What does brine mean?
Brine is water that has been made intensely salty through the addition of large amounts of salt, typically enough to saturate it. Its most familiar role today is in the kitchen, where brines are used to cure and preserve foods such as olives, cucumbers, sauerkraut, ham, and corned beef, and where cooks brine meat to keep it moist during cooking. The word also refers, more broadly and often more poetically, to the salt water of the sea — a sense common in literature describing sailors, fishing, and life at sea. Brine functions chiefly as a noun, though a verb form meaning "to soak in brine" is well established in cookery. Derived adjectives such as "briny" extend the word's reach, evoking the sharp smell of ocean air. Practical, sensory, and steeped in maritime tradition, "brine" is a compact word that carries both technical precision and evocative force.
Water saturated or strongly impregnated with salt, used especially for preserving or pickling food.
"The cheesemaker stored the feta in a light brine to keep it tangy and moist."
This is the dominant modern sense.
The salty water of the sea.
"After decades at sea, he still loved the sting of brine on his skin."
Often literary or poetic.
To soak or cure food in brine.
"Brine the pork belly for two days before smoking it."
The plural is uncommon but legitimate, usually referring to different types or batches of salted solutions.
"Different regional recipes call for brines flavored with everything from dill to star anise."
Every olive, pickle, and corned beef you've ever loved took a long bath in brine before it ever reached your plate.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of brine
The word "brine" descends from Old English "brīne," referring to salt water, and belongs to the Germanic family of languages. Cognate or related forms appear in other early Germanic tongues, reflecting how central salted and sea water were to northern European life. It has carried its core meaning of heavily salted water essentially unchanged since the earliest records of English, later extending into both the culinary and figurative maritime senses we know today.
Related word forms
How brine is actually used
In everyday modern usage, "brine" most often appears in cooking contexts — brining poultry, curing olives, fermenting vegetables. The nautical sense of sea water is somewhat literary or old-fashioned but still understood. The verb form "to brine" is standard in culinary writing.
Easily confused with brine
"Brain" is the organ of thought in the head, while "brine" is strongly salted water — they differ only by one vowel sound.