peanut

American  

[pee-nuht, -nuht] / ˈpiˌnʌt, -nət /

noun

• peanuts
  plural

1. the pod or the enclosed edible seed of the plant, Arachis hypogaea, of the legume family: the pod is forced underground in growing, where it ripens.

2. the plant itself.

3. any small or insignificant person or thing.

4. peanuts,

   1. Informal. a very small amount of money.

      working for peanuts.

   2. Slang. barbiturates.

   3. small pieces of Styrofoam used as a packing material.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the peanut or peanuts.

2. made with or from peanuts.

3. Informal. small, insignificant, or petty.

peanut British  

/ ˈpiːˌnʌt /

noun

1. See also peanuts

   1. a leguminous plant, Arachis hypogaea, of tropical America: widely cultivated for its edible seeds. The seed pods are forced underground where they ripen See also hog peanut

   2. Also called: goober.   goober pea.   groundnut.   monkey nut.  the edible nutlike seed of this plant, used for food and as a source of oil

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• peanutty
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• peanuts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of peanut

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; pea ¹ + nut

Explanation

A peanut is a plant that grows pods containing seeds that are also known as peanuts. You may think of peanuts as nuts, but they're actually legumes. Despite the deceptive name peanut, this plant is more closely related to peas than it is to almonds and hazelnuts. Peanuts are an important food crop around the world, in the form of oil, flour, peanut butter, and roasted, whole peanuts. Peanuts were originally called "ground nuts," and despite their popularity, they're also known for being inexpensive — thus peanuts also informally means "a very small amount of money."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

peanut peanuts

With Halloween coming up, there’s no need to worry that you won’t get any pumpkin-shaped chocolate and peanut butter candy in your trick-or-treat basket.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

Then the question becomes: What’s the point of retirement savings if you have more when you die than when you started retirement, and meanwhile you’re living on peanut butter and jelly?

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

A new “protein boost” recipe for Conagra’s Duncan Hines chewy fudge brownie mix involves adding a cup of blended cottage cheese and a swirl of peanut butter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

He worked as a shoeshine boy and peanut vendor before becoming a metalworker and trade unionist.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

The dry peanut butter had torn the flaky bread and the syrupy jam was spilling over.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

"My husband was promised work - payment stopped for the work and we were literally living off peanuts and I just remember crying," she said.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Some less-processed foods contain more fat and calories because they include nutrient-dense whole-food ingredients such as peanuts or beef.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

Put this all together and farmers — mainly large-scale row-crop producers of corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice and peanuts — are already set to receive roughly $55 billion from the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

When Raspados Nayarit serves its tuba compuesta — vibrant pink, chilled and topped with diced apples and peanuts — it is a reminder of home for Colimenses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

Did I want to go swimming at the Y sometime and did I like boiled peanuts?

From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor

Related Words

• groundnut