pepper spray

noun

: a temporarily disabling aerosol that is composed partly of capsicum oleoresin and causes irritation and blinding of the eyes and inflammation of the nose, throat, and skin

Examples of pepper spray in a Sentence

The police used pepper spray to bring the suspect under control.

Recent Examples on the Web

Thousands of protesters demanding their frozen savings back and accountability for Ueno’s failure have clashed with police firing rubber bullets and pepper spray this week. — Isabel Debre, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026

One of the officers grabbed a protester who was filming him and deployed pepper spray after a brief struggle. — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 5 Nov. 2026

Wong was a poster boy of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, in which protesters used umbrellas to fend off police pepper spray. — ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026

The bystander was targeted by the agents after picking up a bottle on the ground, which appeared to be pepper spray, ABC 7 reported. — Greta Bjornson, PEOPLE, 3 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pepper spray

• aaa
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• axillae
• baa
• beaujolais
• bouvier
• breakaway