sauce
saws
Sauce (noun) means a liquid or semi-liquid mixture served with food to add flavor or moisture. Example: “Add a little more sauce to the pizza base before putting it in the oven.”
noun
1
A liquid or semi-liquid mixture served with food to add flavor or moisture.
"Add a little more sauce to the pizza base before putting it in the oven."
"She poured tomato sauce over the pasta."
"The steak came with a rich peppercorn sauce."
2
Informal: alcohol, especially when drunk to excess.
"He promised his wife he would stay off the sauce."
"Too much sauce at the party left him with a terrible headache."
"He'd clearly had a bit too much of the sauce."
3
Informal: cheeky or disrespectful talk; backtalk.
"I won't stand for any sauce from you at the dinner table."
"The boy got a telling-off for giving his teacher so much sauce."
"None of your sauce, young man."
How to use sauce
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA flavorful liquid served with food; informally, also slang for alcohol or cheeky backtalk.
When to use it
"The sauce" (for alcohol) and "sauce" (for cheek) are both informal/slang uses, not appropriate in formal writing.
Common pairings
tomato sauce
hot sauce
hit the sauce
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Word forms
- Plural
- sauces
- Third person singular
- sauces
- Past tense
- sauced
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
Add a little more _____ to the pizza base before putting it in the oven.
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.
