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

Last month, participants cooked a Gambian peanut stew together - described by the authority as a "huge success".

From BBC

Brayen is allergic to dairy, banana, pineapple, peas, green beans, wheat, egg, soya, nuts and peanuts, kiwi, root vegetables and pea protein.

From BBC

So I busied myself with packing up the remains of my peanut butter sandwich.

From Literature

He attributes this to chocolate shakes, chicken soup and peanut butter.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s the chewy chocolate chip peanut butter kind Avery likes best.

From Literature

Related Words

• groundnut