chickpea

American  

[chik-pee] / ˈtʃɪkˌpi /

noun

chickpeas plural

1. Also called garbanzo.  a widely cultivated plant, Cicer arietinum, of the legume family, bearing pods containing pealike seeds.

2. the seeds of this plant, used extensively as a food.

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chickpea British  

/ ˈtʃɪkˌpiː /

noun

1. a bushy leguminous plant, Cicer arietinum, cultivated for its edible pealike seeds in the Mediterranean region, central Asia, and Africa

2. Also called: garbanzo.  the seed of this plant

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chickpeas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chickpea

1540–50; alteration of chich-pea, equivalent to late Middle English chiche (< Middle French ≪ Latin cicer chickpea) + pea ¹

Explanation

A chickpea is a delicious, round bean that's also known as a garbanzo. Try roasting chickpeas for a crunchy snack, or make falafel by grinding them, shaping them into balls, and frying them. If you've tasted hummus, you know what chickpeas taste like — at least when they've been pureed with garlic, tahini, and lemon juice. It's also common to toss chickpeas into salads, cook them in stews and soups, and grind them into flour for baking. In the 18th century, chickpea evolved from chich-pease, which is rooted in the Latin word for "pea," cicer. Historians have found evidence that chickpeas were around as long ago as 3500 BCE.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chickpea chickpeas

And, if you’re feeling playful, a whimsical bread: miniature muffins, pesto pull-apart bread, chickpea flour flatbreads, cheese straws, popovers — something that makes people point across the table and say, “Wait, what are those?”

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

Before planting, the researchers coated the chickpea seeds with arbuscular mycorrhizae fungi.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2026

Someone instructs you to tear off pieces and dip them in the accompanying guava and plantain chutneys, silky chickpea curry and punchy pepper jelly, pooled around a peninsula of tangy cultured butter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

“I’d be, like, ‘let’s buy this bulk box of chickpea cans and toilet paper’ and he would be trying to convince me that we don’t need it.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 25, 2026

Mom packed me a chickpea salad sandwich on sprouted bread, which is wrapped in paper at the bottom of my tote bag.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

As a rough guide, fill a quarter of your plate with protein foods, such as meat, fish, beans, lentils or chickpeas, at every meal.

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026

Legumes include foods like peas, lentils, chickpeas, and beans.

From Science Daily ● May 26, 2026

She only buys organic food, citing limits on the use of glyphosate in organic farming, and avoids foods that she says have higher glyphosate residues, such as chickpeas and wheat products.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026

So it’s a lot of lentils, legumes, beans, chickpeas and just all kinds of veggies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026

Along with the samosas, there are breaded chicken cutlets, chickpeas with tamarind sauce, lamb biryani, chutney made with tomatoes from the garden.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri