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Definition of hot sauce
hot sauce
Plural:hot sauces
hot sauce Lexical Profile
CEFR
A2
Grade
3
Tier
1
Usage
Top 5k
• noun
1
A spicy liquid condiment made primarily from chili peppers and other ingredients such as vinegar and salt, used to add heat and flavor to food.
Example
"She added several drops of hot sauce to her morning eggs to give them a spicy kick."
Synonyms
View all synonyms for hot sauceWord Nuance & Usage
While the phrase can literally describe any sauce served at a high temperature, it almost universally functions as a compound noun referring specifically to a spicy, chili-based condiment.
Word Origin & Etymology
A compound of 'hot' (referring to the piquant, spicy sensation caused by capsaicin) and 'sauce'. Commercial bottling of hot sauce in the United States became prominent in the mid-to-late 19th century.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Hot sauce. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 15, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/hot sauce