Search

a crystalline compound, sodium chloride, nacl, occurring as a mineral, a const-tuent of seawater, etc., and used for seasoning food, as a preservative, etc.
table salt mixed with a particular herb or seasoning for which it is named:
garlic salt; celery salt.
chemistry. any of a cl-ss of compounds formed by the replacement of one or more hydrogen atoms of an acid with elements or groups, which are composed of anions and cations, and which usually ionize in solution; a product formed by the neutralization of an acid by a base.
salts, any of various salts used as purgatives, as epsom salts.
an element that gives liveliness, piquancy, or pungency:
anecdotes are the salt of his narrative.
wit; pungency.
a small, usually open dish, as of silver or gl-ss, used on the table for holding salt.
informal. a sailor, especially an old or experienced one:
he’s an old salt who’ll be happy to tell you about his years at sea.
to season with salt.
to cure, preserve, or treat with salt.
to furnish with salt:
to salt cattle.
to treat with common salt or with any chemical salt.
to spread salt, especially rock salt, on so as to melt snow or ice:
the highway department salted the roads after the storm.
to introduce rich ore or other valuable matter fraudulently into (a mine, the ground, a mineral sample, etc.) to create a false impression of value.
to add interest or excitement to:
a novel salted with witty dialogue.
containing salt; having the taste of salt:
salt water.
cured or preserved with salt:
salt cod.
inundated by or growing in salt water:
salt marsh.
producing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not sweet, sour, or bitter.
pungent or sharp:
salt speech.
salt away,

also, salt down. to preserve by adding quant-ties of salt to, as meat.
informal. to keep in reserve; store away; save:
to salt away most of one’s earnings.

salt out, to separate (a dissolved substance) from a solution by the addition of a salt, especially common salt.
rub salt in / into someone’s wounds, to make someone’s bad situation even worse.
with a grain / pinch of salt, with reserve or allowance; with an att-tude of skepticism:
diplomats took the reports of an impending crisis with a grain of salt.
worth one’s salt, deserving of one’s wages or salary:
we couldn’t find an -ssistant worth her salt.
l-stful; lecherous.
strategic arms limitation talks.
see under strategic arms limitation talks.
see under strategic arms limitation talks.
contemporary examples

shopping with levi johnston renata espinosa june 15, 2009
day 5: breaking news on osama bin laden’s death the daily beast may 5, 2011
those 12 million jobs michael tomasky october 15, 2012
dr. scarpetta heads to psych ward daily beast promotions february 22, 2009
how to survive a southern ice storm nicholas isabella february 12, 2014

historical examples

cooley’s cyclopdia of practical receipts and collateral information in the arts, manufactures, professions, and trades…, sixth edition, volume i arnold cooley
deerbrook harriet martineau
civic league cook book anonymous
diggers in the earth eva march tappan
the path of life stijn streuvels

noun
a white powder or colourless crystalline solid, consisting mainly of sodium chloride and used for seasoning and preserving food
(modifier) preserved in, flooded with, containing, or growing in salt or salty water: salt pork, salt marshes
(chem) any of a cl-ss of usually crystalline solid compounds that are formed from, or can be regarded as formed from, an acid and a base by replacement of one or more hydrogen atoms in the acid molecules by positive ions from the base
liveliness or pungency: his wit added salt to the discussion
dry or laconic wit
a sailor, esp one who is old and experienced
short for saltcellar
rub salt into someone’s wounds, to make someone’s pain, shame, etc, even worse
salt of the earth, a person or group of people regarded as the finest of their kind
with a grain of salt, with a pinch of salt, with reservations; sceptically
worth one’s salt, efficient; worthy of one’s pay
verb (transitive)
to season or preserve with salt
to scatter salt over (an icy road, path, etc) to melt the ice
to add zest to
often foll by down or away. to preserve or cure with salt or saline solution
(chem) to treat with common salt or other chemical salt
to provide (cattle, etc) with salt
to give a false appearance of value to, esp to introduce valuable ore fraudulently into (a mine, sample, etc)
adjective
not sour, sweet, or bitter; salty
(obsolete) rank or lascivious (esp in the phrase a salt wit)
noun acronym
strategic arms limitation talks or treaty
n.
v.
n.

salt
(sôlt)

note: common table salt is sodium chloride.

a sailor, esp an old and seasoned one (1840+)
heroin in powder form (1960s+ narcotics)

strategic arms limitation talks
strategic arms limitation treaty

salt away
salt of the earth, the