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definitions

peanut

[ pee-nuht, -nuh t ]
/ ˈpiˌnʌt, -nət /
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noun

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.
the plant itself.
any small or insignificant person or thing.
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.

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

groundnut, earth, seed, goober, mani

Nearby words

  1. pean,
  2. peano,
  3. peano curve,
  4. peano's axioms,
  5. peano's postulates,
  6. peanut butter,
  7. peanut gallery,
  8. peanut heaven,
  9. peanut oil,
  10. peanut worm

Origin of peanut

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; pea1 + nut
Related formspea·nut·ty, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for peanut

British Dictionary definitions for peanut

peanut

/ (ˈpiːˌnʌt) /

noun

  1. a leguminous plant, Arachis hypogaea, of tropical America: widely cultivated for its edible seeds. The seed pods are forced underground where they ripenSee also hog peanut
  2. Also called: goober, goober pea, (Brit) groundnut, (Brit) monkey nut the edible nutlike seed of this plant, used for food and as a source of oil
See also peanuts
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for peanut

peanut

n.

1807, earlier ground nut, ground pea (1769). The plant is native to S.America. Portuguese traders took peanuts from Brazil and Peru to Africa by 1502 and it is known to have been cultivated in Chekiang Province in China by 1573, probably arriving with Portuguese sailors who made stops in Brazil en route to the Orient. Peanut butter attested by 1892; peanut brittle is from 1894. Peanut gallery "topmost rows of a theater" is from 1874, American English; peanuts "trivial sum" is from 1934.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper