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to salt

to salt

2 7.4
To add small interesting details to something to make it more lively
  • verb
  • /sɔlt/
: salpicar
  • The director added some humor to the film by salting it with clever one-liners and unexpected twists.

Examples

  • In conversation, she salted her speech with allusions to movies and actors no one had ever heard of before.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • - Even I could salt fries.

  • Just salted it up, and it was good.

  • As the government rolls out increasingly shocking deficits, we react by salting away more money against the possibility of dark days.

    Blog text (9)
  • I stuffed into her purse the passbook to my bank account, in which I had salted away a fair sum of money since I earned well and spent little.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • To make the presentation more engaging, he decided to salt it with interesting anecdotes and visuals.

  • She spent hours salting the story with vivid descriptions to capture the reader's attention.

Synonyms

to spice
vsto salt
  • Informal
45 3.6

To make something more interesting and lively

adds subtle interest and small details rather than strong excitement
to sprinkle stardust
vsto salt
  • Literature
1 8.8

To add small magical details that make something feel special

adds subtle everyday interest and small details rather than magical effect

Idioms

worth salt
  • Informal
13 9.3

Good at what they do so people respect and trust them

12 6.1

A kind, honest, reliable person who helps others in their community

3 6.3

Something that makes an already bad situation worse

1 6.6

To make someone's bad feelings worse by reminding them of a disappointment

not worth salt
  • Informal
1 9.9

Having little or no value

worth one's salt
  • Informal
1 8.1

Good and able at a job so they deserve their pay or respect

below the salt
  • Archaic
9.9

To be in a lower social or work position and have other people treat you as less important

9.7

To share bread and salt to show friendship and trust

Phrasal Verbs

to salt away
  • Informal
1 6.7

To save money little by little to use later

Compounds

The capital of Utah near the Great Salt Lake and home to the main offices of the Mormon Church

14 1.0

A small container with holes in the top that you use to sprinkle salt on food

8 2.3

Large grains of salt from the ground used to melt ice or season food

A large shallow lake in northwestern Utah with very salty water

4 4.8

A flat area of land covered with salt after water dries

4 1.0

A white seasoning made from a common mineral to add flavor and keep food fresh

4 3.6

A white salt you put in warm water to soothe sore muscles, relieve constipation, or feed plants

3 4.4

A low coastal area flooded by seawater where plants can live in salty water

3 4.1

Pieces of fatty pork kept in salt that cooks use to add flavor

3 7.2

A series of talks between the US and the Soviet Union to limit nuclear weapons

3 6.5

A place where animals go to lick salt to get minerals

Salt mixed with herbs and spices to add flavor to food

2 2.8

Cod fish dried and kept in salt that you soak before cooking

2 1.0

A mixture of ground garlic and salt used to add flavor to food

2 7.7

An agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union to limit nuclear weapons

1 4.0

A place underground where people dig out salt for use

1 2.1

A salt mixed with ground celery seeds to add flavor to food

old salt
  • Informal
1 8.0

An older sailor who has spent many years at sea

1 3.8

Made with salt so meat or fish do not go bad

1 1.1

Salt mixed with dried onion that adds flavor to food

A way of eating that limits salt to help control high blood pressure

bile salt
  • Specialized
1 4.8

A substance in bile that helps break down fats so the body can digest them

1 3.9

A large flat area of land covered with salt after salt water dries

A white wheat bread made with bacteria that can grow in salty dough and a cornmeal starter

A way of eating that avoids salt to help lower blood pressure

1 4.8

Small white crystals that you add to food to make it taste sour

bread and salt
  • Literature
1 5.2

A welcome gesture offering bread and salt to guests

1 1.0

A white crystal used to season and preserve food

A cloth woven with light and dark threads to make a speckled look

ammonium salt
  • Specialized
1 4.8

A salt that forms when ammonia reacts with an acid and has an NH4+ part

salt depletion
  • Specialized
1 6.6

The body loses too much salt, causing muscle cramps and confusion

1 6.6

The activity of making salt from sea water or rocks

A person who makes or sells salt as their main business

A large flat area of salt and dry land in north central Iran, also called Dasht-e Kavir

salt mine
  • Informal
1 7.1

A joking name for a job or workplace where people do hard, boring work

covenant of salt
  • Literature
1 9.9

A serious promise that is meant to last forever, often used in old religious books

Rochelle salt
  • Specialized
1 7.2

A white crystal used as a mild laxative and in early electrical devices

Glauber's salt
  • Specialized
1 9.5

A white chemical in crystal form that people use as a laxative and in industry

dibasic salt
  • Specialized
6.5

A salt made by replacing two hydrogen atoms in an acid with metal atoms

double salt
  • Specialized
7.7

A solid made when two different salts form crystals together and shows some properties of each

Emser salt
  • Archaic
8.8

A natural salt used to rinse the nose and throat for breathing problems

8.9

A plant that grows in salt marshes and has small pale purple or white flowers

attic salt
  • Archaic
9.9

A kind of subtle, clever humor that feels literary and refined

9.9

A white salt that forms crystals in urine and helps test metal oxides

9.9

A salt from Bad Ems mineral waters that treats throat and nose infections

9.0

A plant with daisy-like flowers that lives in salt marshes and comes back each year

A plant with pink or white flowers that grows in salty wet ground

9.9

A spiny bush that grows in salty soil with silver leaves and pink flowers

Work of making salt from seawater or mines

A tall plant like a reed that grows in salty marshes and meadows

How Interesting

to transform
478 3.4
to spice up
  • Informal
38 3.9
to salt
2 7.4

Surface Forms

salt infinitive
salted past
salted past participle
salting present participle
salts third person singular

Etymology

To salt in the sense of adding interest comes from the cooking idea of sprinkling salt to improve flavor; a few small pieces can make a dish or story much better. So to salt your speech or writing is to add tiny, tasty details that make it more lively.