What does "spice" mean?
Aromatic or pungent plant matter (usually dried) used to season or flavor food.
Spice
/spaɪs/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Aromatic or pungent plant matter (usually dried) used to season or flavor food.
- Grammar: spice is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: admixture, aleppo, allspice, anchovies.
- Useful contrasts: bland, blandness, drabness.
- Usage evidence: The princess's taste for pleasures was expanding; and we thought only about how to sprinkle on them new seasonings, so as to give them more spice.
How to use "spice"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "spice" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "spice" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "spice" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "spice" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "spice" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "admixture" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "spice", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Aromatic or pungent plant matter (usually dried) used to season or flavor food. countable, uncountable
"Vanilla itself was transplanted from Madagascar, the main source of the spice, to Polynesia a century ago."
- 2 plural of spouse form-of, humorous, nonce-word, plural, usually
- 3 the property of being seasoned with spice and so highly flavored wordnet
- 4 The quality of being spicy. uncountable
"What spice level do you want for your pad thai? I recommend mild."
- 5 any of a variety of pungent aromatic vegetable substances used for flavoring food wordnet
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 Appeal, interest; an attribute that makes something appealing, interesting, or engaging. figuratively, uncountable
"variety is the spice of life"
- 7 aromatic substances of vegetable origin used as a preservative wordnet
- 8 A psychoactive neocannabinoid. uncountable
- 9 Sweets, candy. Yorkshire, uncountable
"Let's go daan to t'spice shop an see what they've i stock"
- 10 Species; kind. countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 11 A characteristic touch or taste; smack; flavour. countable, uncountable
- 12 An aromatic odor. countable, uncountable
- 13 Erotic or pornographic material, usually written; smut. Internet, uncountable
- 14 An additional input parameter used as a secondary, non-secret key in the Hasty Pudding cipher. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To add spice or spices to; season. transitive
"Madame de Pompadour was fond of chocolates spiced with vanilla and amber."
- 2 make more interesting or flavorful wordnet
- 3 To spice up. transitive
"City Men is pretty much the same kind of sentimental comedy spiced with wisecracks as The Women, a disappointingly familiar genre."
- 4 add herbs or spices to wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 Acronym of Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis, a general-purpose, open-source analog electronic circuit simulator. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 2 A surname.
Example
"The princess's taste for pleasures was expanding; and we thought only about how to sprinkle on them new seasonings, so as to give them more spice."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spice"?
Common synonyms include: admixture, aleppo, allspice, anchovies, angelica, animate.
How do you use "spice" in a sentence?
The princess's taste for pleasures was expanding; and we thought only about how to sprinkle on them new seasonings, so as to give them more spice.
How do you pronounce "spice"?
Pronounced /spaɪs/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti Proto-Italic *spekjō Late Latin speciō Proto-Italic *-jēs Late Latin -iēs Late Latin speciēs Old French espicebor. Anglo-Norman specebor. Middle English spice English spice Inherited from Middle English spice, from Old French espice (modern épice), from Late Latin speciēs (“spice, good, ware”), from Latin speciēs (“kind, sort”). Doublet of species.
Etymology 2
Formed by analogy with lice and mice as the plurals of louse and mouse. First attested use Christopher Morley in “Morley's Magnum” (1935). Made popular by Robert A. Heinlein in Time Enough for Love (1973).