salt-and-pepper

adjective

salt-and-pep·​per ˈsȯlt-ən(d)-ˈpe-pər 

: having black-and-white or dark and light color intermingled in small flecks

a salt-and-pepper suit

a salt-and-pepper beard

Examples of salt-and-pepper in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In September, 2022, Rafael Mariano Grossi, an elegant Argentinean diplomat with tousled salt-and-pepper hair, led a convoy of nuclear experts toward the sprawling Zaporizhzhia power plant, in southeast Ukraine, which had been seized by Russia in the early days of its invasion. —Robin Wright, New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2025

The shade, though, appeared to have streaks of salt-and-pepper highlights within. —Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025

Torrez, a 49-year old career prosecutor with a youthful face beneath a salt-and-pepper beard, is an unlikely antagonist for Big Tech. —Charlotte Alter, Time, 22 Oct. 2025

Paredes, a middle-aged man with spiky salt-and-pepper hair, was sitting alone in an Aurora courtroom earlier this month. —Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for salt-and-pepper

• leper
• lepper
• pepper
• stepper

Kids Definition

salt-and-pepper

adjective

: having dark and light color intermingled in small flecks

a salt-and-pepper beard