spices

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of spice.

   The market stall sold dozens of spices from across the region.

   Many spices lose their flavor if stored too long.

   Note

   The plural belongs only to the countable side of the noun, meaning separate kinds of seasoning sold, stored or blended. When spice means the quality of being spicy, or figuratively the appeal that makes something engaging, it stays uncountable and has no plural. The same holds for its use as the name of a psychoactive neocannabinoid. An obsolete countable sense, 'species, kind', once had its own plural too.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of spice.

   The chef spices each dish according to its regional tradition.

   She always spices her curry generously before serving it.

   Note

   A transitive form that always needs an object: the dish, the sauce or the story being seasoned. In its figurative use it usually pairs with up, as in he spices up a dull report, where what gets added is interest rather than flavor. Other present-tense subjects take bare spice. The identical spelling is also the noun for kinds of seasoning.

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