paprika

noun

pa·​pri·​ka pə-ˈprē-kə 

pa-

: a usually mild red seasoning consisting of the dried finely ground pods of various sweet peppers

also : a sweet pepper used for making paprika

Examples of paprika in a Sentence

tomato sauce made with garlic, paprika, and pepper

Recent Examples on the Web

Whether gazing from Gellért Hill or haggling for paprika in the Great Market Hall—the city reveals itself in fragments—intimate, contradictory, and impossible to forget. —Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Toss together chicken, pepper, paprika, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt in a medium bowl until evenly coated. —Marianne Williams, Southern Living, 31 Aug. 2025

Stir in the chili powder, salt, paprika, and ground black pepper. —The Know, Denver Post, 29 Aug. 2025

In a food processor, purée the onion, garlic, egg, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin and cinnamon until smooth. —Samantha Husted, Charlotte Observer, 27 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Hungarian, from Serbian & Croatian, from papar ground pepper, ultimately from Latin piper — more at pepper

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for paprika

• arnica
• carica
• rebekah
• turcica
• chica

Kids Definition

paprika

noun

pa·​pri·​ka pə-ˈprē-kə 

pa-

: a mild red spice consisting of the dried finely ground fruit of various cultivated sweet peppers