pepper

[ pep-er ]

/ ˈpɛp ər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR pepper ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a pungent condiment obtained from various plants of the genus Piper, especially from the dried berries, used whole or ground, of the tropical climbing shrub P. nigrum.

any plant of the genus Piper. Compare pepper family.

any of several plants of the genus Capsicum, especially C. annuum, cultivated in many varieties, or C. frutescens.

the usually green or red fruit of any of these plants, ranging from mild to very pungent in flavor.

the pungent seeds of several varieties of C. annuum or C. frutescens, used ground or whole as a condiment.

Baseball. pepper game.

verb (used with object)

to season with or as if with pepper.

to sprinkle or cover, as if with pepper; dot.

to sprinkle like pepper.

to hit with rapidly repeated short jabs.

to pelt with or as if with shot or missiles: They peppered the speaker with hard questions.

to discharge (shot or missiles) at something.

Origin of pepper

before 1000; Middle English peper, piper, Old English pipor (> Old Norse pipari, piparr) < Latin piper < Greek péperi; compare Old Frisian piper, Dutch peper, Old High German pfeffar (German Pfeffer); these and Old English pipor perhaps < a common West Germanic borrowing < Latin

OTHER WORDS FROM pepper

pep·per·er, noun pep·per·ish, adjective pep·per·ish·ly, adverb un·pep·pered, adjective

Words nearby pepper

peplomer, peplos, peplum, peplus, pepo, pepper, pepper family, pepper game, pepper mill, pepper pot, pepper spot

Example sentences from the Web for pepper

Whisk in the half and half and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole |Carla Hall |December 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Rub the loin with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Make Carla Hall’s Roasted Pork Loin With Cranberries |Carla Hall |December 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Brush the pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with fleur de sel and pepper.

Make These Barefoot Contessa Chicken Pot Pies |Ina Garten |November 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, place on a sheet pan, brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Make These Barefoot Contessa Chicken Pot Pies |Ina Garten |November 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Although some groups, through the thick fog of tear gas, pepper spray and smoke that hung over the city, still lingered.

Frat Culture Clashes With Riot Police at Keene, N.H., Pumpkin Festival |Melanie Plenda |October 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Cut rather thin, lay on a gridiron over hot coals; when hot through, lay on a dish, and pepper well.

Housekeeping in Old Virginia |Marion Cabell Tyree
Some of the sailors on board the yacht prepared to lower a boat from the davits, but Pepper Sneed held back.

The Moving Picture Girls |Laura Lee Hope
Take from the fire, and when the water has ceased boiling add a little butter with pepper and salt.

Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889 |Barkham Burroughs
Whenever the soil is warm and the weather settled, the pepper plants may go out.

The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. |Ellen Eddy Shaw
And then the crowd went after Jack, Pepper, and Andy pell-mell.

The Putnam Hall Cadets |Arthur M. Winfield

British Dictionary definitions for pepper

pepper

/ (ˈpɛpə) /

noun

a woody climbing plant, Piper nigrum, of the East Indies, having small black berry-like fruits: family Piperaceae

the dried fruit of this plant, which is ground to produce a sharp hot condiment See also black pepper, white pepper

any of various other plants of the genus Piper See cubeb, betel, kava

Also called: capsicum any of various tropical plants of the solanaceous genus Capsicum, esp C. frutescens, the fruits of which are used as a vegetable and a condiment See also bird pepper, sweet pepper, red pepper, cayenne pepper

the fruit of any of these capsicums, which has a mild or pungent taste

the condiment made from the fruits of any of these plants

any of various similar but unrelated plants, such as water pepper

verb (tr)

to season with pepper

to sprinkle liberally; dot his prose was peppered with alliteration

to pelt with small missiles

Word Origin for pepper

Old English piper, from Latin, from Greek peperi; compare French poivre, Old Norse piparr

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

pepper

noun

verb (used with object)

Origin of pepper

OTHER WORDS FROM pepper

Words nearby pepper

Example sentences from the Web for pepper

British Dictionary definitions for pepper

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for pepper

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

pepper

noun

verb (used with object)

Origin of pepper

OTHER WORDS FROM pepper

Words nearby pepper

Words related to pepper

Example sentences from the Web for pepper

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for pepper

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for pepper

British Dictionary definitions for pepper