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soda

noun
SaySOH-duhUS/ˈsoʊdə/UK/ˈsəʊdə/

6 meanings of soda

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  1. 1
    nounPhilippinesUSuncountable
    A carbonated soft drink, usually sweet and flavored, or a glass, bottle, or can of it.

    The diner offered free refills of soda with every meal.

    Flavored sodas line an entire aisle of the grocery store.

    UsageDrink soda for the drink in general, but a soda or two sodas for single cans or glasses.

    Similarpop

  2. 2
    for bakingnoununcountable
    Sodium bicarbonate, a white powder that acts as a mild alkali.

    A little soda in the batter helps the muffins rise.

    An open box of baking soda in the fridge helps keep food odors from spreading.

    UsageIn recipes usually baking soda; washing soda is a different, stronger powder.

    Similarbicarbonate, bicarb

  3. 3
    fizzy waternoununcountable
    Water charged with pressurized carbon dioxide to make it fizzy, originally produced using sodium bicarbonate.

    The bartender finished the highball with a long pour of soda.

    He prefers whiskey and soda to sweeter cocktails.

    UsageOften whiskey and soda, soda water or club soda.

    Similarseltzer

    Note

    A clipping of soda water, and the short form is what lets it settle into drink names: whiskey and soda, or the small scotch and soda a waiter brings in Margery Allingham's The China Governess. Here the word means plain fizzy water, unsweetened, which sets it apart from the sweet soft drink. Where the two could be confused, the full soda water is clearer.

  4. 4
    industrial chemicalnoununcountable
    Sodium carbonate, a strongly alkaline salt widely used in glassmaking and cleaning.

    Washing soda is much stronger than baking soda, so wear gloves when you use it.

    Glassmakers melt sand with soda and lime to make ordinary window glass.

    UsageUsually washing soda when used for cleaning.

  5. 5
    noununcountable
    Sodium present in chemical combination with other elements, rather than as the free metal.

    Laboratory tests showed the volcanic rock was unusually rich in soda and poor in potash.

    The glaze's soda content lowers the temperature at which it melts.

Less common meaning

  1. 6
    noun
    In the game of faro, the first card drawn from the dealing box, set aside before betting so that fifty-one cards remain in play.

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Origin

Borrowed from Italian "soda." The drink sense is an ellipsis (shortening) of "soda water."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts