A solute is something that is dissolved into something else. The solvent is what does the dissolving.
Always remember the phrase "You always dissolve the SOLUTE in the SOLVENT." Like sugar in water. Sugar would be the solute because it is being dissolved and water is the solvent because it is doing the dissolving.
Water is called a universal solvent because there are more substances that can be dissolved into water alone than any other compound, however this does not mean that water can dissolve everything.
