noun

1. sodium chloride, NaCl, a white, crystalline substance with a characteristic taste, found in natural beds, in sea water, etc., and used for seasoning and preserving foods, etc.
2. a chemical compound derived from an acid by replacing hydrogen, wholly or partly, with a metal or an electropositive radical: the salt of an -ous acid is usually indicated by the suffix -ite, the salt of an -ic acid by the suffix -ate
3. that which lends a tang or piquancy; esp., sharp pungent humor or wit
4. saltcellar
5. any of various mineral salts used as a cathartic, as Epsom salts, or to soften bath water, as a restorative, etc.
6. Informal a sailor, esp. an experienced one

Etymology: ME < OE sealt, akin to Ger salz < IE base *sal-, salt > L sal, Gr hāls, salt, Sans salila, salty

adjective

1. containing salt
2. preserved with salt
3. tasting or smelling of salt
4. Now Rare pungent or biting
5. 1. flooded with salt water
   2. growing in salt water

transitive verb

1. to sprinkle or season with salt
2. to preserve with salt or in a salt solution
3. to provide with salt
4. to treat with salt in chemical processes
5. to season or give a tang to to salt a speech with wit
6. to give artificial value to; specif.,
   1. to alter (books, prices, etc.) in order to give false value
   2. ☆ to scatter minerals or ores in (a mine), put oil in (a well), etc. in order to deceive prospective buyers