jalapeño
Americannoun
-
jalapeños
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of jalapeño
First recorded in 1935–40; from Mexican Spanish ( chile ) jalapeño “(chile of) Jalapa ”; see also chile 1 ( def. )
Explanation
A jalapeno is a small hot pepper, and it's also the name of the plant that grows these peppers. To make salsa, you need tomatoes, jalapenos, and a few other ingredients. Most fans of Mexican food are familiar with green jalapenos, the usual stage at which they're picked. If you leave the peppers on the plant, however, the jalapenos eventually turn bright red. In English, the word is spelled either with or without the tilde accent over the n. This accent makes it clear that jalapeño is a Spanish word — and it means "of Jalapa," a place in Mexico known as the birthplace of the jalapeno.
Vocabulary lists containing jalapeno
English Words Derived from Indigenous Languages of the Americas
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World Cuisine - Introductory
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World Cuisine - Middle School and High School
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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:
The California-based company said Sunday that it was voluntarily pulling the products because they contained jalapeño peppers tied to an earlier recall by Coast Citrus Distributors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Tossed with olive oil, tomatoes, jalapeño, feta and Parmesan cheese, the expertly al dente Rustichella rigatoni is not your everyday mac ‘n’ cheese dinner.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026
They order $18 mezcal cocktails infused with shiitake mushrooms, red onion and jalapeño herb oil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
It was filled with spicy tuna, cilantro, and jalapeño, topped with more tuna, sauce, and tobiko, and it was excellent!
From Salon ● Jan. 13, 2026
I ate jalapeño chiles with my sandwiches to give them flavor.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
Just as sales picked up, food-safety scares involving lettuce and jalapeños ate into demand in the restaurant sector.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
But just as sales picked up, food-safety scares tied to lettuce and jalapeños ate into demand in the restaurant sector.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
And this week brought another recall: The company pulled prepared foods, including salsa and guacamole sold under brands such as Trader Joe’s and Walmart’s Freshness Guaranteed, after receiving jalapeños connected to a multistate Salmonella outbreak.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Based on the investigation, health officials concluded that the contaminated jalapeños were imported from the Sinaloa grower to Coast Citrus Distributors, which is based in San Diego and supplied the restaurants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Long as there are jalapeños, count me in,” says Alex.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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.
