- [countable, uncountable] one of the various types of powder or seed that come from plants and are used in cooking. Spices have a strong taste and smell.
- common spices such as ginger and cinnamon
- a spice jar
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- ground
- mixed
- exotic
- …
- mix
- mixture
- rub
- …
- herbs and spices
- [uncountable] extra interest or excitement
- We need an exciting trip to add some spice to our lives.
- The danger added spice to their romance.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- extra
- add
- give
- the spice of life
- [uncountable] a powerful illegal synthetic (= artificial) drug that some people smoke for the physical and mental effects that it has on them
- Six men overdosed on the synthetic drug known as spice.
- spice, known as the ‘zombie’ drug
Word OriginMiddle English: shortening of Old French espice, from Latin species ‘sort, kind’, in late Latin ‘wares’.
Idioms
See spice in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee spice in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishvariety is the spice of life
- (saying) having a range of different experiences makes life more interesting
Check pronunciation:
spice