pepper spray

noun

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

Examples: pepper spray in a Sentence

Definition of pepper spray

: 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

See pepper spray defined for English-language learners

Examples of pepper spray in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of pepper spray from the Web

The system called Threat Extinguisher, alerts students and local authorities once a can of pepper spray has been removed from its base, WFMJ explained.

— lauren rearick, Teen Vogue, "Ohio School District to Install Pepper Spray “Threat Extinguisher” System," 13 July 2018
The complaints office concluded in its own report in February that officers were overzealous in their use of pepper spray and other crowd-control tools.

— peter hermann, Washington Post, "Independent police group criticizes D.C. officers’ handling of Inauguration Day riots," 10 July 2018
For years, Fernandez was beaten, shot with a BB gun, smothered with pepper spray, made to wear girl’s clothes to school, forced to eat his own vomit and locked in a small cabinet with a sock stuffed in his mouth, his brother testified.

— NBC News, "Death of Anthony Avalos has parallels to another child abuse case in L.A.," 8 July 2018
Empower schools and teachers with non-lethal self-defense tools, like this can of pepper spray.

— lukas mikelionis, Fox News, "Democratic House candidate pepper sprays himself to promote gun control," 14 June 2018
Tillemann takes a face full of pepper spray in the ad.

— lisa gutierrez, kansascity, "Why this U.S. House candidate in Colorado got pepper sprayed in the face on purpose," 13 June 2018
Michigan has 320 state park officers who are equipped with pepper spray, batons and handcuffs.

— steven pepple, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan state park police want guns, body armor, say it's a dangerous job," 8 July 2018
When Love asked what was going on, Clavette allegedly pepper sprayed him twice in the face, according to the complaint.

— jerome campbell, BostonGlobe.com, "Cambridge couple sues city and police for 2015 arrest, claiming excessive force, racial bias," 4 May 2018
The Protests Got Ugly After Trump took the Oath of Office, just outside of the Capitol, police in riot gear used pepper spray on crowds of protestors.

— kate storey, Harper's BAZAAR, "13 Moments You May Have Missed From Donald Trump's Inauguration," 20 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pepper spray.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of pepper spray

1979

in the meaning defined above

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PEPPER SPRAY Defined for English Language Learners

pepper spray

noun

Definition of pepper spray for English Language Learners

: a substance made from a chemical found in peppers that causes temporary blindness and pain to the nose, throat, and skin when it is sprayed on someone