Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pepperoni

/pɛpəˈɹoʊni/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.01 in modern English

Syllables: pep-per-oni
IPA: /pɛpəˈɹoʊni/

15

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

4

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A spicy salami-style Italian-American sausage made from cured pork and beef seasoned with pepper.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Pizza with only tomato sauce, cheese and pepperoni toppings.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"He gave the dog a treat — a dried up skinny, turdy looking, pepperoni sausage."
"She and her two best friends are choreographing a number for the talent show; she’s applied to California Institute of the Arts; and she flirts unabashedly with a cute pizza server. (The better to land a couple of extra pepperonis on her slice without an upcharge.)"
"Yo, Tony, gimme a slice of pepperoni and a coke."
"There's far more than just hot dogs to feast on too. The pizzas—gigantic, floppy, with a hyperreal waxy sheen—are mythic. They arrive exclusively in cheese, pepperoni, or supreme—the holy trinity—and will run you an eminently affordable $1.99 for a ridiculously huge wedge-shaped slice."

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian peperoni (“bell peppers”), the plural of peperone (“bell pepper”).

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /pɛpəˈɹoʊni/
British English: /pɛpəˈɹəʊni/

Usage

Inflected Forms

pepperonis (plural)

Derived Forms

pepperonied ripperoni vegaroni yepperoni

Phrases

pepperoni nipple pepperoni roll

Rhymes With

tony sony toni phony hermione stony bologna bony macaroni coney mahoney maloney

Questions

How do you pronounce pepperoni?: The recorded pronunciation is /pɛpəˈɹoʊni/.
What does pepperoni mean?: A spicy salami-style Italian-American sausage made from cured pork and beef seasoned with pepper.
Where does pepperoni come from?: Borrowed from Italian peperoni (“bell peppers”), the plural of peperone (“bell pepper”).

How to pronounce pepperoni

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pepperoni”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pɛpəˈɹoʊni/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pepperoni”.
Repeat and practice — Say “pepperoni” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.