ají

noun

ä-ˈhē How to pronounce ají (audio)
variants or less commonly aji
plural ajíes also ajies or ajís or ajis
: a chili pepper that ranges in pungency from mild to very hot and is produced by several usually cultivated varieties of a wild South American capsicum (Capsicum baccatum)
also : a plant bearing ají peppers

Examples of ají in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The lime gives that bright acidity, the aji amarillo adds that fruity heat, and the garlic brings depth. — Shivani Vora, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025 Head to the Andean region to try them with aji, a Colombian hot sauce, for a bit of heat. — Natalie Hoy, Southern Living, 16 May 2026 To make the aji verde, add the cilantro, mint, parsley, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, serrano, honey, sour cream, salt and pepper to a blender. — ABC News, 13 May 2026 His is made with a puree of sweet aji peppers, a pantry’s worth of seasoning and recao, also known as culantro, which is like cilantro’s more pungent primo. — Cesar Hernandez, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ají

Word History

Etymology

American Spanish ají, from Taino axí

First Known Use

1822, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ají was in 1822

Browse Nearby Words

ajee
ají
ajimez
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ají.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aj%C3%AD. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All