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.
The iconic pepperoni pizza was favored by Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Raul A. Reyes, Newsweek, 22 Jan. 2025 Top the sauce with the mozzarella and pepperoni (about ¼ cup of cheese and 5 slices of pepperoni per calzone). Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 28 Dec. 2024 Popular choices include The Soprano, a pie made with red sauce, Italian sausage, prosciutto, ham, and chili flakes, and The Classic, topped with mozzarella, bacon crumbles, and tons of pepperoni. Amanda Hancock, The Courier-Journal, 8 Nov. 2024 One of the shop's best-selling pizzas, according to Yelp, is the Loui’s Meat Lovers Pizza, made with sausage, pepperoni, beef, ham, bacon, and extra cheese. Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 24 Oct. 2024 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

Dictionary Entries Near pepperoni

Cite this Entry

“Pepperoni.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pepperoni. Accessed 9 Feb. 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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