What does "salty" mean?
Tasting of salt.
Salty
/sɔl.ti/ adj, slang
adj, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Tasting of salt.
- Grammar: salty is listed as adj, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: attic, biting, bitter, blue.
- Useful contrasts: nonsaline, nonsalt, nonsalty.
- Usage evidence: You can not drink the seawater, for it is too salty.
How to use "salty"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "salty" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "salty" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "salty" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "salty" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "salty" is acting as adj, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "attic" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "salty", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Tasting of salt.
"A few types of molecules get sensed by receptors on the tongue. Protons coming off of acids ping receptors for "sour." Sugars get received as "sweet." Bitter, salty, and the proteinaceous flavor umami all set off their own neural cascades."
- 2 Containing salt.
"At Zipaquirá, the salty ore is taken from the mine in chunks, then thrown into large tanks of water, where the salt is dissolved out. The resulting brine is drawn off into pipelines, containers, or tank trucks and sold […]"
- 3 Coarse; provocative; earthy. figuratively
"In the following piece she has some characteristically salty things to say about what happens when law and medicine meet."
- 4 Experienced, especially used to indicate a veteran of the naval services; salty dog (from salt of the sea). figuratively
"There's a sailor's tavern at the end of the street where I could find companionship if I chose (one catches salty boys going in and out at any hour) but only music matters to me now."
- 5 Irritated, annoyed, angry, bitter. slang
"Ray and Fuzzy were salty with our unhip no-playing piano player, because she broke time on the piano so bad that the strings yelled whoa to the hammers."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Pertaining to the Sardinian language and those dialects of Catalan, spoken in the Balearic Islands and along the coast of Catalonia, that use definitive articles descended from the Latin ipse (“self”) instead of the Latin ille (“that”).
Adjective
- 1 containing or filled with salt wordnet
- 2 engagingly stimulating or provocative wordnet
- 3 one of the four basic taste sensations; like the taste of sea water wordnet
Example
"You can not drink the seawater, for it is too salty."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "salty"?
Common synonyms include: attic, biting, bitter, blue, brackish, brilliant.
How do you use "salty" in a sentence?
You can not drink the seawater, for it is too salty.
How do you pronounce "salty"?
Pronounced /sɔl.ti/.
Etymology
PIE word *séh₂ls From Middle English salti, equivalent to salt + -y. Compare Saterland Frisian soaltig (“salty”), West Frisian sâltich (“salty”), Dutch zoutig (“salty”), German Low German soltig (“salty”), German salzig (“salty”). (coarse; irritated, annoyed): Referencing the sharp, 'spicy' flavor of salt. (indignant): Perhaps implying the person is a crybaby, shedding salty tears, or derived from the preceding.