What does pimento mean?
Pimento is a noun with two related but distinct culinary meanings. It can denote a sweet pepper, especially the familiar bell pepper, or it can refer to the dried berries of the allspice tree and the spice made from them. The second meaning is especially associated with Caribbean cooking, where allspice berries are widely used in stews, pickling, and seasoning. The first meaning appears in dishes, preserves, and sandwich fillings, including the British spread known as pimento cheese. Because dictionaries and regional conventions differ in their emphasis, pimento can occasionally be ambiguous in food writing. “Allspice” is normally preferable when the intended ingredient is the spice, while “sweet pepper” or “bell pepper” removes ambiguity when referring to the vegetable. The word ultimately comes through Spanish from Latin piper, the source of both “pepper” and many related names for pungent spices.
nounPimento may mean the sweet pepper, especially the bell pepper, or the dried berries of the allspice tree used as a spice. Its meaning can vary by dictionary, context, and region, so “allspice” is often the less ambiguous term for the spice.
- A sweet pepper, especially a bell pepper.
- The dried, unripe berries of the allspice tree, or a spice prepared from them.
"She roasted the whole pimento before adding it to the sauce."
"The red pimento added colour and sweetness to the salad."
"The cook simmered the sauce with whole pimento berries."
The standard English plural is pimentos.
"The recipe calls for two pimentos, finely chopped."
Pimento can mean either a familiar bell pepper or the complex, clove-like spice commonly called allspice.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pimento come from?
English borrowed pimento from Spanish pimiento, which derives from Latin piper, the ancient source of the word “pepper.” The name was applied both to peppers and to aromatic berry spices whose flavour resembles pepper. Pimiento also gave rise to the recorded English variant spelling pimiento.
Related word forms
How pimento is actually used
The word is potentially ambiguous because it can refer both to a sweet pepper and to allspice. In passages where the spice is intended, “allspice” is usually clearer; regional usage of the broader senses varies.
Easily confused with pimento
Pimiento is the Spanish word for pepper and a recorded variant spelling of the English word, whereas pimento is the established English form.