salsa

American  

[sahl-suh, sahl-sah] / ˈsɑl sə, ˈsɑl sɑ /

noun

1. Mexican Cooking.  a hot sauce of tomatoes and chile peppers with onion and garlic, and sometimes seasoned with cumin or fresh cilantro, often used as a condiment or served as a dip.

2. a lively, vigorous type of contemporary Latin American popular music, blending predominantly Cuban rhythms with elements of jazz, rock, and soul music.

3. a ballroom dance of Puerto Rican origin, performed to this music, similar to the mambo, but faster with the accent on the first beat instead of the second beat of each measure.

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verb (used without object)

1. to dance the salsa.

salsa British  

/ ˈsælsə /

noun

1. a type of Latin American big-band dance music

2. a dance performed to this kind of music

3. Mexican cookery a spicy tomato-based sauce

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Etymology

Origin of salsa

First recorded in 1845–50, and in 1970–75 salsa for defs. 2, 3; from Latin American Spanish, Spanish: literally, “sauce”; the dance and music were probably so called originally because of the mixture of styles

Example Sentences

At one point, they create a “Jaws” parody with a tortilla chip and jar of salsa.

From The Wall Street Journal

Even Tom Bergeron was there as a guest judge, literally jumping up and down on stage after pal Elaine Hendrix’s salsa and telling her, “That was really good!”

From Los Angeles Times

López Mari shot the dance class portion at the Arthur Murray Dance Studios, a famous school for classic salsa in San Juan.

From Los Angeles Times

“It makes me really happy to see a younger generation take on salsa. Because I was worried for a bit. I didn’t know how salsa is going to continue.”

From Los Angeles Times

It’s peak people watching and there happens to also be mozzarella sticks, lava cake, margaritas and the salsa trio with chips.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dressing
• gravy
• horseradish
• ketchup
• mustard
• pepper
• relish
• salt
• sauce
• seasoning
• spice