jalapeño
Americannoun
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.
He remembers his little toy bank shaped like Pique, the anthropomorphic jalapeño pepper that was Mexico’s tournament mascot.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 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
The company launched limited-edition flavors such as pizza, garlic Parmesan and, recently, apple pie, and jalapeño and ranch as permanent additions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026
Much of Lucky Bird’s clientele are office workers who place orders for fried chicken sandwiches, tenders, wings and sides like cheddar jalapeño biscuits.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2025
I ate jalapeño chiles with my sandwiches to give them flavor.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
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.
