pepper grinder

1 1.7

A small tool that crushes peppercorns into ground pepper for adding flavor to food

noun
/ˈpɛpər ˈɡraɪndər/

: molino de pimienta

I don't know, it's, like, the size of a pepper grinder.
salt and pepper grinder

Examples

Oh, so fruit bowl, Salt and pepper grinders, some candles, a nice little horse, isn't it?
I always use my pepper grinder to add fresh spice to my dishes.
Rice cookers, electric salt and pepper grinders, juicers, and even things like blenders will come up in the search results.

Blog text (22)
Rice cookers, electric salt and pepper grinders, juicers, and, in many cases, things such as blenders will arise in the search results.

Blog text (2)
For the best flavor, grind your spices with a pepper grinder just before cooking.
The chef reached for the pepper grinder to season the pasta dish perfectly.

Synonyms

grinder

vspepper grinder

Specialized

27 2.5

A machine that crushes materials, for example coffee beans

is designed only for food seasoning and small kitchen use

pepper mill

vspepper grinder

1 2.1

A tool that grinds whole peppercorns into small grains for food

is used specifically to crush those same seeds for seasoning food

spicemill

vspepper grinder

3.7

A small machine that grinds whole spices into powder

handles only one specific seasoning seed rather than many types

How Fine

coffee grinder

2 2.3

pepper grinder

1 1.7

mortar

8 4.1

Surface Forms

pepper grinder singular

pepper grinders plural

Morphology

pepper + grinder

The meaning of 'pepper grinder' is directly compositional: 'pepper' (the spice) plus 'grinder' (a device for crushing) yields a device for grinding pepper. This simple noun-noun compound follows common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Pepper grinder paints a simple picture: you turn a small device and its parts break whole peppercorns, so the grinder makes the pepper into small pieces. That's why it means 'a device to crush pepper'.