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

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

Trujillo placated the dog with peanut butter and they clambered over a wall into the Franco backyard, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 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

Hostess donuts and cupcakes, it turned out, are surprisingly unlike Smucker jams, peanut butter and coffee.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

My stomach churned and I wished I’d never touched that peanut.

From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney

The plant material included cultivated wheat, carrots, maize, bananas and peanuts.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 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

The apes were observed during the five minutes before the peanuts arrived, when they knew food was coming.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 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

Bat loved peanut butter, but he could never pack peanut butter sandwiches for school lunches because Lin was allergic to peanuts.

From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold

Related Words

• groundnut