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)
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
Clifton Fadiman
b
: sharpness of wit : pungency
c
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
salted; salting; salts
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
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
saltness
noun
obsolete
1
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
2
state and local taxes
Synonyms
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
Ashia Aubourg, Outside Online, 8 Nov. 2024
Season with a big pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
—Kelly Brant, arkansasonline.com, 6 Nov. 2024
Michelle L. Price, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2024
The cheese is salted and aged, with the temperature and humidity closely monitored throughout the process.
—Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2024
Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 8 Aug. 2024
Here, the country starts looking seriously poor—more salt scrub than sagebrush.
—Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2023
See all Example Sentences for salt 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Add in a pinch of salt (optional splash of vinegar) and bring to a boil 2.
—Ashia Aubourg, Outside Online, 8 Nov. 2024
Season with a big pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
—Kelly Brant, arkansasonline.com, 6 Nov. 2024
Verb
As reporters and aides watched, an employee showed Trump how to dunk baskets of fries in oil, salt the fries and put them into boxes using a scoop.
—Michelle L. Price, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2024
The cheese is salted and aged, with the temperature and humidity closely monitored throughout the process.
—Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2024
Adjective
The only seasonings in this corn casserole are salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper.
—Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 8 Aug. 2024
Here, the country starts looking seriously poor—more salt scrub than sagebrush.
—Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2023
See all Example Sentences for salt
Dictionary Entries Near salt
Cite this Entry
“Salt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salt. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
salt
1 of 3 noun1
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 adjective1
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 noun1
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
salt
2 of 2 adjective2
: 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
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
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