Definition

1. Noun:

   • A pungent spice: A hot, aromatic seasoning made from the dried berries (peppercorns) of the pepper vine (Piper nigrum), used whole or ground.
   • A vegetable or fruit: The fleshy, often spicy fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, including bell peppers and chili peppers.
   • The plant itself: Any tropical plant, especially of the genus Capsicum or Piper, that bears peppers.

2. Verb:

   • To season with pepper: To add the spice pepper to food.
   • To pelt or sprinkle: To hit or cover something with many small, fast-moving objects or questions.

Examples

• Noun:

  • Could you pass the salt and pepper? (Referring to the spice.)
  • I added a red pepper to the salad for color and crunch. (Referring to the vegetable.)
  • The garden has several pepper plants. (Referring to the plant.)

• Verb:

  • Remember to pepper the stew before serving. (To season.)
  • Reporters peppered the official with questions about the scandal. (To pelt with questions.)

Advanced Usage

• "Peppered with": Covered or interspersed with many instances of something.
  • His speech was peppered with technical jargon. (His speech contained a lot of technical terms.)
• "Salt and pepper": A classic pairing of seasonings; also used to describe a mixture of dark and light colors, like hair.
  • He has a distinguished salt-and-pepper beard.

Variants and Related Words

• Peppercorn (n): The dried berry of the pepper plant, used as a spice.
  • The recipe calls for crushed peppercorns.
• Peppery (adj): Tasting or smelling of pepper; (of a person) easily angered or irritable.
  • The sauce has a peppery heat. / He has a peppery temper.
• Bell pepper (n): A large, mild variety of with a hollow interior.
• Chili pepper (n): A small, often very hot variety of .

Synonyms

• Spice (n): A substance used to flavor food, especially a pungent vegetable substance.
• Pelt (v): To attack repeatedly by throwing things.
• Besiege (v): To surround with armed forces; to overwhelm with requests or questions.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Pepper" does not commonly form phrasal verbs. The verb is typically used transitively with prepositions like "with.") - Pepper with: To sprinkle or shower something with. - The chef peppered the dish with fresh herbs.

Related Idioms

• "To take with a grain/pinch of salt (and pepper)": While not a direct idiom with "pepper," the common phrase "take with a grain of salt" (to be skeptical about something) is often humorously extended to "salt and pepper" for emphasis.
  • I'd take his stories about his adventures with a grain of salt and pepper—he loves to exaggerate.

Noun

1. sweet and hot varieties of fruits of plants of the genus Capsicum
2. pungent seasoning from the berry of the common pepper plant of East India; use whole or ground
3. any of various tropical plants of the genus Capsicum bearing peppers
4. climber having dark red berries (peppercorns) when fully ripe; southern India and Sri Lanka; naturalized in northern Burma and Assam

Verb

1. attack and bombard with or as if with missiles
   • pelt the speaker with questions
2. add pepper to
   • pepper the soup