Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

pepper spray

noun

Definition of pepper spray

  1. :  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

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

image1489982902
Devilish Words
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
steve-bannon
Trending: Bannon: One of Us is Going to be a 'Hegemon'
time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Examples of pepper spray in a Sentence

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

First Known Use of pepper spray

1979

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

Learn More about pepper spray

  1. See words that rhyme with pepper spray

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up pepper spray? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

oppugn

play

to fight against or to call in question

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. hegemon "Something having dominant influence over others"

  2. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

  3. white nationalist, white supremacist Trending in 2017

  4. bereft "Lacking something needed, wanted, or expected"

  5. impanel "To choose people to serve on a jury"

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

pepper spray

Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

  • time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
  • Which came first?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

watercolor-squares
We're Down With You Being—or Your Being?—a Square

It's about (you? your?) having your say.

image1489982902
Devilish Words

Don't blame a word use error on the devil.

alt-599492594f435
How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder

A case of semantic bleaching

dog-covering-face
Don't Let Reading This Be Another 'Coulda' 'Shoulda' 'Woulda'

PSA: They're three separate words.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
name-more-food
Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
Name That Thing
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game
Examples: pepper spray in a Sentence