I. spice 1 /spaɪs/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: espice , from Late Latin species 'spices' , from Latin ; ⇨ ↑ species ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] a type of powder or seed, taken from plants, that you put into food you are cooking to give it a special taste ⇨ spicy :
herbs and spices
2 . [singular, uncountable] interest or excitement that is added to something:
Travel adds spice to your life.
⇨ variety is the spice of life at ↑ variety (5)
II. spice 2 BrE AmE ( also spice up ) verb [transitive]
1 . to add interest or excitement to something:
Millions have bought the book to spice up their sex lives.
2 . to add spice to food
spice with
baked apples spiced with cinnamon