PEPPER

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pepper mean? 

• PEPPER (noun)
  The noun PEPPER has 4 senses:

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

2. any of various tropical plants of the genus Capsicum bearing peppers

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

4. sweet and hot varieties of fruits of plants of the genus Capsicum

  Familiarity information: PEPPER used as a noun is uncommon.

• PEPPER (verb)
  The verb PEPPER has 2 senses:

1. add pepper to

2. attack and bombard with or as if with missiles

  Familiarity information: PEPPER used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PEPPER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

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

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of various tropical plants of the genus Capsicum bearing peppers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

capsicum; capsicum pepper plant; pepper

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 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

pepper; peppercorn

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 4

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)

• PEPPER (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they pepper    ... he / she / it peppers   
Past simple: peppered   
Past participle: peppered   
-ing form: peppering   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Add pepper to

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

pepper the soup

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Attack and bombard with or as if with missiles

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

pelt; pepper

Context example:

pelt the speaker with questions

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

 Context examples 

"What pepper pots you are!" sighed Jo. "How do you mean to settle this affair?"

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

They also grew the pepper on its own as a control group.

(Grafting helps pepper plants deal with drought, SciDev.Net)

It has a harsh, wiry outer coat and dense, soft undercoat that comes in solid black or salt and pepper.

(Giant Schnauzer, NCI Thesaurus)

Coat colors include salt and pepper, black, white or a harsh black and silver outer coat with a soft undercoat.

(Miniature Schnauzer, NCI Thesaurus)

“You’ll get pepper if you don’t.”

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

That means billions of years ago, when Ceres experienced more impacts, the dwarf planet's surface likely would have been peppered with thousands of bright areas.

(Bright Areas on Ceres Suggest Geologic Activity, NASA)

I had for dinner, or rather supper, a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but thirsty.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

It comes in two colors, pepper or mustard.

(Dandie Dinmont Terrier, NCI Thesaurus)

Also called monk’s pepper and Vitex.

(Chaste tree berry, NCI Dictionary)

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

(Monk’s pepper, NCI Dictionary)