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:
Then we opened the cupboards: good knives, cookware in every shape and size, multiple colanders, and a generously stocked spice cabinet guests were welcome to use.
From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026
KPot offers an all-you-can-eat experience at tables outfitted with small barbecue grills and metal pots of bubbling broths of varying flavors and spice levels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
Eating one is too much, but adding a small bit to a dish can spice up a portfolio without causing intestinal distress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Even in sunny L.A., people crave autumnal treats; how else to explain pumpkin spice cold brew?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
I’m afraid I couldn’t like him without a spice of human naughtiness.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
In one dish he is served by a neighbor, Usnavy finds “pieces of a blanket normally used for mopping floors . . . beaten and marinated in spices and a little beef broth.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Numerous qualifying food imports — including coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, bananas, oranges, tomatoes and beef — are exempt from tariffs.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
Mine started with garlic, red onion, sun-dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, fennel, olive oil, spices and an anchovy or two, all piled into a Dutch oven and roasted together.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
She also recommends keeping dried herbs, spices and salt available as, she says, tinned food can be slightly bland.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
So were the spices in her mother’s kitchen cabinets.
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
Anchovies shine like silver blades over toast and spiced aioli.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 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
The scent of Mexican spiced coffee brewed in a clay pot wafts through the front room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Einhorn speed-talked through a presentation spiced up with cartoons and music clips.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
Kvothe produced more cheese and bread and hard spiced sausage.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Food trends columnist Adam Chandler profiled Lev Sercarz about cooking in this new era of American eating, and received suggestions for the best seasonings—from sumac to smoked salt—for spicing up even the simplest meals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
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
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
But those channels’ competitor in this genre, Lifetime, is, if not bucking tradition, at least spicing it up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
His mom made instant coffee; she couldn’t be bothered with any other method and never went through the fuss of spicing it.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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