Pepper

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ˈpÉ›pÉ™/
• GenAm IPA: /ˈpÉ›pÉš/
• Rhymes: -É›pÉ™(ɹ)

Origin

Old English piper, from Latin piper, from an source; compare Sanskrit पिप्पलि (pippali, "long pepper").

Full definition of pepper

Noun

1. A plant of the family Piperaceae.
2. (uncountable) A spice prepared from the fermented, dried, unripe red berries of this plant.
3. A fruit of the capsicum: red, green, yellow or white, hollow and containing seeds, and in very spicy and mild varieties.
4. (baseball) A game used by baseball players to warm up where fielders standing close to a batter rapidly return the batted ball to be hit againSome ballparks have signs saying "No pepper games".

Synonyms

• (fruit of the capsicum)
• (spicy) chili, chili pepper, chilli, hot pepper
• mild bell pepper, paprika, sweet pepper

Derived terms

• bell pepper
• chili pepper
• green pepper
• hot pepper
• pepper spray
• red pepper
• sweet pepper
• tabasco pepper
• white pepper

Verb

1. (transitive) To add pepper to.
2. (transitive) To strike with something made up of small particles.
3. (transitive) To cover with lots of (something made up of small things).After the hailstorm, the beach was peppered with holes.
4. (transitive) To add (something) at frequent intervals.He liked to pepper his conversation with long words.

Related terms