salt
/sɑlt/
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.60 in modern English
Meaning
noun
A common substance, chemically consisting mainly of sodium chloride (NaCl), used extensively as a food ingredient, seasoning, condiment, and preservative.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
One of the compounds formed from the reaction of an acid with a base, where a positive ion replaces a hydrogen of the acid.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A sequence of random data added to plain text data (such as passwords or messages) prior to encryption or hashing, in order to make brute force decryption more difficult.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A person who seeks employment at a company in order to (once employed by it) help unionize it.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonyms: table salt, rock salt, road salt"
- "Take gode almaunde mylke y-draw wyth wyn, an let hem boyle to-gederys, an caste þer-to Safroun an Salt; […]"
- "Common salt, chloride of sodium, appears to be essential to the life of the higher animals."
- "Nando was pierced with grief, but he didn't allow himself to cry. Tears, he knew, would cost his body salt. Without salt, you die."
- "Here’s a grocery list of foods Chestnut has eaten competitively, drawn from his Major League Eating bio: apple pie, asparagus, boysenberry pie, brats, burritos, chicken spiedies (a kind of sandwich), chicken wings, chili, corned beef sandwiches, eggs, fish tacos, funnel cake, grilled cheese sandwiches, gyoza, Krystal hamburgers, horseshoe sandwiches, hot dogs, ice cream, jalapeno poppers, kolaches, pastrami sandwiches, Philly cheesesteaks, pierogi, pizza, pork ribs, pulled pork, poutine, salt potatoes, shrimp, tacos, tamales, turkey and Twinkies."
- "Around the door are generally to be seen, laughing and gossiping, clusters of old salts."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: salt, sealt, *salt, *saltą, *sḗh₂l, Selte
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /sɑlt/
- British English: /sɒlt/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Law.