1
- （亦作common salt）[mass noun] a white crystalline substance which gives seawater its characteristic taste and is used for seasoning or preserving food盐, 食盐。
1.1
- Alternative name: sodium chloride; chem. formula: NaCl.又名： sodium choride氯化钠; 化学分子式： NaCl.
1.2
- poetic/literary something which adds freshness or piquancy〈诗/文〉风趣; 兴味; 俏皮; 刺激性：
he described danger as the salt of pleasure.
他把危险风趣地描写成乐趣。
1.3
- count noun a salt cellar盐瓶, 盐碟：
a turned beech salt.
一个造型美观的山毛榉盐瓶。
2
- Chemistry any chemical compound formed from the reaction of an acid with a base, with all or part of the hydrogen of the acid replaced by a metal or other cation【化】盐。
3
- （一般作old salt）informal an experienced sailor〈非正式〉有经验的水手, 老水手。
attrib.
1
- impregnated with, treated with, or tasting of salt含盐的; 咸的; 腌的, 用盐处理过的; 加盐调味的：
salt water
盐水
salt beef.
腌牛肉。
2
- (of a plant) growing on the coast or in salt marshes（植物）海生的; 生长于盐沼的。
with obj.
1
- usu. as adj. salted season or preserve with salt用盐给…调味; 用盐腌：
cook the carrots in boiling salted water.
在咸开水中煮胡萝卜。
1.1
- figurative make (something) piquant or more interesting〈喻〉给…增添刺激; 使…更有趣：
there was good talk to salt the occasion.
其间有开心的交谈为那场合增添乐趣。
1.2
- sprinkle (a road or path) with salt in order to melt snow or ice（为融化雪或冰）撒盐于（道路）上。
2
- informal fraudulently make (a mine) appear to be a paying one by placing rich ore into it〈非正式〉向（矿区）移入富矿石作伪装, 使（矿区, 矿山）呈虚假的富矿状。
3
- as adj. salted(of a horse) having developed a resistance to disease by surviving it（马）有免疫力的。
短语
rub salt into the（或someone's）wound
- make a painful experience even more painful for someone在某人伤口上擦盐, 使某人痛上加痛。
the salt of the earth
- a person or group of people of great kindness, reliability, or honesty社会中坚, 最高尚的人, 最值得信赖的人。
- ORIGIN: with biblical allusion to Matt 5:13.
sit below the salt
- be of lower social standing or worth社会地位低。
- ORIGIN: from the former custom of placing a large salt cellar in the middle of a dining table with the host at one end.
take something with a pinch （或grain） of salt
- regard something as exaggerated; believe only part of something半信半疑：
I take anything he says with a large pinch of salt.
我对他所说的一切都要打个折扣。
worth one's salt
- good or competent at the job or profession specified胜任的, 称职的, 有能力的：
any astrologer worth her salt would have predicted this.
任何一个称职的占星家都会预测到这一点。
派生词
saltish
adjectivesaltless
adjectivesaltness
noun词源
Old English sealt (noun), sealtan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zout and German Salz (nouns), from an Indo-European root shared by Latin sal, Greek hals 'salt'.
短语动词
salt something away
- informal secretly store or put by something, especially money〈非正式〉私下积攒（尤指钱）。
salt something out
1
- cause soap to separate from lye by adding salt加盐使皂从碱液中分离出来。
1.1
- Chemistry cause an organic compound to separate from an aqueous solution by adding an electrolyte【化】使盐析。