sal ‧ vo /ˈsælvəʊ $ -voʊ/ BrE AmE noun ( plural salvos or salvoes ) [countable usually singular] formal
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Italian ; Origin: salva , from French salve , from Latin , a greeting, from salvere 'to be healthy' , from salvus ; ⇨ ↑ safe 1 ]
1 . [+ of] when several guns are fired during a battle or as part of a ceremony
2 . opening salvo the first in a series of questions, statements etc that you use to try to win an argument:
Congressman Saunders fired the opening salvo during a heated debate on capital punishment.
3 . sudden laughter, ↑ applause etc from many people at the same time