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

By sauce No. 4 — Chickpotle, a creamy chickpea sauce with smoky chipotle and ghost pepper with a 4/10 heat level — Holland and Bernthal were loosening up and trading barbs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

It blitzes together a very respectable chickpea salad in minutes.

From Salon ● Apr. 21, 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

One day, I was rolling a chickpea in between my fingers.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Directions Combine the shrimp, fish or chickpeas with the lime juice, onion, jalapeño and cilantro.

From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026

Researchers found that people who regularly consumed foods such as beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, edamame, and soy milk were less likely to develop hypertension.

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

Good sources of B6 are meat and fish, but it's also present in other foods, including porridge oats, potatoes and chickpeas.

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026

I never ate the chickpeas, because they were as hard as cherry stones.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri