peppercorn
Americannoun
-
the berry of the pepper plant, Piper nigrum, dried and used as a condiment, in pickling, etc.
-
anything very small or insignificant.
adjective
noun
-
the small dried berry of the pepper plant ( Piper nigrum )
-
something trifling
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of peppercorn
before 1000; Middle English pepercorn; Old English piporcorn. See pepper, corn 1
Explanation
If you've ever filled a pepper grinder, you know what peppercorns are — they're those tiny round balls that become black pepper when they're crushed. Before they're harvested, peppercorns are berries on a vine. The plant is native to Kerala, India, but grows in many warm places, including Vietnam, which exports most of the world's peppercorns. Once dried, peppercorns are ground and used to season food. Most are black, but you can also find green, white, and even pink peppercorns, which all have slightly different flavors.
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:
It would also cap ground rents at £250 a year, changing to a peppercorn after 40 years.
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
To investigate the source of mummy scents, researchers examined the air surrounding extremely small mummy fragments about the size of a peppercorn.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 16, 2026
There was also a token "peppercorn" payment, which the Crown Estate notes is standard practice for long leases, where there's an advance payment in lieu of rent.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025
We’re not here, after all, to organize salad ingredients or taste a sauce, even though we suddenly may find ourselves cheering a green peppercorn dressing with preserved lime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
People nearby catch a glimpse of tiny cinnamon-colored ears and two peppercorn eyes peering out of the basket.
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
The real zing comes from her addition of toasted and crushed Sichuan peppercorns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Some have the delicate crunch of fried sesame seeds, garlic or crushed peanuts, or the mouth-numbing tingle of Sichuan peppercorns.
From New York Times ● Apr. 5, 2024
Soon other Chinese immigrants followed, many from Hunan and Sichuan, another southern province, known for fiery, numbing flavours produced by its tiny but potent peppercorns.
From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2024
In a food processor, blend the prunes, soy sauce, ketchup, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, anchovies and 4 teaspoons salt until smooth, about 1 minute.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 21, 2023
Each time, the berserker blasted a spice cart and sent plumes of red Sichuan peppercorns, yellow mustard, purple basil, blue juniper, black sesame, brown cumin, and green ginger whirling into the air.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
