pea
1 Americannoun
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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.
They have experimented with juice from jagua, a fruit found in Central and South America, and petals from the butterfly pea flower in Southeast Asia.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026
Protein makes up about a quarter of a pea, and pea protein has become an increasingly popular source of plant-based protein.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
Outside, the couple leveled the once-dirt backyard, added pea gravel, built a pergola with a handyman and installed a firepit where they enjoy entertaining their friends.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026
The fairy tale of the princess and the pea tells of a young royal so sensitive she could detect a tiny pea hidden beneath many mattresses.
From Science Daily • Mar. 16, 2026
My split pea soup sloshed onto his egg-salad sandwich; his Tater Tots flipped into my banana cream pie; his Snapple tipped over, raining down on my shoes.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
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.
