VocabauraVOCABAURA

msg

noun

Simple meaning

The mono sodium salt of the amino acid, glutamic acid.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

mahnseeny

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

mɑnˈsinj

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The mono sodium salt of the amino acid, glutamic acid; present in soy sauce; used as a condiment in Chinese and Japanese cooking, and as a food additive to enhance flavor and add the umami taste. Abbreviations: MSG, E621.

  2. by extension

    Any chemically free glutamate.

  3. A communication, or what is communicated; any concept or information conveyed.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The mono sodium salt of the amino acid, glutamic acid; present in soy sauce; used as a condiment in Chinese and Japanese cooking, and as a food additive to enhance flavor and add the umami taste. Abbreviations: MSG, E621.

Used this way, msg is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a food and cooking use: everyday in kitchens and recipes.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

  • Cooking/food
  • Everyday conversation

Nearby words

  • monosodium glutamate , a specialist term, precise but narrower

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use msg

  • “Food manufacturers sometimes list MSG simply as `artificial flavors' in ingredient lists.”noun

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “msg”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

string msgmessage msgdim msgcontain msgnew msgget msgmsg filemsg model

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: mono sodium salt of the amino acid

monosodium glutamateTechnical

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “msg” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.