salad

salad — noun

1. a cold plate that combines uncooked vegetables like lettuce, tomatoes, and cucum

1.nounA1
Definition

a cold plate that combines uncooked vegetables like lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber, usually with a dressing, and served on its own or alongside a meal

Example

Isabela made a fresh salad with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber for dinner.

Apinya ordered a side salad with her pasta at the Italian restaurant.

side salad — smaller portion served with a main dish

Common collocations
  • toss a salad
  • fresh salad
  • side salad
  • salad dressing
  • green salad
Synonyms
  • green salad

    a specific type that relies mainly on leafy greens like lettuce

  • mixed salad

    emphasizes the combination of different vegetables

  • side salad

    a smaller portion served alongside a main dish

Grammar Patterns

a salad (countable — one specific dish)

salad (uncountable — the food in general)

side salad (a smaller portion with a meal)

Usage Note

This is the most common meaning. For smaller portions served alongside a main dish, 'side salad' is the usual term.

Common Mistakes

Salad is made only of lettuce.
Salad usually contains lettuce but can include many other vegetables and ingredients.
The word covers a wide range of mixtures, not just lettuce.

2. any vegetables, cooked or raw, that have been finely chopped and combined with m

2.nounA2
Definition

any vegetables, cooked or raw, that have been finely chopped and combined with mayonnaise or a similar creamy dressing

Example

Camille brought coleslaw, a chopped salad with cabbage and mayonnaise, to the picnic.

coleslaw — a specific type of chopped salad

Naoko made a potato salad with boiled eggs and mayonnaise for the party.

Common collocations
  • potato salad
  • coleslaw
  • pasta salad
  • with mayonnaise
  • finely chopped
Synonyms
  • coleslaw

    a specific chopped salad made from cabbage with mayonnaise or vinegar dressing

  • potato salad

    a specific type with boiled potatoes as the main ingredient

  • pasta salad

    a specific type using cooked pasta instead of vegetables

Grammar Patterns

potato salad / coleslaw / pasta salad (specific types)

with mayonnaise (typical binding ingredient)

Usage Note

Common varieties include coleslaw (cabbage-based), potato salad, pasta salad, and carrot-raisin salad. The creamy dressing is what binds the finely cut pieces together.

3. a cold dish in which the main ingredients are protein-rich foods such as tuna, c

3.nounA2
Definition

a cold dish in which the main ingredients are protein-rich foods such as tuna, cheese, or egg, served on a plate with lettuce and cool vegetables

Example

Maja ordered a tuna salad with hard-boiled eggs and fresh lettuce for lunch.

Tunde chose the chef salad, which has cheese, ham, and boiled eggs on greens.

chef salad — a specific type with multiple proteins

Common collocations
  • tuna salad
  • chicken salad
  • chef salad
  • on a bed of lettuce
  • with dressing
Synonyms
  • tuna salad

    the most common protein-salad type, sometimes overlapping with sense 4 when used as a sandwich filling

  • chef salad

    a restaurant-style salad with mixed proteins such as ham, turkey, and cheese

  • main-course salad

    a formal term distinguishing a filling salad from a light starter salad

Grammar Patterns

tuna salad / chicken salad / chef salad (specific types)

with lettuce / on a bed of lettuce

Usage Note

The protein ingredient is the defining feature. This sense differs from senses 1 and 2 in that the dish is centred on meat, fish, or eggs rather than on vegetables alone.

4. a spreadable mixture of finely chopped ingredients such as tuna, cheese, or egg,

4.nounA2
Definition

a spreadable mixture of finely chopped ingredients such as tuna, cheese, or egg, combined with mayonnaise and used as a filling for sandwiches

Example

Nikhil spread tuna salad on whole-wheat bread for his lunch.

Cole made egg-mayonnaise salad and put it between two slices of toast.

egg-mayonnaise salad — common sandwich filling

Common collocations
  • tuna salad sandwich
  • egg salad sandwich
  • chicken salad sandwich
  • ham salad
  • spread on bread
Synonyms
  • sandwich spread

    a broader category that includes non-salad fillings like hummus or cream cheese

  • egg salad

    a specific type with chopped hard-boiled eggs and mayonnaise

  • tuna salad

    a specific type with canned tuna and mayonnaise

Grammar Patterns

tuna salad sandwich / egg salad sandwich

spread [salad] on bread / toast

Usage Note

In this sense the salad mixture is not served on a plate with lettuce but used as a sandwich spread. This is the key difference from sense 3, where the salad is served as a dish on its own with lettuce.

Common Mistakes

I ate a tuna salad sandwich' (when the tuna salad is served on lettuce).
I ate a tuna salad sandwich' (tuna salad spread on bread).
The confusing part is that the same mixture can appear either on a plate as sense 3 or on bread as sense 4; the context tells you which one is meant.

5. a leafy green plant, most often lettuce, that people grow to eat uncooked in a s

5.nounB1
Definition

a leafy green plant, most often lettuce, that people grow to eat uncooked in a salad

Example

The gardener grows several types of salad in the backyard greenhouse.

At the farmers' market, shoppers buy fresh salad for their evening meals.

uncountable — 'salad' as leaves grown for eating raw

Common collocations
  • grow salad
  • fresh salad
  • young salad
  • salad crop
  • baby salad leaves
Synonyms
  • lettuce

    the most common type of salad green; more specific than 'salad'

  • greens

    a broader term covering all leafy vegetables for cooking or salads

  • leafy greens

    emphasises the leaf structure of the plants

Grammar Patterns

grow salad / plant salad (the plants themselves)

fresh salad (the leaves as a product)

Usage Note

This sense is less common in everyday conversation; learners will most often encounter it in gardening, farming, or food-procurement contexts ('we grow our own salad').

Idioms

your salad days

idiom

The period when you are young and still learning about life.

Mina often laughs about her salad days in college.

Did you enjoy your salad days before starting your career?

Word family

  • salad bowl
    nounA2
  • salad dressing
    nounA2
  • salad bar
    nounA2
  • salady
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Lettuce is a single ingredient often found inside a salad, whereas salad refers to a complete dish that combines multiple vegetables. 'Greens' is a broader term for any leafy vegetable such as lettuce or spinach; calling a dish 'greens' highlights the leaves rather than the full mixture. 'Coleslaw' is a specific type of chopped salad made from cabbage with mayonnaise or vinegar dressing — it is one variety within the salad category. 'Vegetable medley' describes a mix of cooked vegetables that may be served hot, unlike salad which is traditionally served cold and uncooked. For example, you would order 'a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber' but you would buy 'a bag of mixed greens' for making your own salad at home.

lettuce ↗greenscoleslawvegetable medley

Common collocations

Nouns

  • salad bowl
  • salad bar
  • salad plate
  • salad dressing
  • salad spinner

Phrases

  • toss a salad
  • dressing on the side

Prepositions

  • with salad
  • on salad
  • in a salad

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'salad' comes from the Latin 'sal' meaning salt, via the Vulgar Latin 'salata' meaning 'salted things'. In ancient Rome, vegetables were seasoned with salt and oil, and this salted dish became 'salade' in Old French before entering English as 'salad' in the 14th century.