What does salad mean?
Salad is a word for a dish of vegetables, most often raw leafy greens, served with oil, vinegar, herbs, or another dressing. It can also refer to the greens used in such a dish, and the meaning extends to mixed cold dishes such as fruit salad. In everyday conversation, salad is usually a count noun: one can serve a salad, order a salad, or prepare several salads. The word is used in both formal and informal registers, with the most familiar associations involving freshness, simple ingredients, and healthy eating. Although salad commonly denotes a specific dish, its broader meaning allows it to cover arranged vegetables or lightly dressed mixtures that do not fit a single recipe. The term is especially common in expressions involving bowls, sides, tossing, and familiar salad varieties such as Caesar salad.
nounA dish of vegetables, especially raw leafy greens, served with a dressing or seasoning. The word can also refer more broadly to a cold dish in which vegetables, fruit, or other ingredients are mixed and lightly dressed.
- A dish of vegetables, especially raw leafy greens, served with a dressing or seasoning.
- The vegetables or leafy greens used to make such a dish.
- A cold or lightly dressed mixture of vegetables, fruit, or other ingredients, as in fruit salad.
"She served a fresh green salad with lemon and olive oil."
"We tossed a garden salad with cucumber, tomatoes, and a light vinaigrette."
"The fruit salad was made with apples, oranges, berries, and fresh mint."
The regular plural is salads. Use “a salad” for one dish or serving and “salads” for multiple dishes, varieties, or servings.
"The caterer prepared several salads for the picnic."
The word salad literally points to salt: it comes from a Latin term meaning a salted dish.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of salad
The English word salad comes through French salade, from Latin salata, meaning a salted dish and ultimately from salare, to season or salt. Its history reflects the importance of salt in preserving and preparing vegetables. The older English form sallet comes from the same French source and survives chiefly as an archaic or literary word.
How salad is actually used
In everyday English, salad usually refers to a dressed mixture of vegetables, especially leafy greens. In British English, salad can also mean the vegetables themselves, while in American English the word commonly emphasizes the complete prepared dish.
Easily confused with salad
A salad is a dish of vegetables or other ingredients, while salsa is a sauce or relish made from chopped ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, and peppers.