pearl millet

American  

noun

1. a tall grass, Pennisetum americanum (orP. glaucum ), cultivated in Africa, Asia, and the southern U.S. for its edible seeds and as a forage plant.

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pearl millet British  

noun

1. a tall grass, Pennisetum glaucum, cultivated in Africa, E Asia, and the southern US as animal fodder and for its pearly white seeds, which are used as grain

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Etymology

Origin of pearl millet

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pearl millet

Neetu, a 28-year-old farmer, said she used the product on her pearl millet crop and cut urea application by about one-third without affecting yields.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026

People grow the cereal grain sorghum and pearl millet, crops that are drought resistant and offer a chance at harvests, but even they failed to withstand the conditions this year.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 30, 2024

Farmers in Ghana coped with severe droughts from 1450 to 1650 by planting indigenous African grains, like drought-tolerant pearl millet.

From Salon ● Feb. 26, 2024

A Neolithic people, the proto-Bantu were farmers who subsisted by cultivating pearl millet and yams and extracting oil from the abundant palm and bush candle trees of the region’s luxuriant rainforests.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

They include, notably, sorghum and pearl millet, which became the staple cereals of much of sub-Saharan Africa.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond