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hot pepper

hot pepper

9 2.0
A spicy red or green pepper used to add heat to food
  • noun
  • /hɑt ˈpɛpər/
translation icon : pimiento picante
  • The recipe calls for finely chopped hot pepper to enhance the flavor of the sauce.
  • hot pepper sauce
  • teaspoon of hot pepper
  • garlic and hot pepper

And then the beef sandwich with the hot Peppers and dipped pretty damn good.

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Examples

  • She loves adding hot pepper to her dishes to make them spicier.

  • Remember that time you made me sleep in the car ’cause I ate that hot pepper and you thought I was possessed?

  • I ate a hot pepper.

  • And a lot of hot peppers.

  • " Hey, look out for those hot peppers."

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Dip the meat in fish sauce with hot peppers and garlic.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Garlic and hot pepper smells hung in the dusty daylight.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • There was hot pepper in the sausage, and she'd never tasted such a thing, never had any spices.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Heck, the first time I ate a really hot pepper, I was about 6 (it was a Bird's Eye Chili).

    Blog text (31)
  • From Iberia come hot olives, hot peppers, and Spanish sauces.

    Academic text (2001)

Synonyms

chili
vshot pepper
  • US
98 1.5

A small hot pepper with a pointed shape that adds spice to food

is used more generally for spicy pods and not always extremely hot
red pepper
vshot pepper
11 2.0

A long hot chili used fresh or dried to add spice to food

is the general term for spicy pods regardless of exact shape
chipotle
vshot pepper
10 5.1

A dried, smoked jalapeño pepper that adds a smoky, spicy taste to food

is the general name for fresh or dried forms rather than this smoked form
chili pepper
vshot pepper
  • US
9 1.0

A small red or green pod that makes food hot

is the broader category rather than that specific pod
chilly
vshot pepper
  • Indian
5 9.3

A small hot pepper used to make food spicy

is the standard modern spelling commonly used now
habanero
vshot pepper
4 4.9

A small very hot chili pepper that makes food spicy

is a general name that covers milder and hotter types
cayenne
vshot pepper
2 5.7

A plant from tropical America that grows long hot red peppers

is the general food ingredient name not limited to long pods
jalapeño pepper
vshot pepper
1 3.0

A medium-hot green or red chili from Mexico used in cooking

is the broader category rather than this specific variety
tabasco
vshot pepper
1 6.2

A long thin red pepper that is very hot and makes food spicy

is the general name that covers many hot varieties rather than this one
guajillo
vshot pepper
1 6.6

A dried chili pepper from Mexico with mild heat and rich red color

is the general spicy category often hotter and usually fresh rather than mild dried
Capsicum annuum longum
vshot pepper
  • Specialized
7.1

A long thin very hot pepper often red used to add heat to food

is the general category covering many species not one specific species
Capsicum frutescens
vshot pepper
  • Specialized
8.0

A tropical pepper plant that makes small very hot red peppers for hot sauces

is the broader name not limited to tropical cultivated forms
Capsicum baccatum
vshot pepper
  • Specialized
9.1

A pepper plant from tropical America that has small very hot red fruits often used in cooking

is the wider food category rather than a single species
bird pepper
vshot pepper
  • US
8.9

A small plant from Central America with tiny red fruits that are very hot to eat

is the general food term that includes both wild and cultivated forms
Capsicum frutescens baccatum
vshot pepper
  • Specialized
9.9

A small plant with tiny, very hot red peppers used in South American cooking

is the broader culinary category rather than this specific ancestral species
tabasco pepper
vshot pepper
  • Specialized
4.8

A small very hot red chili that people use to make hot sauce

is the general spicy type not limited to this sauce variety
tabasco plant
vshot pepper
  • Specialized
6.8

A plant that grows red hot peppers used for hot sauce

is the wider edible category beyond plants grown for sauces
cherry pepper
vshot pepper
3.6

A small round red fruit like a cherry that has a spicy taste

is the general spicy category rather than this round ornamental type
cone pepper
vshot pepper
7.7

A plant that makes small hot fruits in a cone shape, often red or yellow

is mainly the cooking term rather than an ornamental plant

Antonyms

1 1.5

A large mild fruit often eaten as a vegetable with thick walls and a bell shape

1 3.4

Having a gentle, not strong taste

How Spicy

habanero
4 4.9
hot pepper
9 2.0
jalapeno
16 4.0
chili pepper
  • US
9 1.0
bell pepper
  • US
21 1.6

Surface Forms

hot pepper singular
hot peppers plural

Morphology

hot + pepper

The phrase is compositional: 'hot' (spicy/burning flavor) modifies 'pepper' (the Capsicum fruit), so the combined meaning 'spicy pepper' is directly derivable from its parts. This adjectival-noun combination and the spicy sense of 'hot' are cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

The phrase hot pepper comes from the clear image of a pepper that makes your mouth feel 'hot' or burning when you eat it. Here hot describes the spicy burn and pepper is the plant, so the name means a pepper used to add heat to food.