Library / English Dictionary

PEPPER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sweet and hot varieties of fruits of plants of the genus Capsicum

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("pepper" is a kind of...):

solanaceous vegetable (any of several fruits of plants of the family Solanaceae; especially of the genera Solanum, Capsicum, and Lycopersicon)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pepper"):

sweet pepper (large mild crisp thick-walled capsicum peppers usually bell-shaped or somewhat oblong; commonly used in salads)

hot pepper (any of various pungent capsicum fruits)

Holonyms ("pepper" is a part of...):

capsicum; capsicum pepper plant; pepper (any of various tropical plants of the genus Capsicum bearing peppers)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Pungent seasoning from the berry of the common pepper plant of East India; use whole or ground

Synonyms:

pepper; peppercorn

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("pepper" is a kind of...):

flavorer; flavoring; flavourer; flavouring; seasoner; seasoning (something added to food primarily for the savor it imparts)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pepper"):

black pepper (pepper that is ground from whole peppercorns with husks on)

white pepper (pepper ground from husked peppercorns)

Holonyms ("pepper" is a part of...):

black pepper; common pepper; Madagascar pepper; pepper; Piper nigrum; white pepper (climber having dark red berries (peppercorns) when fully ripe; southern India and Sri Lanka; naturalized in northern Burma and Assam)

Derivation:

pepper (add pepper to)

peppery (having the piquant burning taste of peppers)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Any of various tropical plants of the genus Capsicum bearing peppers

Synonyms:

capsicum; capsicum pepper plant; pepper

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("pepper" is a kind of...):

bush; shrub (a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems)

Meronyms (parts of "pepper"):

pepper (sweet and hot varieties of fruits of plants of the genus Capsicum)

Meronyms (substance of "pepper"):

capsaicin (colorless pungent crystalline compound derived from capsicum; source of the hotness of hot peppers of the genus Capsicum such as chili and cayenne and jalapeno)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pepper"):

Capsicum annuum conoides; cone pepper (plant bearing erect pungent conical red or yellow or purple fruits; sometimes grown as an ornamental)

Capsicum annuum longum; cayenne; cayenne pepper; chili pepper; chilli pepper; jalapeno; long pepper (plant bearing very hot and finely tapering long peppers; usually red)

bell pepper; Capsicum annuum grossum; paprika; pimento; pimiento; sweet pepper; sweet pepper plant (plant bearing large mild thick-walled usually bell-shaped fruits; the principal salad peppers)

Capsicum annuum cerasiforme; cherry pepper (plant bearing small rounded usually pungent fruits)

bird pepper; Capsicum baccatum; Capsicum frutescens baccatum (plant bearing very small and very hot oblong red fruits; includes wild forms native to tropical America; thought to be ancestral to the sweet pepper and many hot peppers)

Capsicum frutescens; hot pepper; tabasco pepper; tabasco plant (plant bearing very hot medium-sized oblong red peppers; grown principally in the Gulf Coast states for production of hot sauce)

Holonyms ("pepper" is a member of...):

Capsicum; genus Capsicum (chiefly tropical perennial shrubby plants having many-seeded fruits: sweet and hot peppers)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Climber having dark red berries (peppercorns) when fully ripe; southern India and Sri Lanka; naturalized in northern Burma and Assam

Synonyms:

black pepper; common pepper; Madagascar pepper; pepper; Piper nigrum; white pepper

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("pepper" is a kind of...):

pepper vine; true pepper (any of various shrubby vines of the genus Piper)

Meronyms (parts of "pepper"):

pepper; peppercorn (pungent seasoning from the berry of the common pepper plant of East India; use whole or ground)

Meronyms (substance of "pepper"):

piperin; piperine (derived from pepper (especially black pepper); source of the hotness of black and white pepper)

Holonyms ("pepper" is a member of...):

genus Piper; Piper (type genus of the Piperaceae: large genus of chiefly climbing tropical shrubs)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Attack and bombard with or as if with missiles

Example:

pelt the speaker with questions

Synonyms:

pelt; pepper

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "pepper" is one way to...):

assail; attack (launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with)

"Pepper" entails doing...:

throw (propel through the air)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody with something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Add pepper to

Example:

pepper the soup

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "pepper" is one way to...):

spice; spice up; zest (add herbs or spices to)

Domain category:

cookery; cooking; preparation (the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

pepper (pungent seasoning from the berry of the common pepper plant of East India; use whole or ground)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Monk's pepper may affect levels of reproductive hormones in the blood.

(Chaste Berry, NCI Dictionary)

A component of certain plants, including cayenne and red pepper, used topically for peripheral nerve pain.

(Capsaicin, NCI Dictionary)

All of these bodies have small tilts with respect to their axes of rotation, so their poles are extremely cold and peppered with persistently shadowed craters.

(Where is the Ice on Ceres?, NASA)

Intoxicating pepper may increase the effect of alcohol and of certain drugs used to treat anxiety and depression.

(Intoxicating pepper, NCI Dictionary)

A chili pepper extract with analgesic properties.

(Capsaicin, NCI Thesaurus)

Also called intoxicating pepper, rauschpfeffer, tonga, and yangona.

(Kava kava, NCI Dictionary)

A standardized extract containing the active alkaloid piperine, derived from the fruit of the plant Piper nigrum (black pepper) and/or the plant Piper longum L. (long pepper), with thermogenic properties.

(Piperine Extract (Standardized), NCI Thesaurus)

Examples are broccoli, carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini.

(Nonstarchy vegetable, NCI Dictionary)

One was a placebo, which had no effect, and the other contained capsaicin, the ingredient that makes chili peppers hot and causes inflammation, as seen with sunburns.

(Study identifies gene that makes gentle touch feel painful after injury, National Institutes of Health)

The nerves also showed an increase in the function of TRPV1, a molecule that detects the hotness of chilli peppers (TRPV1 is also activated by heat, which is why chillis tastes hot).

(Joint lubricating fluid plays key role in osteoarthritic pain, University of Cambridge)