spicy

UK/ˈspaɪsi/US/ˈspaɪsi/

adjectiveB1Common in everyday speech and writing · #4,579 of 15,258leans spoken

Spicy means burning pleasantly in your mouth, like chili. A spicy curry, too spicy, spicy food.

The heat is not a taste at all — capsaicin triggers the nerve that reports temperature, so the mouth genuinely reports burning. Milk helps and water does not, because the compound dissolves in fat. Tolerance is learned and it is real.

Definitions of spicy

1adjectivespicyBurning pleasantly in the mouth.B1
“The curry was so spicy that my eyes started watering.”
- Said"Is it very spicy? I'm still recovering from lunch."
- WrittenThe curry was spicy enough to make his eyes water, and he ordered it again the next week.
- UsedServe something cool and creamy alongside spicy dishes to calm the heat.
- ContrastSpicy, not hot. Hot is about the temperature; spicy is the chilli, and it burns whether the plate is warm or cold. hot →
- Not thisCinnamon and nutmeg are spices, but a cake with them is not spicy. Spicy means it stings.
- Exchange"Spicy?""A little. You'll be fine."
- SimplyThis food is spicy. My mouth is hot.
Patternspicy + noun (food, sauce, sausage) · hot and spicy · mildly / very spicy · spice

spicy is a quality of flavour.

Also accepted in games: hot

Remember it

SPICy → full of SPICE

It is spice + y: too much pepper and your mouth burns, your eyes water, and you reach for the milk.

hooks ontospice

Where it comes from

Middle English
spice
English
spice
English, today
spicy

From spice + -y. spice comes from Middle English spice. Middle English spice, from Old French espice (modern épice), from Latin speciēs (“spice, good, ware”), from Latin speciēs (“kind, sort”). a doublet of species.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Definitions of spicy

1adjectivespicyBurning pleasantly in the mouth.B1

“The curry was so spicy that my eyes started watering.”

Said"Is it very spicy? I'm still recovering from lunch."
WrittenThe curry was spicy enough to make his eyes water, and he ordered it again the next week.
UsedServe something cool and creamy alongside spicy dishes to calm the heat.
ContrastSpicy, not hot. Hot is about the temperature; spicy is the chilli, and it burns whether the plate is warm or cold. hot →
Not thisCinnamon and nutmeg are spices, but a cake with them is not spicy. Spicy means it stings.
Exchange"Spicy?""A little. You'll be fine."
SimplyThis food is spicy. My mouth is hot.

Patternspicy + noun (food, sauce, sausage) · hot and spicy · mildly / very spicy · spice

spicy is a quality of flavour.

Also accepted in games: hot