spice

Pluralspices

Formsspices, spicing, spiced

1. 1
   nouncountable or uncountable

   A seasoning made from part of a plant, usually dried, that gives food a strong aroma or a pungent taste.

   Each region of India favors a different spice in its cooking.

   The market stalls overflowed with colorful spices from across Asia.

   Similarseasoning, flavoring

   Note

   Behind the kitchen word is Old French espice, from Late Latin speciēs. That is the same Latin word that gives English species, and it explains the obsolete 'kind' meaning. It counts both ways: spice for the substance in general, a spice for one particular kind, as when vanilla is called the spice Madagascar chiefly supplies.

2. 2
   verbtransitive

   To add one or more spices to food; to season.

   The chef spiced the broth with cardamom and clove.

   Traditional cooks spice their stews generously with cumin.

   Similarseason, flavor

3. 3
   nounfigurativelyuncountable

   An appealing or interesting quality that makes something engaging or exciting.

   A bit of mystery gives the novel its spice.

   Friendly rivalry adds spice to the weekly chess matches.

   Similarzest, excitement, interest, flavor, color

   Oppositedullness

   Note

   The figurative use is best known from the proverb variety is the spice of life. It usually takes no article: something adds spice to an evening or gives a story its spice, and a life can want both friendship and spice. The image comes straight from cooking, where a small addition changes the taste of the whole.

4. 4
   verbtransitive

   To make something more exciting, lively, or interesting.

   The director spiced the script with sharp, witty dialogue.

   A surprise guest can really spice an otherwise routine meeting.

   Similarenliven, brighten

5. 5
   noununcountable

   The quality or degree of being spicy; pungent heat in food.

   The chili sauce adds intense spice to every bite.

   Diners can choose how much spice they want in the noodles.

   Similarspiciness

6. 6
   nouncountable or uncountable

   A characteristic touch or trace of flavor; a distinctive smack that marks something.

   His letters always carried a spice of mischief.

   The wine left a faint spice of oak on the palate.

   Similarhint, touch, trace, tinge, dash

7. 7
   nouncountable or uncountable

   A warm, aromatic odor, like that of fragrant herbs or seasonings.

   A rich spice of cloves and orange drifted from the mulled wine.

   The garden released a sweet spice after the evening rain.

   Similararoma, fragrance, scent, perfume

8. 8
   noununcountable

   A psychoactive synthetic cannabinoid, typically sprayed onto dried plant matter and smoked.

   Emergency rooms reported a spike in patients who had taken spice.

   Authorities struggle to regulate spice because its chemical makeup keeps changing.

9. 9
   noununcountable

   Erotic or sexually explicit material, usually written; smut.

   Fans of the series come for the romance and stay for the spice.

   Her latest book leans heavily into spice rather than slow-burn tension.

   Similarsmut, erotica

   Note

   Online talk about books and stories uses it as a measure of explicitness. A story has more or less of it, so readers speak of lots of spice, never a spice. The image extends the heat of spicy food to sexual content. It belongs to Internet chatter; in formal reviews, explicit or erotic is the clearer choice.

10. 10
    noundialectalYorkshireuncountable

    Confectionery; sweets or candy of the kind eaten as a treat.

    The market stall sold homemade spice in paper bags.

    After dinner the kids begged for a little spice.

    Similarsweets, candy, confectionery

    Note

    Yorkshire speech keeps this meaning alive. A trip daan to t'spice shop is a trip for confectionery, not seasoning. It stays uncountable, as in some spice or a bag of spice. Outside the region a listener will hear the kitchen meaning, so it is safest among speakers who share the usage.

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