pea
1 Americannoun
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peas,
plural
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pease,
plural (Archaic or British Dialect)
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peasen
plural (Archaic or British Dialect)
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the round, edible seed of a widely cultivated plant, Pisum sativum, of the legume family.
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the plant itself.
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the green, somewhat inflated pod of this plant.
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any of various related or similar plants or their seed, as the chickpea.
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something resembling a pea, especially in being small and round.
adjective
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pertaining to, growing, containing, or cooked with peas.
We cultivated some tomato vines and a pea patch.
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small or small and round (usually used in combination).
noun
noun
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an annual climbing leguminous plant, Pisum sativum, with small white flowers and long green pods containing edible green seeds: cultivated in temperate regions
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the seed of this plant, eaten as a vegetable
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( as modifier )
pea soup
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any of several other leguminous plants, such as the sweet pea, chickpea, and cowpea
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of pea1
First recorded in 1660–70; back formation from pease, taken as plural
Origin of pea2
First recorded in 1825–35; perhaps short for peak 1
Explanation
A pea is a plant that grows small, green, edible seeds — also called peas. When you think of peas, you undoubtedly picture the little green things on your plate beside the mashed potatoes. You might think of peas as vegetables — more specifically, they are legumes. They are actually the seeds, or fruit, of a plant that most commonly climbs like a vine and produces long pods that contain peas. The word started as pease in Middle English, which referred to both the singular and the plural (like wheat and corn). The Greek root is pison.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The narrator of “The Behavior of the Hawkweeds” ruminates on her grandfather’s childhood encounters with Gregor Mendel, the monk whose experiments with pea plants laid the groundwork for modern genetics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Using that tech, MOA Foodtech discovered the best microorganisms to make use of the leftover starch and fibre in the pea protein industry.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Finished with the vivid pea purée and crispy toppings, the whole thing tasted far more luxurious than its pantry origins would suggest.
From Salon ● May 12, 2026
Waiters had just begun to clear plates of spring pea and burrata salad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026
It was small, no bigger than a pea, sewn into the otherwise nondescript shirt.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
"We have jerk pork, we have rice and peas, we have jerk chicken, curry goat, stewed chicken, fried dumpling and plantain," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
A range of produce, including peas, is sold at the Central Avenue Farmers Market.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The lettuce is cooked with buttery garlicky scallions and, once wilted, frozen peas and hot chicken stock.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
If you’re really worried, skip uncooked produce like salad mixes, berries, basil, and snap peas for the time being.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
The babies were alike as two peas in a pod, and nestled against each other just as they had in the womb, snug in the blankets that had been knitted just for them.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
This relief usually consisted of potted beef and pease pudding; items that, given the limited capacity for long-term food storage in the 19th century, had some chance of surviving the journey between islands.
From Time ● Sep. 27, 2017
Before you grow indignant, ask yourself this: do you weep at the cherry, a singular derived from the singular cheris; or at the pea, long ago conjured from the singular pease?
From The Guardian ● Mar. 25, 2016
When I realised Greggs no longer sold ham and pease pudding stotties I thought: 'Is this what it has come to?'
From The Guardian ● Oct. 27, 2010
Like pease porridge in the pot, the Louis-Conn $100-a-seat fiasco was nine days old.
From Time Magazine Archive
There was black bread and honeycakes and oaten biscuits; there were turnips and pease and beets, beans and squash and huge red onions; there were baked apples and berry tarts and pears poached in strongwine.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
The soil along the coast is not deep of earth, bringing forth abundantly peasen small, yet good feeding for cattle.
From Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Voyage to Newfoundland by Edward Hayes
He used to wear Flowers in his smock, gold-clocks and peasen; And spindle-fruit in hunting season.
From Reynard the Fox by John Masefield
Of the first-named picture he observed:— "Or crowding round one pool, from flowery shelves A group of damsels bowed the knee Over reflections solid as themselves And like as peasen be."
From The History of "Punch" by M. H. (Marion Harry) Spielmann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
