sausage

sausage — noun

1. a food made from ground meat mixed with salt, spices, and other ingredients, pre

1.nounA1
Definition

a food made from ground meat mixed with salt, spices, and other ingredients, pressed into a long cylindrical casing and usually cooked before eating

Example

Noa grilled several sausages for the family picnic on Sunday.

common cooking verb: grill + sausages

The butcher makes fresh pork sausages every morning with local herbs.

adjective + sausage: fresh pork sausages

Common collocations
  • pork sausage
  • beef sausage
  • chicken sausage
  • smoked sausage
  • grilled sausages
  • spicy sausage
  • sausage and eggs
Synonyms
  • bratwurst

    a specific type of German sausage, not a general term for all sausages

  • chorizo

    a spicy Spanish or Mexican pork sausage, distinct in seasoning and preparation

Grammar Patterns

countable: a sausage, two sausages

uncountable: some sausage, a piece of sausage

Usage Note

Both countable ('a sausage', 'two sausages') and uncountable ('some sausage', 'a piece of sausage') uses are common. Countable forms refer to individual links or pieces; uncountable forms refer to the food as a substance.

Idioms

not a sausage

idiom

Absolutely nothing at all.

I asked about the job, but got not a sausage.

Did you find any information? Not a sausage.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Sausage is the general term for ground meat mixed with spices and stuffed into a casing. Bratwurst is a specific German variety made from pork or veal, seasoned with nutmeg and marjoram, and typically grilled. Chorizo is a Spanish or Mexican pork sausage heavily seasoned with paprika and garlic, giving it a red colour and smoky or spicy flavour. Hot dog is a cooked sausage served in a bun, usually made from finely ground pork, beef, or a mixture. While all four are types of sausage, the terms are not interchangeable: a hot dog ordered at a ballgame is not the same as a chorizo in a stew, and a bratwurst on a bun differs from both in seasoning and texture.

sausage ↗bratwurstchorizohot dog

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • sausage and eggs
  • sausage roll
  • sausage in a bun

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'sausage' came into English from Old French 'saussiche' (modern French 'saucisse'), which traces back to Latin 'salsicia' — a word for meat preserved with salt. The Latin root 'salsus' means 'salted', reflecting that sausages were originally a way to preserve meat with salt and spices before refrigeration existed.