pepper

Pepper is a smooth-skinned, soft-stemmed fruit, or a spicy seasoning made from grinding this fruit after it's dried.

(noun)

An example of a pepper is a jalapeño.
An example of pepper is the black speckled seasoning in a shaker on the table next to the salt.

Pepper is defined as to sprinkle, or to flavor with the ground peppers.

(verb)

See pepper in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

1. a pungent condiment obtained from the small, dried fruits of an East Indian vine (Piper nigrum) of the pepper family
2. this smooth, soft-stemmed vine
any of various aromatic or pungent plants of several families, as the myrtle or ginger family, used in flavoring foods
capsicum
☆ Baseball a warm-up or practice session in which the ball is repeatedly thrown to a batter close by, who bunts it back to be fielded
in full pepper game

Origin: ME peper < OE pipor < WGmc borrowing < L piper < Gr peperi, via Pers < Sans pippali, peppercorn

adjective

designating a family (Piperaceae, order Piperales) of dicotyledonous plants, including cubeb

transitive verb

See pepper in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

Black pepper.
Any of several plants of the genus Piper, as cubeb, betel, and kava.
a. Any of several tropical American, cultivated forms of Capsicum frutescens or C. annuum, having podlike, many-seeded, variously colored berries.
b. The podlike fruit of any of these plants, varying in size, shape, and degree of pungency, with the milder types including the bell pepper and pimiento, and the more pungent types including the cherry pepper.
Any of various condiments made from the more pungent varieties of Capsicum frutescens, such as cayenne pepper, tabasco pepper, and chili. Also called hot pepper.
Baseball A warm-up exercise in which players standing a short distance from a batter field the ball and toss it to the batter, who hits each toss back to the fielders. Also called pepper game.