pepper
/'pepə'ri:nou/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
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.
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
- sweet and hot varieties of fruits of plants of the genus Capsicum
- pungent seasoning from the berry of the common pepper plant of East India; use whole or ground
- any of various tropical plants of the genus Capsicum bearing peppers
- climber having dark red berries (peppercorns) when fully ripe; southern India and Sri Lanka; naturalized in northern Burma and Assam
Verb
- attack and bombard with or as if with missiles
- pelt the speaker with questions
- add pepper to
- pepper the soup