salsa

noun

sal·​sa ˈsȯl-sə 

ˈsäl-

1

: a usually spicy sauce of chopped tomatoes, onions, and peppers that is commonly served with Mexican food

also : a similar sauce made with a main ingredient other than tomatoes

peach salsa

2

: popular music of Latin American origin that has absorbed characteristics of rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock

Examples of salsa in a Sentence

The band was playing salsa.

We're taking classes in salsa.

Recent Examples on the Web

Other recent recalls include mushrooms potentially contaminated with listeria, salad that may cause allergic reactions and salsa that may contain glass. —David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024

The original version had chili, tortilla chips, sour cream and salsa. —Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 1 Nov. 2024

The long term plan for Benton Homestead is to make hot sauce and salsa, in addition to our honey. —Dani Benton, Contributor, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2024

The city hosted four events with different themes, including Bollywood, salsa, waacking and voguing and country line dancing — the last event on Sept. 19. —Maxwell Alexander, The Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, literally, sauce, from Latin, feminine of salsus salted — more at sauce

First Known Use

circa 1962, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

salsa

noun

sal·​sa ˈsȯl-sə 

ˈsäl-

1

: a spicy sauce of tomatoes, onions, and hot peppers

2

: popular Latin American music with elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock