a substance used for washing and cleansing purposes, usually made by treating a fat with an alkali, as sodium or potassium hydroxide, and consisting chiefly of the sodium or potassium salts of the acids contained in the fat.
any metallic salt of an acid derived from a fat.
Slang. money, especially as used for bribery in politics.
Slang.Also soaper. soap opera.
verb (used with object)
to rub, cover, lather, or treat with soap.
Idioms for soap
no soap, Informal. no go: He wanted me to vote for him, but I told him no soap.
Origin of soap
before 1000; Middle English sope,Old English sāpe, cognate with German Seife,Dutch zeep, all <West Germanic (perhaps ≫ Latin sāpō;cf. saponify)
OTHER WORDS FROM soap
soapless,adjectivesoaplike,adjectiveo·ver·soap,verb (used with object)un·soaped,adjective
Words nearby soap
soaked to the skin, soakers, soak up, so-and-so, Soane, soap, soapbark, soapberry, soapberry family, soap boiler, soapbox
“We know that the virus is very sensitive to soaps and surfactants,” Turner says.
Treatments that target the coronavirus in the nose might help prevent COVID-19|Laura Sanders|September 14, 2020|Science News
Soap operas are only called soap operas because Procter & Gamble—the US personal care behemoth that makes, among many other products, bars of soap—produced a number of popular series in the 1950s and 1960s.
How to save TV ads from extinction|Adam Epstein|September 13, 2020|Quartz
At camp, all you need to set up an effective handwashing station is clean running water and soap.
A Dirtbag's Guide to Sanitation During a Pandemic|Maren Larsen|August 31, 2020|Outside Online
Using Virtue Foundation maps to figure out where they were most needed, they stationed the buckets around 62 Sissala East communities, along with locally made soap.
And just this week, reports surfaced that the regime recently executed 10 party officials for watching South Korean soap operas.
How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian State|Lizzie Crocker|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Like the soap operas of yore, Marvel has replaced major and minor characters in their films as necessary.
The Coming Civil War: Iron Man Vs. Captain America 3|Rich Goldstein|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Supplies of soap, bleach, or alcohol-based hand gel also were depleted.
$10,000 a Month for Ebola Fighters|Abby Haglage|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nonetheless, the pop provocateur that soap fans know by the mononym “Franco” has decided to unpack it.
James Franco and Scott Haze on 'The Sound and the Fury' and Gawker 'Outing' Them As A 'Couple'|Marlow Stern|September 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The show is as precisely plotted as a soap opera and beautifully lit; entirely, fatally addictive.
‘Made in Chelsea’ Has a New York Moment|Tim Teeman|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A soap for this purpose should be easily soluble in water and contain no free alkali, rosin or filler.
Soap-Making Manual|E. G. Thomssen
The roots are used as fuel; and their ashes make excellent ley for the manufacture of soap.
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. II|Robert Kerr
At that he started up, all streaky with soap and blood as he was, and must rush away on some errand.
Where the Pavement Ends|John Russell
Dodo dropped the soap which she had just rescued from the bottom of the cloudy water, and looked up with bright eyes.
Dodo's Daughter|E. F. Benson
Thirty feet from the door he slowed up, put on a nonchalant air, and strolling in, looked about for Castile soap.
The Financier|Theodore Dreiser
British Dictionary definitions for soap
soap
/ (səʊp) /
noun
a cleaning or emulsifying agent made by reacting animal or vegetable fats or oils with potassium or sodium hydroxide. Soaps often contain colouring matter and perfume and act by emulsifying grease and lowering the surface tension of water, so that it more readily penetrates open materials such as textilesSee also detergent Related adjective: saponaceous
any metallic salt of a fatty acid, such as palmitic or stearic acidSee also metallic soap
slangflattery or persuasive talk (esp in the phrase soft soap)
informal short for soap opera
US and Canadianslangmoney, esp for bribery
no soapUS and Canadianslangnot possible or successful
verb
(tr)to apply soap to
(tr often foll by up) slang
to flatter or talk persuasively to
US and Canadianto bribe
Derived forms of soap
soapless, adjectivesoaplike, adjective
Word Origin for soap
Old English sāpe; related to Old High German seipfa, Old French savon, Latin sāpō
A substance used for washing or cleaning, consisting of a mixture of sodium or potassium salts of naturally occurring fatty acids. Like detergents, soaps work by surrounding particles of grease or dirt with their molecules, thereby allowing them to be carried away. Unlike detergents, soaps react with the minerals common in most water, forming an insoluble film that remains on fabrics. For this reason soap is not as efficient a cleaner as most detergents. The film is also what causes rings to form in bathtubs. Compare detergent.