a hot, biting condiment composed of the ground pods and seeds of the pepper Capsicum annuum longum.
the long, wrinkled, twisted fruit of this plant.
the plant itself.
a seaport in and the capital of French Guiana.
Also called cayenne whist. (lowercase) a variety of whist played with two full packs of 52 cards each.
1750–60; short for cayenne pepper, formerly cayan < Tupi kyinha, but long associated with Cayenne
Cayenne is a hot pepper plant. A cayenne is related to a green bell pepper, but it's much spicier. Most cayenne is eaten as a spice — seeds from the plant are dried and ground, then judiciously sprinkled in dishes like chili and Buffalo wings. In its dry form, cayenne is a bright red powder. The word cayennne was mistakenly associated with the capital of French Guiana, Cayenne, though there's actually no relation between the place and the plant. Instead, the root is the Tupi word kyynha.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"They used to have bread with every meal, which is a Mexican thing, and put cayenne pepper on everything. Absolutely everything. They both still spoke Spanish," says Martin.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
Some Rams players reportedly put cayenne pepper in their socks to keep the heat in their feet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 18, 2026
A hit of Worcestershire deepens the savoriness, and a dusting of cayenne on the finished dish offers a quiet jolt, just enough to make you notice it.
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2025
Each kettle corn popcorn is generously coated in honey powder and hot cayenne pepper, providing the perfect balance of two bold flavors.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2025
She hands me a cup of spicy cayenne tea and another sliver of chocolate, and adds a leech to each wrist.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
The German carmaker’s new 2035 strategy mentions additional models and derivatives above 911 and Cayenne but no trimming of the product range at the lower end, the bank adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
The boy and the adults were in a Toyota Auris when it was in collision with a Porsche Cayenne just before 23:00 GMT.
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2024
Across three U.S. clinical sites and with the support of Cayenne Wellness, a patient-driven organization, 174 adult patients and 109 parents of children living with SCD completed the survey.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2023
Ceman’s daughter Cayenne is a sophomore outside hitter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2023
The distance derived from measurements of the parallax of Mars carried out in 1671 by a French team using simultaneous observations by Jean Richer from Cayenne, in French Guiana, and Cassini from Paris.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
