spice
Americannoun
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spices
plural
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any of a class of pungent or aromatic substances of vegetable origin, as pepper, cinnamon, or cloves, used as seasoning, preservatives, etc.
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such substances collectively or as material.
Cookies without spice can be tasteless.
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a spicy or aromatic odor or fragrance.
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something that gives zest.
a spice of humor in his solemnity.
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a piquant, interesting element or quality; zest; piquancy.
The anecdotes lent spice to her talk.
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Archaic. a small quantity of something; trace; bit.
verb (used with object)
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spices,
present (3rd person singular)
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spiced,
past participle, past
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spicing
present participle
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to prepare or season with a spice or spices.
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to give zest, piquancy, or interest to by something added.
noun
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any of a variety of aromatic vegetable substances, such as ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, used as flavourings
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these substances collectively
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something that represents or introduces zest, charm, or gusto
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rare a small amount
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dialect confectionery
verb
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to prepare or flavour (food) with spices
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to introduce charm or zest into
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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spicernoun
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overspiceverb
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respiceverb (used with object)
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spiceableadjective
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spicelessadjective
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spicelikeadjective
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unspicedadjective
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well-spicedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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spicesimple
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spicessimple
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have spicedperfect
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has spicedperfect
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am spicingprogressive
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are spicingprogressive
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is spicingprogressive
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have been spicingperfect progressive
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has been spicingperfect progressive
Past
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spicedsimple
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had spicedperfect
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was spicingprogressive
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were spicingprogressive
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had been spicingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of spice
1175–1225; (noun) Middle English, aphetic form of Old French espice ( French épice ) from Latin speciēs “appearance, sort, kind” ( see species), in Late Latin (plural): “goods, wares, spices, drugs”; (verb) Middle English spicen, in part derivative of the noun, in part from Old French espicer, derivative of espice
Explanation
You can spice up your meal with chili powder — or you can spice up your room with a disco ball! Spice is usually a flavoring for food, but you can add spice to other things by jazzing them up. Spices make your food more interesting and flavorful. Something that increases the excitement in other parts of life can also be called spice, like when the rivalry between two basketball players adds spice to the game. You can spice things up when you're telling a story by adding colorful details.
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:
In Yasser's saffron shop, the precious spice arrives by air from Mashhad, in northeastern Iran, thanks to the resumption of air links after a brief interruption.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
One had him add more cinnamon, but the spice level still wasn’t right.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
But, hold the extra spice please, as I'm useless with anything too hot.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
They include PepsiCo and the spice merchant McCormick & Co., which both cited nontariff price increases as a target of the refunds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Liyana knew she would remember sensitive-looking Bassam, who ran a spice shop, because he had a poster of the Hindu elephant-headed god Ganesha on the wall of his shop and that seemed a little—unusual—here.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
Garam masala is an Indian spice blend whose exact makeup varies, but it commonly includes warming spices like cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
Douse the whole situation in oil and spices and roast until things get a little ugly.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
"I think spices are a really good thing to start getting your head around," she told the BBC World Service's The Food Chain podcast.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
The peppercorn sauce is done with all Indian spices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
First they cooked parsnips with sugar and spices and yeast and poured this into casks, where the fermenting mixture sang loud and sweet as it turned into wine.
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
On one night, I’d empty a pack into a hot skillet, let the sausage crisp at the edges and spoon everything over spiced rice with a fried egg and a mess of fresh herbs.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
The trio’s freewheeling banter spiced with humorous mayhem and mischief enchanted legions of viewers while bringing freshness to the familiar formula of news, weather and sports.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Einhorn speed-talked through a presentation spiced up with cartoons and music clips.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
Among Ms. Ahmed’s recipes you’ll find simple porridges and breads, as well as more richly seasoned side and main dishes, many spiced with xaawash—that hint of North African, Middle Eastern and Indian influence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Tonight’s rui fish was spiced with black pepper and turmeric, and Ma had made her tasty cauliflower and potato curry.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
Christine Idzelis shed light on how leveraged exchange-traded funds were spicing up the SpaceX trade in the wake of the company’s IPO, for good and bad.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
During his cooking demonstration, the audience would erupt into cheers whenever he exclaimed, “BAM!” while spicing up his dishes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
You can also try spicing up your vanilla, per Redditor u/shazeaa: “Vanilla bean and some nutmeg to bring on the richness!”
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2025
It’s not just Eric spicing things up either.
From Slate ● May 1, 2024
Fat sausages sizzled and spit over firepits, spicing the air with the scents of garlic and pepper.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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.
