wheat

American  

[weet, hweet] / wit, ʰwit /

noun

1. the grain of any cereal grass of the genus Triticum, especially T. aestivum, used in the form of flour for making bread, cakes, etc., and for other culinary and nutritional purposes.

2. the plant itself.

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wheat British  

/ wiːt /

noun

1. any annual or biennial grass of the genus Triticum, native to the Mediterranean region and W Asia but widely cultivated, having erect flower spikes and light brown grains

2. the grain of any of these grasses, used in making flour, pasta, etc

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Other Word Forms

• wheatless adjective

Etymology

Origin of wheat

before 900; Middle English whete, Old English hwǣte; cognate with German Weizen, Old Norse hveiti, Gothic hwaiteis; akin to white

Example Sentences

Within a decade, India not only produced enough food to feed itself, thanks to technological advances in agriculture that Ehrlich hadn’t anticipated, but was a net exporter of wheat.

From The Wall Street Journal

And we were a corn, wheat, hay, and hogs farm in a never-ending round of chores, plus the milking.

From Literature

What exactly occurs during this fermentation, and how do wheat fibers influence the final quality of bread?

From Science Daily

Williamson's farm, on which he grows a variety of crops including wheat, barley, and oats, has been "fortunate," as like many arable farms, they bought most of the fertiliser needed for this season last year.

From BBC

The island city-state of Singapore imports 90% of its food, while all of Indonesia's wheat, for example, comes from outside the country.

From BBC

Related Words

• cereal
• grass