cayenne
noun
a hot, biting condiment composed of the ground pods and seeds of the pepper Capsicum annuum longum.
cayenne
1 American
[kahy-en, key-, kahy-en]
/ kaɪˈɛn, keɪ-, ˈkaɪˌɛn /
noun
-
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.
Cayenne
2
American
[kahy-en, key-]
/ kaɪˈɛn, keɪ- /
noun
-
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.
Cayenne
British
/ keɪˈɛn /
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cayenne
1750–60; short for cayenne pepper, formerly cayan < Tupi kyinha, but long associated with Cayenne
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing cayenne
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"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
Add the chili powder, smoked paprika, oregano and cayenne.
From Salon ● May 19, 2026
Indeed, there’s shakshuka: a popular North African and Middle Eastern dish that’s essentially eggs poached in a simmering tomato sauce spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper.
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 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
“Well, I hope you left some suitable excuse,” said her husband, somewhat appeased, as he added a dash of cayenne pepper to the soup.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
The Cayenne recorded the highest demand in the quarter and an all-electric version of the SUV will be introduced to markets later this year, with first deliveries to customers expected from the summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
He was accused of driving a Porsche Cayenne through a red light on Church Street, Llanelli on 28 November 2023.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 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.
