From Spanish chile habanero “chili from Havana”
A habanero is a small, extremely hot pepper. Habaneros come in various colors, ranging from green to dark red, but you can't tell how hot a habanero is until you taste it. The habanero was once declared the hottest chile by Guiness World Records, but it was eventually overtaken by even spicier peppers. Habaneros have a deceptively sweet initial flavor, with their intense heat increasing over several minutes and often lasting as long as an hour. The habanero was named for the Cuban city of Havana, or La Habana in Spanish.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The habanero is the life of our cuisine,” said Elio Xicum, a chef who grew up and still lives in Yucatán.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 15, 2024
For comparison, a habanero pepper typically hits 100,000 Scoville heat units, but Pepper X registers at 2.69 million units.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2023
The only thing that was missing, I said, was the habanero salsa that typically accompanies Yucateco cooking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2023
Whitley estimates he lost a total of "six thousand eggplants, four thousand bell peppers, one thousand habanero and five hundred tomatoes, all under water."
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2023
“Do you want the habanero pepper or the bag of magazines? Do you want to get caught while taking out our Special friend? Or save a precious piece of human heritage from these barbarians?”
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
Restaurant chains from Chick-fil-A to Buffalo Wild Wings are amping up the condiments rush, recently introducing new items such as Zesty Buffalo Sauce and Habanero Hot Sauce at retail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
In classic fashion, several Canadian franchisees that I reached out to refused to gloat about their strawberry pies and Spicy Habanero McChickens.
From Slate ● Sep. 7, 2023
Habanero peppers are extremely hot and could negatively affect your lungs or skin.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 2, 2023
I love tacos, and my favorite taco place is Taqueria Habanero.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 28, 2019
We then gave him half a cup of Habanero, some plantains and a cigar, and, as the dew was heavy, told him to sit by the fire.
From Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Vol. I. by Stephens, John L.
If you're looking to experiment with different flavors, consider topping them with something crunchy and spicy like chili onions or habaneros, one Redditor suggests.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2022
Cook garlic and one or two chiles habaneros, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to brown.
From Salon ● May 7, 2022
When Sister Amala Jose, who is 44, came from her native India, Labik excitedly welcomed her and added mangoes, ginger paste and habaneros to the shopping list.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 8, 2021
The pork tenderloin sandwich was fried in a light batter and brightened with red onions pickled with habaneros.
From New York Times ● Dec. 27, 2020
I’d soon learn that the hot sauce, made in-house by chef Mauricio Flores Turcios, is a volatile compound, an alchemy of garlic, vinegar, paprika, molasses and charred peppers, including habaneros and arbol chiles.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 23, 2018
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.
