What cayenne peppers add to food

Latest answer — August 04, 2026

56 Down

They bring a fiery kick that may send your taste buds reaching for water. 🌶️

Scroll down for rest of crossword answers

USA Today Crossword

This clue's Tuesday, August 04, 2026 appearance

Tap a square to reveal a letter.

Or reveal one clue at a time with the Hint and Answer buttons below.

Across

  1. 1Symptom of a repetitive strain injury
  2. 5"This is my ___!" ("Shrek" line)
  3. 10Parm-by-the-pound place
  4. 14Croat, e.g.
  5. 15Nest that can literally weigh a ton
  6. 16x or y, on a graph
  7. 17Actress Winslet
  8. 18Second-generation boxer Ali
  9. 19Lab worker, for short
  10. 20Old-school payment with a routing number
  11. 23Wok, for one
  12. 24Cathartic music genre
  13. 25Attempt again
  14. 28Enthusiast
  15. 31"We should do this more ___"
  16. 35"Garfield" dog
  17. 36Paltry amounts
  18. 38Liver fluid
  19. 39Behinds
  20. 40Song's wind-down
  21. 41Result of research, maybe
  22. 42"Downtown" singer
  23. 45Lions' heads of hair
  24. 46Aquatic furball
  25. 48Bitmap image editor whose name is an apt anagram of "paint"
  26. 49Flung
  27. 51"___ in trouble?"
  28. 52"Mamma ___!"
  29. 55Tuna type that's often seared
  30. 57Lamb's sound
  31. 58One might sell stamps
  32. 62This, in Spanish
  33. 63Alabama city in civil rights history
  34. 64Macaroni art need
  35. 65Scratchy-throated voice
  36. 66Hooting baby bird
  37. 67Swiss range

Down

  1. 1Seek a "yes" or "no," say
  2. 2Keep the beat with your hands
  3. 3Despise
  4. 4Always around
  5. 5Workplace for a manicurist
  6. 6Transition away from breast milk, say
  7. 7Moment to shine for Lise Davidsen
  8. 8Rumor ___
  9. 9"Toodles"
  10. 10Driver's license stat
  11. 11HQ heavyweight
  12. 12Smooch from a pooch
  13. 13"Mostly"
  14. 21"Whatever you ___"
  15. 22Medical insurance group (Abbr.)
  16. 25Take from
  17. 26End of Yale's URL
  18. 27Percussion players who might use felt mallets
  19. 28Like a terrible stench
  20. 29Flour used to make roti
  21. 30Tattletale
  22. 32"___ and the Lost Treasure" (movie in the "Disney Fairies" franchise)
  23. 33Any one of Santa's helpers
  24. 34New start?
  25. 36"The money's coming" notes
  26. 37Alone
  27. 43Spanish for "I love you"
  28. 44Room that might be dusty
  29. 45Brunch cocktail
  30. 47Stand on hind legs
  31. 48Origami necessity
  32. 50Concludes a nap
  33. 53"Should that happen . . ."
  34. 54Not plenty
  35. 55Cartoon TNT vendor
  36. 56What cayenne peppers add to food
  37. 59Keep the beat with your feet
  38. 60Malady-stricken
  39. 61Airport served by MTA buses

The answer to “What cayenne peppers add to food” in the USA Today crossword is HEAT — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on August 4, 2026, a Tuesday puzzle, at 56-Down. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“What cayenne peppers add to food” answer

HEAT (4 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is HEAT.

Why the answer is HEAT

They bring a fiery kick that may send your taste buds reaching for water. 🌶️

What does HEAT mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of HEAT is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

(noun)

  • the quality of being hot; high temperature
  • intensity of feeling, especially of anger or excitement
  • a preliminary round in a race or contest

When else has “What cayenne peppers add to food” appeared?

USA Today reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

August 4, 2026 (most recent) → HEAT. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “What cayenne peppers add to food”?

The answer is HEAT, a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on August 4, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “What cayenne peppers add to food”?

4 letters: HEAT.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the USA Today crossword on August 4, 2026 (a Tuesday puzzle), at 56-Down.

Can “What cayenne peppers add to food” have a different answer?

Yes — USA Today sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of this day's USA Today answers?

The full grid for August 4, 2026 is on the USA Today answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

USA Today Crossword is published by USA Today; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

Crossword Clues

Looking up a clue? Jump into today's answers and clue help from top puzzles.