Meanings
present singular third person salts away · participle present salting away · participle past salted away · past salted away
- datedtransitiveTo salt (something) for preservation and then store it away for winter.
- idiomatictransitiveTo save or preserve (especially money) for future use.
"You have more than two thousand salted away, I know, Moses, between prize-money, wages, adventures, and other matters."
1863, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 2, in Miles Wallingford1 more example
Some of the stockholders . . . wanted to leave the money invested. "Salt away that chicken feed in your duds, and skip along," says Buck. "What business have you got investing in bonds?"
1908, O. Henry, “Tempered Wind”, in The Gentle Grafter
Synonyms & antonyms
verbkeep or lay aside for future use
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
An allusion to the preservation of food in salt.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
salt away. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/salt%20away
“salt away.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/salt%20away. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “salt away,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/salt%20away.
Source: salt away on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.