pepper

1 of 3

noun (1)

pep·​per ˈpe-pər How to pronounce pepper (audio)
1
a
: either of two pungent products from the fruit of an Indian plant (Piper nigrum) that are used chiefly as condiments:
(1)
(2)
b
: any of several products similar to pepper that are obtained from plants of the same genus
cubeb pepper
c
: any of various pungent condiments of plants unrelated to the pepper
Szechuan pepper
2
: any of a genus (Piper of the family Piperaceae, the pepper family) of tropical mostly jointed climbing shrubs with aromatic leaves
especially : a woody vine (P. nigrum) with spicate flowers that is widely cultivated in the tropics for its red berries from which black pepper and white pepper are prepared
3
a
: capsicum sense 1
especially : one (Capsicum annuum) whose fruits are hot peppers or sweet peppers
b
: the hollow fruit of a pepper that is usually green when unripe and red or yellow when ripe
pepper adjective

pepper

2 of 3

verb

peppered; peppering ˈpe-p(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce pepper (audio)

transitive verb

1
a
: to sprinkle or season with pepper
b
: to shower with or as if with shot or other missiles
2
: to hit with or as if with rapid repeated blows
3
: to sprinkle or cover as if with pepper
peppered the report with statistics
a face peppered with freckles
pepperer noun

pepper

3 of 3

noun (2)

: a baseball practice or warm-up game in which usually several fielders toss the ball a short distance to a single batter who hits it back

Examples of pepper in a Sentence

Verb You need to pepper the stew more. pepper the costume with flecks of glitter
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Ingredients 1 medium butternut squash 1 Tbsp. olive or canola oil Seasoning if desired, or salt and pepper Directions Preheat the oven to 400°F. Carrie Honaker, Southern Living, 21 Sep. 2023 Season tomatoes with salt, pepper and herbs. Fold the edges of the pastry over onto the tomatoes, slightly overlapping each fold. Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Sep. 2023 Postino’s vibe is funky and casual, so take a friend or colleague who doesn’t mind sharing food, then order a bruschetta board with toppings like mushroom and mascarpone (my favorite); sweet and spicy pepper jam and goat cheese; or salmon and pesto. Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas News, 19 Sep. 2023 In late summer, the mezze spoke to the season with runner beans, charred on the grill and sprinkled with Aleppo pepper. Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023 According to Born, Utah is uniquely positioned to be a leader in hot sauce because of the ideal environment here to grow peppers. The Salt Lake Tribune, 15 Sep. 2023 Add the chicken and onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is just translucent and the chicken has lightly browned and isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pot, about 10 minutes. Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 15 Sep. 2023 Let marinate for 30 minutes before serving on whole-grain toast. Quarter and toss mushrooms with balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Nick Blackmer, Verywell Health, 7 Sep. 2023 To get started, thoroughly pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels, then coat them with oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2023
Verb
The story outlines several fabrications peppered throughout Minhaj’s work, often in service of describing experiences of discrimination and threats of violence for speaking truth to power. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2023 As the leaders toured a Soyuz-2 space rocket launch facility, Kim peppered a Russian space official with questions about the rockets. Kim Tong-Hyung and Dasha Litvinova, Chicago Tribune, 13 Sep. 2023 Fain, a fiery leader who won the UAW presidency in the union’s first direct election this spring, peppered his address with biblical references and barbs against billionaires. Jeanne Whalen, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2023 Read full article Supported by his wife, Thomas Rosa, 62, rested gently on his cane and offered reporters a wan smile through the morning drizzle that peppered the Superior Court courtyard late Monday morning. Ivy Scott, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Sep. 2023 Other pop tracks pepper the movie, many of them heard in a futuristic disco specializing in retro soirées hopping from the 60s to the 70s to the 80s (a device used in another Gallic adaptation of the James story, simply called The Beast in the Jungle, currently out in French theaters). Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2023 Among these are deforming women by peppering their faces, breasts and genitals with birdshot, poisoning of girls on school campuses, public executions of young men, insidious murders of young women, plus rape and torture of almost 20,000 prisoners. Lily Moayeri, Spin, 8 Sep. 2023 Carolina Reapers score around 1.7 million Scoville heat units and Naga Viper peppers around 1.4 million. Aria Bendix, NBC News, 7 Sep. 2023 Just weeks after one of the deadliest crashes in Texas history occurred on Interstate 35W, federal investigators peppered the employees of the company who maintained the roadway with questions. Zaeem Shaikh, Dallas News, 1 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pepper.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English peper, from Old English pipor, from Latin piper, from Greek peperi

Noun (2)

probably from pep entry 2 + -er entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

1943, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pepper was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near pepper

Cite this Entry

“Pepper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pepper. Accessed 28 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

pepper

1 of 2 noun
pep·​per ˈpep-ər How to pronounce pepper (audio)
1
: either of two sharp-tasting products from the fruit of an Indian plant used especially as a seasoning
2
: a woody vine with rounded leaves and flowers arranged in a spike that is widely cultivated in the tropics for its red berries from which pepper is prepared
3
: any of several products similar to pepper that are obtained from close relatives of the pepper
4
a
: any of a genus of tropical American herbs and shrubs of the nightshade family widely cultivated for their many-seeded fruits that usually have fleshy walls
especially : one whose fruits are hot peppers or sweet peppers
b
: the fruit of a pepper that is usually green when unripe and yellow or red when ripe
pepper adjective

pepper

2 of 2 verb
peppered; peppering ˈpep-(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce pepper (audio)
1
: to sprinkle, cover, or season with or as if with pepper
pepper the stew
a face peppered with freckles
2
: to hit with a shower of blows or objects

Medical Definition

pepper

noun
pep·​per ˈpep-ər How to pronounce pepper (audio)
1
a
: a woody Indian vine of the genus Piper (P. nigrum) that is widely cultivated in the tropics for its red berries from which black pepper and white pepper are prepared
b(1)
(2)
2

More from Merriam-Webster on pepper

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