2 PHRASE If you do something for its own sake , you do it because you want to, or because you enjoy it, and not for any other reason. You can also talk about, for example, art for art's sake or sport for sport's sake . □ Economic change for its own sake did not appeal to him.
3 PHRASE When you do something for someone's sake , you do it in order to help them or make them happy. □ I trust you to do a good job for Stan's sake. □ Linda knew that for both their sakes she must take drastic action.
4 PHRASE Some people use expressions such as for God's sake , for heaven's sake , for goodness sake , or for Pete's sake in order to express annoyance or impatience, or to add force to a question or request. The expressions 'for God's sake' and 'for Christ's sake' could cause offence. [INFORMAL , FEELINGS ] □ For goodness sake, why didn't you ring me?
saké /sɑː ki, -ke I / also sake N‑UNCOUNT Saké is a Japanese alcoholic drink that is made from rice.
sa|laam /səlɑː m/ (salaams , salaaming , salaamed )
1 VERB When someone salaams , they bow with their right hand on their forehead. This is used as a formal and respectful way of greeting someone in India and Muslim countries. □ [V ] He looked from one to the other of them, then salaamed and left.
2 CONVENTION Some Muslims greet people by saying ' Salaam '.
sa|la|cious /səle I ʃəs/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe something such as a book or joke as salacious , you think that it deals with sexual matters in an unnecessarily detailed way. □ The newspapers once again filled their columns with salacious details.
sal|ad /sæ ləd/ (salads )
1 N‑VAR A salad is a mixture of raw or cold foods such as lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes. It is often served with other food as part of a meal. □ [+ of ] …a salad of tomato, onion and cucumber. □ …potato salad.
2 → see also fruit salad
3 PHRASE If you refer to your salad days , you are referring to a period of your life when you were young and inexperienced. [LITERARY ] □ The Grand Hotel did not seem to have changed since her salad days.
sa l|ad bowl (salad bowls ) N‑COUNT A salad bowl is a large bowl from which salad is served at a meal.
sa l|ad cream (salad creams ) N‑VAR Salad cream is a pale-yellow creamy sauce that you eat with salad.
sa l|ad dre ss|ing (salad dressings ) N‑VAR Salad dressing is a mixture of oil, vinegar, herbs, and other flavourings, which you pour over a salad. □ …low-calorie salad dressings.
sala|man|der /sæ ləmændə r / (salamanders ) N‑COUNT A salamander is an animal that looks rather like a lizard, and that can live both on land and in water.
sa|la|mi /səlɑː mi/ (salamis ) N‑VAR Salami is a type of strong-flavoured sausage. It is usually thinly sliced and eaten cold.
sala|ried /sæ lərid/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Salaried people receive a salary from their job. □ …salaried employees. □ James accepted the generously salaried job at the bank.
sala|ry ◆◇◇ /sæ ləri/ (salaries ) N‑VAR A salary is the money that someone is paid each month by their employer, especially when they are in a profession such as teaching, law, or medicine. □ …the lawyer was paid a huge salary. □ The government has decided to increase salaries for all civil servants. COLLOCATIONS salary NOUN
noun + salary : base; executive, graduate
adjective + salary : annual, average, basic, monthly; final, starting; competitive, decent, six-figure, top
verb + salary : draw, earn, receive; increase, negotiate, pay SYNONYMS salary NOUN
pay: …their complaints about their pay and conditions.
income: Many families on low incomes will be unable to afford to buy their own home.
wage: His wages have gone up.
earnings: Average weekly earnings rose by 1.5% in July.
sale ◆◆◆ /se I l/ (sales )
1 N‑SING The sale of goods is the act of selling them for money. □ [+ of ] Efforts were made to limit the sale of sugary drinks. □ [+ to ] …a proposed arms sale to Saudi Arabia.
2 N‑PLURAL The sales of a product are the quantity of it that is sold. □ [+ of ] The newspaper has sales of 1.72 million. □ …retail sales figures.
3 N‑PLURAL The part of a company that deals with sales deals with selling the company's products. □ Until 1983 he worked in sales and marketing.
4 N‑COUNT A sale is an occasion when a shop sells things at less than their normal price. □ …a pair of jeans bought half-price in a sale.
5 N‑COUNT A sale is an event when goods are sold to the person who offers the highest price. □ The painting was bought by dealers at the Christie's sale.
6 → see also car boot sale , jumble sale
7 PHRASE If something is for sale , it is being offered to people to buy. □ [+ at ] His former home is for sale at £495,000.
8 PHRASE Products that are on sale can be bought in shops. [mainly BRIT ] □ English textbooks and dictionaries are on sale everywhere.
9 PHRASE If products in a shop are on sale , they can be bought for less than their normal price. [AM ] □ He bought a sports jacket on sale at the store.