peppermint

[pep-er-mint, -muh nt]

noun

an herb, Mentha piperita, of the mint family, cultivated for its aromatic, pungent oil.

Also called peppermint oil. this oil, or a preparation made from it.

a lozenge or confection flavored with peppermint.

Origin of peppermint

First recorded in 1690–1700; pepper + mint¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for peppermint

Contemporary Examples of peppermint

Peppermint party, chocolate, cinnamon: e-cigarettes are beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
Teens Are Huge Buyers of Flavored E-Cigs, Studies Show
Abby Haglage
June 16, 2014

Historical Examples of peppermint

Seemed as if I could smell the peppermint I brought in for him to pick over.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
There was no stock on hand now but two peppermint sticks and some tire tape.
Pee-wee Harris
Percy Keese Fitzhugh
Then add sixty drops of oil of peppermint; beat it well, drop it on white paper, and dry it at a distance from the fire.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
Here's a sweetie for ye; it's a peppermint lozenge, an' it's a graun' help.
St. Cuthbert's
Robert E. Knowles
A few drops (say four) of essence of peppermint on a lump of sugar.
A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes
Charles Elm Francatelli

British Dictionary definitions for peppermint

peppermint

noun

a temperate mint plant, Mentha piperita, with purple or white flowers: cultivated for its downy leaves, which yield a pungent oil

the oil from this plant, which is used as a flavouring

a sweet flavoured with peppermint

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for peppermint

1690s, from pepper (n.) + mint (n.1). As a type of candy drop by 1829.