salt

Universal Words noun, verb, adjective noun 1 [U] a white substance that is added to food to give it a better flavour or to preserve it. Salt is obtained from mines and is also found in sea water. It is sometimes called common salt to distinguish it from other chemical salts. SYNSODIUMCHLORIDE: Pass the salt, please. * a pinch of salt (= a small amount of it) * Season with salt and pepper. * sea salt seealsoROCKSALT 2 [C] (chemistry) a chemical compound of a metal and an acid: mineral salts seealsoEPSOMSALTS 3 (salts) [pl.] a substance that looks or tastes like salt: bath salts (= used to give a pleasant smell to bath water) seealsoSMELLINGSALTS IDIOMS the salt of the earth a very good and honest person that you can always depend on moreatDOSEn., PINCHn., RUBv., WORTHadj. verb [VN] 1 [usuallypassive] to put salt on or in food: salted peanuts * a pan of boiling salted water 2 ~ sth (down) to preserve food with salt: salted fish * We salted down a large crop of beans last year. 3 to put salt on roads to melt ice or snow PHRASALVERBS salt sth<->away to save sth for the future, secretly and usually dishonestly: She salted away the profits in foreign bank accounts. adjective [onlybeforenoun] containing, tasting of or preserved with salt: salt water * salt beef