pepperoni

noun

pep·​per·​o·​ni ˌpe-pə-ˈrō-nē How to pronounce pepperoni (audio)
: a highly seasoned beef and pork sausage

Examples of pepperoni in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Consider Domino’s Smart Slice pepperoni pizza: It’s made with mostly whole-wheat flour, low-fat cheese, and pepperoni that has half as much sodium than typical Domino’s pepperoni. Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 5 June 2025 Fans can rejoice in knowing that items like the Alley Special, with pepperoni, meatballs, sausage, green peppers, black olives, onions, mushrooms, and extra cheese, will return to the menu unscathed. Colin Wrenn, Denver Post, 13 May 2025 Security guards working a party outside a mansion gave him $100 for delivering 10 pepperoni pizzas. Chandler Rome, New York Times, 19 May 2025 Burchill had opened his window and left boxes of pepperoni pizza in his hotel room at the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, British Columbia. Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 26 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pepperoni

Word History

Etymology

Italian peperoni cayenne peppers, plural of peperone, augmentative of pepe pepper, from Latin piper — more at pepper

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pepperoni was in 1888

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pepperoni.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pepperoni. Accessed 25 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

pepperoni

noun
pep·​per·​o·​ni ˌpep-ə-ˈrō-nē How to pronounce pepperoni (audio)
: a highly seasoned beef and pork sausage

More from Merriam-Webster on pepperoni

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