Meaning & use
spicy food
Last updated
Meanings
phraseuncountable
food that has a strong, hot taste because of spices such as chili or pepper
Grammar: Uncountable; it takes a singular verb: Spicy food is popular here.
Patterns
- eat spicy food
- like spicy food
- too spicy
I love spicy food, especially Thai curries.
Some people cannot eat spicy food because it hurts their stomach.
The restaurant is famous for its spicy food.
phraseplural
different types of dishes that are strongly flavored with spices
Grammar: Used as a plural when referring to several kinds of spicy dishes: Spicy foods from around the world.
Patterns
- try spicy foods
- a variety of spicy foods
The festival offers spicy foods from Mexico, India, and Korea.
She avoids spicy foods when she has a cold.
Word forms
| plural | spicy foods |
|---|
Common combinations
- eat spicy food
- They eat spicy food every day.
- love spicy food
- My brother loves spicy food.
- mildly spicy food
- This curry is only mildly spicy food for beginners.
- too spicy
- The soup was too spicy for the children.
- spicy food lover
- As a spicy food lover, she always adds hot sauce.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hot food
- Common in everyday speech, but 'hot' can also mean high temperature, so it may be confusing.
- piquant food
- Formal or literary; it means pleasantly spicy but is rarely used in everyday conversation.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: spicy food or hot food?
spicy food vs hot food
'Hot food' usually means food that is served at a high temperature; 'spicy food' means food with a strong, burning flavor from spices.
Practice
I can't eat ______ because it makes my mouth burn.
Choose one answer.
The uncountable phrase 'spicy food' is used here in a general sense. 'Spicy foods' is plural and would need a plural verb like 'make'. 'A spicy food' is not natural because 'food' is uncountable in this general meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spicy food”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.