pepper
Americannoun
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peppers
plural
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a pungent condiment obtained from various plants of the genus Piper, especially from the dried berries, used whole or ground, of the tropical climbing shrub P. nigrum.
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any plant of the genus Piper.
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any of several plants of the genus Capsicum, especially C. annuum, cultivated in many varieties, or C. frutescens.
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the usually green or red fruit of any of these plants, ranging from mild to very pungent in flavor.
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the pungent seeds of several varieties of C. annuum or C. frutescens, used ground or whole as a condiment.
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Baseball. pepper game.
verb (used with object)
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peppers,
present (3rd person singular)
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peppered,
past participle, past
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peppering
present participle
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to season with or as if with pepper.
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to sprinkle or cover, as if with pepper; dot.
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to sprinkle like pepper.
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to hit with rapidly repeated short jabs.
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to pelt with or as if with shot or missiles.
They peppered the speaker with hard questions.
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to discharge (shot or missiles) at something.
noun
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a woody climbing plant, Piper nigrum, of the East Indies, having small black berry-like fruits: family Piperaceae
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the dried fruit of this plant, which is ground to produce a sharp hot condiment See also black pepper white pepper
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any of various other plants of the genus Piper See cubeb betel kava
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Also called: capsicum. any of various tropical plants of the solanaceous genus Capsicum, esp C. frutescens, the fruits of which are used as a vegetable and a condiment See also bird pepper sweet pepper red pepper cayenne pepper
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the fruit of any of these capsicums, which has a mild or pungent taste
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the condiment made from the fruits of any of these plants
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any of various similar but unrelated plants, such as water pepper
verb
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to season with pepper
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to sprinkle liberally; dot
his prose was peppered with alliteration
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to pelt with small missiles
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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peppersimple
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pepperssimple
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have pepperedperfect
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has pepperedperfect
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am pepperingprogressive
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are pepperingprogressive
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is pepperingprogressive
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have been pepperingperfect progressive
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has been pepperingperfect progressive
Past
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pepperedsimple
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had pepperedperfect
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was pepperingprogressive
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were pepperingprogressive
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had been pepperingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pepper
before 1000; Middle English peper, piper, Old English pipor (> Old Norse pipari, piparr ) < Latin piper < Greek péperi; compare Old Frisian piper, Dutch peper, Old High German pfeffar ( German Pfeffer ); these and Old English pipor perhaps < a common West Germanic borrowing < Latin
Explanation
The black spice you sprinkle on your food to make it taste more flavorful? That's pepper. If your soup is a little bland, try adding some salt and pepper. Pepper starts out as a tiny fruit called a peppercorn. Once harvested and dried, these are ground into a powder and become what we think of as pepper. Other kinds of pepper include white pepper, which is a variation on black pepper, and the vegetables known as peppers, including sweet bell peppers and spicy jalapeño peppers. As a verb, pepper means "fill with scattered items," like the way you might pepper your essay with sophisticated vocabulary words to impress your teacher.
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:
"But these pellets are not safe. They can result in life-changing or, occasionally, life-threatening injuries. They also pepper the body with toxic lead, which can sometimes be difficult to remove safely," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Pretti’s last act had been to try to defend someone from pepper spray.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Everything is cooked with unsalted butter, then seasoned with ground coriander, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
A blender is used to purée the soup in batches before it’s simmered one last time and finished with more butter, salt and pepper.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
We were a team, like those kissing squirrel salt and pepper shakers.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
Pericana lands dark and red and glistening with oil, a spread for bread made with sun-dried tomatoes, peppers, and cured fish.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
Chipotle says it has removed jalapeños from some of its restaurants after determining the peppers could be tied to a salmonella outbreak public health officials are investigating.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The salad chain’s shares tumbled after hours, but it said it doesn’t use iceberg lettuce and only uses jalapeño peppers in two dressings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Natalia leaves out healthy finger food, like chopped peppers and apples, for her children to pick at.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
And there were sweets and peppers and tea and wine and...and it was all too much for him.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
As I peppered him with questions about the pink car and the Brinks armored truck, he remained cagey while slowly yielding information.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
But some residents say the giant statue is not the best way to represent the Catholic faith, in a country already peppered with religious monuments, including numerous memorials to Polish pope John Paul II.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
“I’m just trying to get Justice Alito’s vote,” veteran litigator Lisa Blatt said as she was being peppered with technical questions about plea bargains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
On the promo trail, she was peppered with questions about the wedding, but gave away very little, except to tell the BBC's Graham Norton it wouldn't be a small affair.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
I found myself sprawled on the gym floor, dazed from smoke, my tie-dyed T-shirt peppered with sizzling holes.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
Baker is known for peppering his executives with a never-ending stream of ideas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
Sometimes he sounds almost rushed, peppering his narration with “so forths,” and making his readers play odds-or-evens to attribute long stretches of dialogue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
He’s a compulsive name-dropper, peppering his speeches with boring stories whose only point is to exaggerate his relationship to famous people.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2025
The Diddy trial has been full of nonstop drama: from constant bickering between the legal teams to outbursts and altercations inside and outside the courthouse, all peppering a constant stream of utterly shocking testimonies.
From Slate ● Jun. 10, 2025
Officers kept peppering him with questions, but he was talking especially to Anderson.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
