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sauce

n. · v.
US //ˈsɔs// UK //sˈɔːs// sauce
  1. 1 food condiment (n.)
    A2 Elementary Cooking

    a thick liquid served with food to add flavour.

    a liquid or semi-solid accompaniment to food, often thickened and seasoned to enhance flavour.

    Example

    He poured a little tomato sauce over his pasta and added some cheese.

    Example

    The chef reduced the red wine sauce until it reached a velvety consistency that perfectly complemented the roasted venison.
  2. 2 alcohol (n.)
    C1 Advanced Informal Slang

    a slang word for alcoholic drinks.

    alcoholic liquor; typically used in the phrase 'on the sauce' to describe habitual drinking.

    Example

    He has been off the sauce for three years and feels much healthier.

    Example

    After a decade on the sauce, he finally sought professional help to address his dependency and reclaim his career.
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  1. 3 rude behaviour (n.)
    C2 Proficiency British English Informal

    rude or disrespectful talk.

    impertinent or cheeky speech or behaviour.

    Example

    I don't want any more of your sauce, young man.

    Example

    The teacher was unimpressed by the student's sauce, noting that such impertinence would not be tolerated in a professional environment.
  2. 4 internet source (n.)
    C1 Advanced Slang Informal Computing

    a word used online when asking for the original source of a picture or video.

    an intentional misspelling of 'source' used in digital communities to request the origin of media.

    Example

    Does anyone have the sauce for this image?

    Example

    The user posted the sauce in the comments section so that others could find the artist's original portfolio.
  3. 5 to add flavour (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Cooking

    to add a sauce or extra flavour to a dish.

    to season or dress food with a sauce; figuratively, to add zest or interest to something.

    Example

    She decided to sauce the fish with a lemon and butter mixture.

    Example

    The author chose to sauce the historical narrative with witty anecdotes to make the academic subject more accessible to a general audience.
Origin

PIE word *séh₂ls 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. For the meaning development compare Ancient Greek ἥδυσμα (hḗdusma) ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus (whence also English sweet).

Word family
Idioms1 entry

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