hot pepper

noun

1. any of variously shaped pungent peppers of the genus Capsicum, containing large amounts of capsaicin and usually having thin walls.
2. a plant bearing such a pepper.

hot pepper

noun

1. any of several varieties of the pepper Capsicum frutescens, esp chilli pepper
2. the pungent usually small fruit of any of these plants

Word History and Origins

Origin of hot pepper¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

The chip, dusted with two very hot peppers, the Carolina Reaper and the Naga Viper, had a label on the box that read, “One Chip Challenge” and carried a warning — “Inside: One Extremely Hot Chip.”

From New York Times

The two story lines don’t cross paths, as they often do in Hong’s films; they are united only by the deployment of a culinary hack: mixing hot pepper paste into ramyun.

From New York Times

They include strawberries; spinach; kale, collard and mustard greens; grapes; peaches; pears; nectarines; apples; bell and hot peppers; cherries; blueberries and green beans.

From Salon

Its shelves are stocked with seasonal produce and flowers, the farm’s popular hot pepper sauces and a tightly edited collection of antique table goods including terrines, serving platters and ceramic pitchers.

From New York Times

Others add corn, black beans, hot peppers or halved cherry tomatoes.

From Salon

Related Words

• chili pepper
• jalapeno
• red pepper