garbanzo

American  

[gahr-bahn-zoh] / gɑrˈbɑn zoʊ /

noun

garbanzos plural

1. chickpea.

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garbanzo British  

/ ɡɑːˈbænzəʊ /

noun

1. another name for chickpea

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• garbanzos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of garbanzo

1750–60, < Spanish, alteration of Old Spanish arvanco; perhaps akin to Latin ervum ( see ervil)

Explanation

A garbanzo is a round legume that's also known as a chickpea. You can add some garbanzos to your salad, or mash them up with tahini, lemon, and olive oil to make hummus. Many Middle Eastern, North African, and Indian dishes use garbanzos, from falafel to chana masala. The majority of the world's garbanzos are grown in India, though the word itself is Spanish and is mainly used in North America (other English speakers call them chickpeas). During World War I, roasted and ground garbanzos were sometimes used as a coffee substitute, particularly in Germany.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

garbanzo garbanzos

Delgado chalks up his health to the fact that he’s been a pescatarian for 45 years, with a penchant for salmon, avocados, quinoa and garbanzo beans, and that he prioritizes hydration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025

The pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was garbanzo.

From New York Times ● Sep. 24, 2022

Dear Heloise: I love to make huge salads with many of our evening meals, and I often add garbanzo beans to the salad because I heard they are a good source of fiber.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 20, 2021

While you do find four cans of pumpkin, six cans of garbanzo beans, condensed milk, coconut milk, AND powdered milk, there's no evaporated milk to be found.

From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2021

The scent of garbanzo beans in spicy sauce hung in the air, mixed with the smell of dung and sweat.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

He looked at his dad, who was busy forking through a small house salad with extra garbanzos, and smiled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2025

That price point stretches across a variety of legumes, including garbanzos, cannellini and pinto.

From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2022

I don’t use the traditional anchovy anymore, but I do sometimes add canned beans, garbanzos or cannellini, for their heartiness and protein.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 24, 2018

You got your pintos, your garbanzos, your small reds, your dark kidneys.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 6, 2016

He sends for garbanzos, habas, biscuit, soap, and many other things, which cost their weight in money; and when they reach the islands, they are rotten and useless.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 18 of 55 1617-1620 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by Robertson, James Alexander