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

Dutch peanut butter artwork proves to be a sticky attraction.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026

Hormel Foods, the Austin, Minn.-based maker of Spam lunch meat and Skippy peanut butter, named Ash Bhumbla as its next chief financial officer, effective Sept. 8.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Following his arrest, officers strip-searched him and went through property that included a handgun, a silencer and a jar of Skippy peanut butter.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

It’s deliciously nutty and salty, courtesy of the peanut butter, and slightly bitter and acidic, thanks to the dark chocolate.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

Ralph, .who was unable to defend himself when his jaws were stuck with peanut butter, felt Ryan was most unjust.

From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary

Fruit, juices, clothes, shoes, peanuts -- Lobe Sarr has turned her hand to various wares over the last 15 years, finally settling on a small street eatery in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

"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

My mother sold jugs of water from the public fountain, charcoal, and grilled peanuts to get us something to eat.

From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat

Related Words

• groundnut