sauce
Sauce (noun) means a liquid or semi-liquid mixture served with food to add flavor or moisture. Example: “She poured tomato sauce over the pasta.”
How to Use Sauce
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA flavorful liquid served with food; informally, also slang for alcohol or cheeky backtalk.
"The sauce" (for alcohol) and "sauce" (for cheek) are both informal/slang uses, not appropriate in formal writing.
Word Forms
sauced past tense, sauces plural, sauces singular
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
She poured tomato _____ over the pasta.
Etymology
From Old French sause, from Latin salsus, "salted" — sauces were originally valued as a way of adding salt and flavor to plain food.
Related Words
Rhymes for sauce
See all rhymes for sauce →Frequently Asked Questions
What does “sauce” mean?
The word “sauce” means a liquid or semi-liquid mixture served with food to add flavor or moisture. In plain terms, a flavorful liquid served with food; informally, also slang for alcohol or cheeky backtalk.
How do you pronounce “sauce”?
“Sauce” is pronounced saws (/sɔːs/ in IPA).
How do you use “sauce” in a sentence?
Here is “sauce” used in a sentence: “She poured tomato sauce over the pasta.”
What is another word for “sauce”?
Words with a similar meaning to “sauce” include sowl.
What part of speech is “sauce”?
“Sauce” is a noun.
Where does the word “sauce” come from?
The word “sauce” comes from Latin. From Old French sause, from Latin salsus, "salted" — sauces were originally valued as a way of adding salt and flavor to plain food.
Is “sauce” a common word?
“Sauce” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.
How many meanings does “sauce” have?
“Sauce” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a liquid or semi-liquid mixture served with food to add flavor or moisture.
What is the difference between a sauce and a gravy?
A sauce is any liquid or semi-liquid mixture served with food to add flavour or moisture, while a gravy is a specific kind of sauce made from the juices and fat of cooked meat, usually thickened. All gravies are sauces, but not all sauces are gravies.
What is the difference between a sauce and a dressing?
A sauce is a broad term for a flavourful liquid served with food, often warm, while a dressing is typically a cold sauce used to coat salads, such as a vinaigrette. Dressings are a subtype of sauce associated mainly with salads.