rub salt in someone's wounds
rub salt in someone's wounds verb: to make a painful situation even worse (even with the best of intentions).
Verb
rub salt in someone's wounds (third-person singular simple present rubs salt in someone's wounds, present participle rubbing salt in someone's wounds, simple past and past participle rubbed salt in someone's wounds)
- To make a painful situation even worse (even with the best of intentions).
- John already feels guilty for what he did to you. Don't rub salt into his wounds.
Forms of rub salt in someone's wounds
| third-person singular present | rubs salt in someone's wounds |
|---|---|
| present participle | rubbing salt in someone's wounds |
| past participle | rubbed salt in someone's wounds |
| past | rubbed salt in someone's wounds |
| alternative form | rub salt in the wound |
Origin of rub salt in someone's wounds
From the practice of using salt to inhibit infection of open wounds.
Questions about rub salt in someone's wounds
- What does rub salt in someone's wounds mean?
- Rub salt in someone's wounds means to make a painful situation even worse (even with the best of intentions).
- What part of speech is rub salt in someone's wounds?
- Rub salt in someone's wounds is a verb.
- What is the past tense of rub salt in someone's wounds?
- The past tense of rub salt in someone's wounds is rubbed salt in someone's wounds.
Words near rub salt in someone's wounds in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: rub salt in someone's wounds (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-rub salt in someone's wounds.ogg.
Cite this entry: “rub salt in someone's wounds.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rub_salt_in_someone%27s_wounds. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.