pepper spray

1. 1.

   a nonlethal aerosol spray made with the pepper derivative oleoresin capiscum; used to cause temporary blindness and incapacitate an attacker; also used as a bear deterrent

   Broaderaerosolchemical weapon

Questions about pepper spray

What does pepper spray mean?

pepper spray means "a nonlethal aerosol spray made with the pepper derivative oleoresin capiscum; used to cause temporary blindness and incapacitate an attacker; also used as a bear deterrent".

Is pepper spray a common word?

pepper spray is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.