pepperoni

American  

[pep-uh-roh-nee] / ˌpɛp əˈroʊ ni /

Or peperoni

noun

1. a highly seasoned, hard sausage of beef and pork.

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pepperoni British  

/ ˌpɛpəˈrəʊnɪ /

noun

1. a highly seasoned dry sausage of pork and beef spiced with pepper, used esp on pizza

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Etymology

Origin of pepperoni

1920–25, < Italian peperoni, plural of peperone cayenne pepper plant, augmentative of pepe pepper

Explanation

Pepperoni is a flavorful sausage that's usually cut in thin slices. On pizza night, you and your sister might argue about toppings: you prefer pepperoni, while she likes mushrooms and olives. Officially, pepperoni is a variety of salami, a sausage that makes most people think of sandwiches rather than pizza. Usually pepperoni is bright red, with a peppery, smoky flavor and a soft, chewy texture. Rather than black pepper, most pepperoni is flavored with paprika, a seasoning made from sweet bell peppers. The origin of the name backs this up: it comes from the Italian peperone, "bell pepper."

Example Sentences

Top your mocktail with fried bacon, cheese on skewers and pepperoni.

From Salon • Jan. 18, 2026

But the people who worked and ate at the Moscow Pizza Huts still remember the pepperoni and the red-checkered tablecloths and what they represented: In Russia, change wasn’t always an empty promise.

From Slate • Nov. 13, 2025

For him that means a tightly edited menu of classics like pepperoni, meatball and a white pie with mushrooms.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025

It’s why Tino indulged every customer, both nasty and agreeable, while working his college summers as a bus boy and waiter at Bella Notte, the family restaurant in Pittsburgh known for its shredded pepperoni pizzas.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 24, 2025

A guy on a bike road through the flock of pigeons, causing them to flap and flitter around, pepperoni hanging from their beaks.

From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds

Related Words

• bratwurst