peanut
[pee-nuht, -nuh t]
- 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,
- Informal.a very small amount of money: working for peanuts.
- Slang.barbiturates.
- small pieces of Styrofoam used as a packing material.
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- of or relating to the peanut or peanuts.
- made with or from peanuts.
- Informal. small, insignificant, or petty.
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Origin of peanut
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for peanuts
Contemporary Examples
But as Garfield on television gained in popularity, the Peanuts connection became a source of friction.
Thanks in part to his efforts, peanuts became a vital crop, and a thriving industry.
Charles Schulz has this really dark streak that comes out in Peanuts… Lynn Johnston talks about dealing with depression.
The requirement for you to submit to confinement is reinforced by accepting the first bag of peanuts.
They queued at roadside snack stands for rations of peanuts, a holiday tradition.
Historical Examples
He used to give her peanuts when he was in short jackets, and she used to halve her candies with him.
The Incomplete AmoristE. Nesbit
How many bushels of potatoes, corn, beans, peas and peanuts have we raised this year?
The Negro FarmerCarl Kelsey
We got Christmas Holidays an' a stockin' full of candy an' peanuts.
Here's a chance,' I says, 'to establish a new world's record for peanuts.'
From Place to PlaceIrvin S. Cobb
Steve devoured the last of his apple and started on the peanuts.
Left End EdwardsRalph Henry Barbour
peanuts
- slang a trifling amount of money
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peanut
- 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
- Also called: goober, goober pea, (Brit) groundnut, (Brit) monkey nutthe edible nutlike seed of this plant, used for food and as a source of oil
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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 peanuts
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
“Peanuts”
Note
Perhaps the most popular character is the beagle Snoopy, Charlie Brown's dog, who is often accompanied by his feathered friend, Woodstock.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.