sauce
//sɔːs//
Forms
- Plural
- sauces
- present (v1)
- sauce
- past (v2)
- sauced
- past participle (v3)
- sauced
- present participle
- saucing
- 3rd person singular
- sauces
Definitions
1.A liquid (often thickened) condiment or accompaniment to food.
2.Alcohol, booze.(slang)
- Maybe you should lay off the sauce.
3.Vitality; capability or talent.(slang)
- It's over for that guy. He lost the sauce.
4.Tomato sauce (similar to US tomato ketchup), as in
1.To make poignant; to give zest, flavour or interest to; to set off; to vary and render attractive.
- Then fell she to sauce her desires with threatenings.
2.To treat with bitter, pert, or tart language; to be impudent or saucy to.(colloquial)
- I'll sauce her with bitter words.
- "A bit of real starvin' would do them no 'arm, and I would 'ave less sauce." "What, has Willie sauced you?" "Yes, when 'e woke up." […] "Wot did he say?" "Cursed me good and proper, 'e did."
3.To add sauce to; to season.
4.To cause to relish anything, as if with a sauce; to tickle or gratify, as the palate; to please; to stimulate.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #2772
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
PIE word
*sḗh₂l
From Middle English sauce, from Old French sause, from Vulgar Latin *salsa, noun use of the feminine of Latin salsus (“salted”), past participle of saliō (“to salt”), from sal. Doublet of salsa.