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Glite Dictionary
saltshaker

saltshaker

2 1.0
A small container with holes in the top used to shake salt onto food
  • noun
  • /ˈsɔltˌʃeɪkər/
translation icon : salero
  • The restaurant provided each table with a saltshaker and a pepper grinder.
  • fill my saltshaker
  • saltshaker with sugar

Examples

  • She reached for the saltshaker to add some flavor to her dinner.

  • But imagine what the world used to be like before saltshakers became ubiquitous.

    Academic text (1991)

  • A lull falls over the conversation, hands fiddling with cutlery, with napkins, reaching out for the saltshaker, the pepper, the quietly oozing pans of my chef d'oeuvre.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • He accidentally knocked over the saltshaker, spilling salt everywhere.

Synonyms

salt shaker
vssaltshaker
7 1.0

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

is the single-word modern form of the same item
saltcellar
vssaltshaker
  • Archaic
1 8.1

A small dish with a lid for holding salt

is a perforated top container used for sprinkling salt rather than a covered dish

How Big

dispenser
25 3.5
saltshaker
2 1.0
saltcellar
  • Archaic
1 8.1

Surface Forms

saltshaker singular
saltshakers plural

Morphology

saltshaker = salt + shaker (transparent) = salt + shake + er

A straightforward compound of 'salt' + 'shaker' (where 'shaker' = 'shake' + '-er'), so the meaning is directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

The word saltshaker is made from salt ('seasoning') and shaker ('something you shake'). So a saltshaker is simply a small container you shake to sprinkle salt on your food.