What does salt mean?
Salt most commonly means sodium chloride, the white crystalline substance used to season food and preserve it. It can also refer more broadly to chemical compounds produced by combining an acid with a base, including substances used in medicine, industry, and food processing. The word has figurative meanings connected with sharp wit, earthy character, and emotional bitterness. In everyday English, it is usually an uncountable noun, although countable forms occur in technical contexts. As a verb, “to salt” means to season or preserve something with salt. The word is common in British and American English and appears in established expressions such as “table salt,” “sea salt,” “salt shaker,” and “salt of the earth.” Its long history reflects salt’s importance as a food preservative, trading commodity, and source of flavor.
The common compound sodium chloride, used to season food and preserve it; more broadly, any of various chemical compounds consisting of an acid and a base.
"A little salt can improve the flavor of almost any soup."
Usually uncountable in everyday culinary use.
To season food with salt, or to preserve it by treating or covering it with salt.
"The chef salted the vegetables before roasting them."
Commonly transitive; “salt the water” and “salt the fish” are typical usage patterns.
The countable plural is uncommon in everyday culinary language but is used in technical contexts for different chemical salts or types of salt.
"The laboratory analyzed several salts found in the mineral samples."
Salt has been a prized commodity for thousands of years, so valuable that it was once used to pay people and even appears in the word “salary.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does salt come from?
The English word comes from Old English sealt, which continued a Germanic root represented in Old Saxon, Old Norse, and Middle Dutch forms of the word. English inherited the term through the Germanic languages, while the underlying word is also related to Latin sal, the source of related forms such as saline, salary, and salivate. The word has referred to the familiar seasoning substance for many centuries, and its related meanings developed from salt’s culinary, chemical, and figurative associations.
Related word forms
How salt is actually used
In ordinary culinary contexts, “salt” is normally an uncountable noun. Countable uses are mainly technical or specialized, such as referring to different chemical salts or different forms of salt. As a verb, it is commonly transitive, but can also be used intransitively in culinary contexts.
Easily confused with salt
Salt is the mineral compound sodium chloride, whereas salsa is a sauce made from ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, and peppers.