salt
gb/sˈɔlt/ us/sˈɔlt/
A1
English
~ 2700
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A1
entity
1
White seasoning crystals
A white substance that makes food taste better and keeps it from going bad.
Usage pattern:
[someone] adds salt to [food]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'salt' with 'salty', using 'salt' as an adjective instead of the noun.
Synonyms
sodium chloride (The chemical name; used in scientific contexts rather than everyday speech.)
Antonyms
sugar (A common contrasting seasoning with a sweet taste instead of salty.)
Collocations
add salt
|sprinkle salt
|pinch of salt
|salt and pepper
|table salt
Themes
food
|cooking
|daily life
|food_drink
|daily_life
Examples
- She added a pinch of salt to the soup.
- The recipe calls for one teaspoon of salt.
- Too much salt can be bad for your health.
- He sprinkled salt over the fries.
- Table salt is often fortified with iodine.
Learner examples
- I put salt on my eggs.
- Please pass the salt.
- There is too much salt in this soup.
- Salt makes food taste better.
Noun
B1
entity
2
Chemical compound NaCl
A natural mineral made of sodium and chlorine, found in the sea and in rocks.
Synonyms
halite (The geological term for naturally occurring rock salt.)
Collocations
rock salt
|sea salt
|salt crystals
Themes
science
|chemistry
|nature
Examples
- Salt is extracted from seawater by evaporation.
- Rock salt is mined from underground deposits.
- Sea salt contains trace minerals in addition to sodium chloride.
Learner examples
- Salt comes from the sea.
- We can find salt in rocks.
- Salt is made of sodium and chlorine.
Verb
A2
action
3
Add salt to something
To put salt on food to make it taste better or last longer.
Usage pattern:
to salt [food]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use 'put salt' instead of the verb 'salt', though both are correct in casual use.
Synonyms
season (A broader term meaning to add spices or flavoring, not only salt.)
Antonyms
desalt (To remove salt from something, especially water.)
Collocations
salt the meat
|lightly salted
|heavily salted
Themes
food
|cooking
|food_drink
|daily_life
Examples
- Remember to salt the pasta water before boiling.
- She salted the steak generously.
- The fish was salted to preserve it for the winter.
Learner examples
- I salt my soup before eating it.
- Please salt the fries.
- They salted the fish to keep it fresh.
Noun
informal
B2
entity
4
Experienced tough person
A person who has done something for a long time and is strong or tough, often a sailor.
Synonyms
veteran (Applies to any experienced person, not just sailors.)
Collocations
old salt
Themes
people
|work
|travel
Examples
- The old salt told us stories about life at sea.
- He's a real salt—been fishing these waters for decades.
- You can learn a lot from an old salt like him.
Learner examples
- The old salt knows many sea stories.
- An old salt taught me how to fish.
- I met an old salt at the harbor.
Noun
technical
B2
entity
5
Compound from acid-base reaction
A substance made when an acid and a base mix together in a chemical reaction.
Synonyms
ionic compound (A broader term for compounds made of ions, not limited to salts.)
Collocations
neutral salts
|acid salts
Themes
science
|chemistry
Examples
- Sodium chloride is a common salt formed from hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide.
- Some salts are soluble in water, while others are not.
- The reaction produced a crystalline salt as a byproduct.
Learner examples
- Salt can be made when acid and base mix.
- Many salts dissolve in water.
- This reaction makes a type of salt.
Grammar
Dictionary form
salt
IPA
GB/sˈɔlt/
US/sˈɔlt/
Syllables & stress
salt (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (salt)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: salt
- Plural: salt, salts
Verb
- Base: salt
- 3rd Person Singular: salts
- Present Participle: salting
- Past: salted
Word family
Forms
salts
noun
salting
verb
salted
verb
Core family
salty
adjective A2
Related words
saltiness
noun
saltwater
noun
Negative and opposite forms
unsalted
adjective
Advanced or less common
saline
adjective
desalinate
verb
desalination
noun
Expressions
back to the salt mines
1/bˈæk tə ðə sˈɔlt mˈaɪnz/
idiom
informal
Return to hard work after break
To go back to doing hard or boring work after stopping for a while.
Examples
- Lunch is over—time to get back to the salt mines.
- After vacation, it was back to the salt mines for everyone.
worth one's salt
1/wˈɚθ wˈʌnz sˈɔlt/
idiom
informal
Competent and deserving respect
Good at your job and deserving respect or pay.
Examples
- Any teacher worth her salt knows how to handle difficult students.
- He's worth his salt as a mechanic—he fixed my car in no time.
rub salt in the wound
1/ɹˈʌb sˈɔlt ˈɪn ðə wˈund/
idiom
make a bad feeling even worse
To say or do something that makes someone feel even worse about a problem or hurt they already have.
Examples
- Losing the game was bad enough, but hearing them laugh was just rubbing salt in the wound.
- Losing the game was hard enough, but his comments afterwards really rubbed salt in the wound.
- Don't rub salt in the wound by talking about her mistake again.
- She didn’t need to rub salt in the wound by reminding him how much money he had lost.
- Publishing the story without asking her first rubbed salt in the wound.
salt of the earth
1/sˈɔlt əv ðə ˈɚθ/
idiom
literary
Good, honest, reliable person
A very good, honest, and dependable person.
Examples
- My grandmother was truly the salt of the earth—kind and humble.
- He's the salt of the earth, always ready to help others.
salt of the earth
2/sˈɔlt əv ðə ˈɚθ/
idiom
Kind, honest, good person(s)
A person who is very good, honest, and helpful.
Examples
- They’re the salt of the earth — always helping others.
- Farmers are often described as the salt of the earth.
take something with a grain of salt
1/tˈeɪk sˈʌmθɪŋ wˈɪθ ə ɡɹˈeɪn əv sˈɔlt/
idiom
not completely believe something
To not fully believe something you are told, because you think it may not be true or may be made bigger or better than it really is.
Examples
- You should take his promises with a grain of salt—he often exaggerates.
- You should take his promises with a grain of salt.
- I take all online reviews with a grain of salt.
- Take these early reports with a grain of salt until we have more facts.
- I’d take anything you read on that website with a grain of salt.