# sauce

Pronunciation: say "SAWS" US /sɔs/, UK /sɔːs/; AUS say "SOHS" /soːs/

## Noun

1. A liquid or thickened condiment served with or poured over food to add flavor.
   - Simple: A thick or thin liquid that you put on food to add flavor.
   - _The chef finished the dish with a drizzle of caramel sauce._
   - _Restaurant kitchens prepare several sauces fresh each morning._
2. A thick tomato-based condiment, equivalent to what Americans call ketchup. *(Australia, India, New Zealand, UK)*
   - Simple: A thick red topping made from tomatoes, much like ketchup.
   - _At the football match he bought a meat pie and drowned it in sauce from a tomato-shaped squeeze bottle._
   - _At the footy, almost everyone grabs a meat pie and squeezes a thick line of sauce across the top._
4. Alcoholic drink; intoxicating liquor. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Alcohol, especially drinks like beer, wine, or spirits.
   - _He swore off the sauce after the doctor's warning._
   - _After he lost his job, he started hitting the sauce every night._
5. Vitality, capability, or talent. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Energy, skill, or natural talent that makes someone impressive.
   - _The young guard plays with so much sauce that defenders can't keep up._
   - _Critics agreed the album had the sauce its predecessor lacked._
6. Another spelling of source: the original source of an image, video, or claim posted online, especially when someone asks where it came from. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Another spelling of source: where a picture or post first came from.
   - _Commenters flooded the thread asking for the sauce._
   - _She replied with the sauce so others could find the original art._
9. Anabolic steroids taken to enhance muscle growth.
   - Simple: Anabolic steroids, drugs used to build muscle.
   - _Several lifters in the competition were caught using sauce._
   - _He credited his rapid gains to sauce rather than to training._

## Verb

3. To add sauce to a dish; to season food.
   - Simple: To put sauce on food, or to add seasoning.
   - _The cook sauced each plate just before it left the kitchen._
   - _Chefs sauce the meat lightly so the flavor doesn't overwhelm._
8. To speak to someone in a cheeky, impudent, or sharp manner. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To talk rudely or cheekily to someone.
   - _The apprentice sauced his boss once too often._
   - _She tends to sauce anyone who questions her._
10. To send something to someone or hand it over. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To send or pass something to someone.
   - _Sauce me your number and I'll text you the address._
   - _Can you sauce me those photos from last night when you get home?_

## Noun

7. Cheeky or disrespectful talk; impertinence. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Rude, cheeky talk to someone in charge.
   - _Her constant sauce earned her a week of detention._
   - _He answered with such sauce that his father lost his temper._
11. Garden vegetables eaten as food, especially as an accompaniment to meat. *(obsolete, US)*
   - Simple: An old word for vegetables from the garden, often eaten with meat.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To give zest, interest, or appeal to something, making it more lively, pleasing, or enjoyable, as if by adding sauce.
- (noun) A soft crayon used in stump drawing or for shading with a stump.

## Origin

This word came through Middle English and Old French sause from Vulgar Latin *salsa, a noun use of the feminine of Latin salsus ('salted'), the past participle of saliō ('I salt'), from sal ('salt'). It is a doublet of salsa.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/sauce (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).