rock salt

noun

"rock-salt" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rock salt” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The mineral halite.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rock-salt · rock salt · English

rock salt · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "R" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for rock salt
PropertyValue
Headwordrock salt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “rock salt” in English

rock saltsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rock salt is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for rock salt in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From rock + salt. The correct English form is rock salt, spelled R-O-C-K- -S-A-L-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The mineral halite.
  2. 2
    Coarsely ground common salt, often used as road salt, as feedstock, or for other applications.
  3. 3
    Synonym of sea salt, due to its rocky texture.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how rock salt appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Farther to the southward, the rivers which are affluent to the Colorado, such as the Rio Virgen, and Gila river, near their mouths, are impregnated with salt by the cliffs of rock salt between which they pass.

Etymology

From rock + salt.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rock salt"?
"rock salt" is spelled R-O-C-K- -S-A-L-T.
What does "rock salt" mean?
As a noun, "rock salt" means: The mineral halite.
What is the origin of the word "rock salt"?
From rock + salt. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list