- the secretion of salivary glands, consisting of a clear usually slightly acid aqueous fluid of variable composition. It moistens the oral cavity, prepares food for swallowing, and initiates the process of digestion
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
sa•li•va /səˈlaɪvə/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Physiologya watery fluid in the mouth that functions in the chewing, digesting, and swallowing of food.
sa•li•va
(sə lī′və),USA pronunciation n.
sal•i•var•y
(sal′ə ver′ē),USA pronunciation adj.
- Physiologya viscid, watery fluid, secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands, that functions in the tasting, chewing, and swallowing of food, moistens the mouth, and starts the digestion of starches.
- Latin salīva
- 1670–80;
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
saliva /səˈlaɪvə/ n
'saliva' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
amylase
- bufotalin
- dribble
- drivel
- foam
- froth
- genetic fingerprint
- gob
- masticatory
- monosodium glutamate
- ptyalin
- rabies
- salivary gland
- salivate
- slaver
- slobber
- spit
- spittle
- splutter
- sputum
- swiftlet
- desalivate
- drool
- hyperkeratosis
- IgA
- insalivate
- jaborandi
- mucin
- pilocarpine
- ptyalectasis
- ptyalism
- recrement
- salivation
- sialadenitis
- sialagogue
- skeet
- spitball
- spit-shine
- sputter
- streptobacillus
- suck