peanut

American  

[pee-nuht, -nuht] / ˈpiˌnʌt, -nət /

noun

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

• peanutty adjective

Etymology

Origin of peanut

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

Example Sentences

The animals were captured using specially-designed traps filled with soft bedding and food, including oats, peanut butter, and Marmite -- which they find particularly delicious -- before being transferred to a footprint collection box.

From Science Daily

Baltz’s meetings with Malaysian importers left him optimistic that there was a market for more U.S. peanuts and peanut butter, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ana holds up a giant bag of peanut M&M’s.

From Literature

I also like to keep welcome gifts what I think of as “airplane- and pre-K–safe,” meaning I tend to avoid ingredients that aren’t allowed in those spaces, like peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish.

From Salon

Next he devoured a package of jerky, and chased it down with an entire plastic jar of peanut butter.

From Literature

Related Words

• groundnut