pepper Meaning & Definition
What Does Pepper Mean?
Pepper is a noun that means A plant of the family Piperaceae. It can also mean A spice prepared from the fermented, dried, unripe berries of this plant. As a verb, it means To add pepper to.
Pepper at a Glance
| Part of speech | noun, verb |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | //ˈpɛp.ə// |
| Syllables | 1 |
| Synonyms | pelt, capsicum and black pepper |
| Plural | peppers |
| Verb forms | peppers, peppering, peppered |
Pepper Definition (Noun)
- A plant of the family Piperaceae.
- A spice prepared from the fermented, dried, unripe berries of this plant.
- A fruit of the capsicum plant: red, green, yellow or white, hollow and containing seeds, and in a wide range of mild (sweet, nonspicy) to hot (spicy) varieties.
- A game used by baseball players to warm up where fielders standing close to a batter rapidly return the batted ball to be hit again
Some ballparks have signs saying "No pepper games".
- A randomly-generated value that is added to another value (such as a password) prior to hashing. Unlike a salt, a new one is generated for each value and it is held separately from the value.
- A beating; a thrashing.
- A shotgun.
Pepper as a Verb
- To add pepper to.
- To strike with something made up of small particles.
- To cover with lots of (something made up of small things).
After the hailstorm, the beach was peppered with holes.
- To add (something) at frequent intervals.
He liked to pepper long words throughout his conversation.
- To beat or thrash.
- To use a pepper (type of value used prior to hashing).
- To shoot (upon) with the dotty.
- To write accents or disambiguating marks in script.
Noun
- A bell pepper, a fruit of the capsicum plant: red, green, yellow or white, hollow and containing seeds, and in very spicy and mild varieties.
Synonyms of Pepper
Antonyms of Pepper
No antonyms or near antonyms are listed by the available sources for this entry.
Pepper in a Sentence
Some ballparks have signs saying "No pepper games".
After the hailstorm, the beach was peppered with holes.
He liked to pepper long words throughout his conversation.
He liked to pepper his conversation with long words.
Word Forms & Grammar
pepper (countable and uncountable, plural peppers)
pepper (third-person singular simple present peppers, present participle peppering, simple past and past participle peppered)
Words That Rhyme With Pepper
Origin of Pepper
From Middle English peper, piper, from Old English piper, from Proto-West Germanic *pipar, from Latin piper, from Ancient Greek πέπερι (péperi), from an Indo-Aryan source; compare Sanskrit पिप्पली (pippalī, “long pepper”). The name was given to the capsicum fruit because of its unusual spicy taste, not unlike the Old World spice. Cognate with Scots pepar, Saterland Frisian Pieper, West Frisian piper, Dutch peper, German Low German Peper, German Pfeffer, Danish peber, Norwegian Bokmål pepper, Norwegian Nynorsk pepar, Swedish peppar, Icelandic pipar. Doublet of falafel and peepul.
Pepper Pronunciation
Pepper is pronounced //ˈpɛp.ə// and has 1 syllable.
Questions People Ask About Pepper
Is pepper a noun or a verb?
Pepper is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as a verb.
What is another word for pepper?
Close synonyms of pepper are pelt, capsicum and black pepper. See the full list of pepper synonyms and antonyms.
What is the plural of pepper?
The plural of pepper is peppers.
What is the past tense of pepper?
The past tense of pepper is peppered. The present participle is peppering.