noun
- a substance used with water to produce suds for washing or cleaning: soaps are usually sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids, produced by the action of an alkali, as caustic soda or potash, on fats or oils
- any metallic salt of a fatty acid
- ☆ Slang soap opera
Origin:
ME sope < OE sape, akin to Ger seife < Gmc *saipo- < IE base *seib-, to trickle, run out > L sebum, tallow
transitive verb
to lather, scrub, etc. with soap