pepper spray

American  

noun

• pepper sprays
  plural

1. an aerosol spray that temporarily irritates the eyes and mucous membranes, used to stun and incapacitate a person or animal.

   police use of pepper spray to control rioters.

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pepper spray British  

noun

1. a defence spray agent derived from hot cayenne peppers, which causes temporary blindness and breathing difficulty, sometimes used to control riots

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pepper sprays
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pepper spray

First recorded in 1985–90; the active ingredient is capsaicin, extracted from capsicum peppers

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pepper spray

Pretti’s last act had been to try to defend someone from pepper spray.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

She can handle herself—she has an industrial-size pepper spray in her backpack.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

“Rather than move immediately to pepper spray, you can arrest the person.”

From Salon ● Feb. 2, 2026

According to videos taken on the scene, Pretti was holding a phone, not a handgun, when he stepped in front of a federal agent who was targeting a woman with pepper spray.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2026

Or perhaps it was the pepper spray at Greyhound—he had surely inhaled enough of the gas to cause some internal reaction.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers