jalapeño
Americannoun
noun
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.
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
The tomatoes were great this year — the cherry tomatoes were unbelievable — and we had great eggplants, bell peppers and jalapeño peppers.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 13, 2024
As much as he loved food from PJ’s, Chip wasn’t thinking about fried croaker and jalapeño hush puppies.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
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.
