formula: NaCl.