lentil
Americannoun
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a plant, Lens culinaris, of the legume family, having flattened, biconvex seeds used as food.
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the seed itself.
noun
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a small annual leguminous plant, Lens culinaris, of the Mediterranean region and W Asia, having edible brownish convex seeds
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any of the seeds of this plant, which are cooked and eaten as a vegetable, in soups, etc
Etymology
Origin of lentil
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English, from Old French lentille, from Vulgar Latin lentīcula (unrecorded), from Latin lenticula; see lenticle
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.
The spread often included lamb, chicken, rice and his famous lentil soup.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
Baz gradually returned to the kitchen, starting with “comforting, tender and slow” meals like chicken bone broth and lentil soup.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
Genetic analyses show that many of the lentil varieties grown on the islands today descend from lentils brought by Indigenous settlers from North Africa in the 200s.
From Science Daily • Nov. 26, 2025
Based on their frequency, severity, recurrence, and potential for hidden exposure, the top four new ones are goat's and sheep's milk, buckwheat, peas and lentil, and pine nuts.
From BBC • Aug. 20, 2025
Similarly, wheats, barley, lentil, chickpea, beans, and flax all have numerous wild relatives besides the ones that became domesticated.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
