wheat

[hweet, weet]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wheat ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the grain of any cereal grass of the genus Triticum, especially T. aestivum, used in the form of flour for making bread, cakes, etc., and for other culinary and nutritional purposes.

the plant itself.

Origin of wheat

before 900; Middle English whete, Old English hwǣte; cognate with German Weizen, Old Norse hveiti, Gothic hwaiteis; akin to white

Related formswheat·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for wheat

grass, cereal, durum, spelt, gluten, semolina

Examples from the Web for wheat

Contemporary Examples of wheat

Borlaug and his associates set out to develop strains of wheat that could resist diseases and pests, and thus improve yields.
Growth Stocks
The Daily Beast
October 17, 2014
After plane loads of wheat seeds were sent to India in the 1960s, farmers there were able to boost production by a factor of four.
Growth Stocks
The Daily Beast
October 17, 2014
A blended scotch whisky is made by combining several single malts with wheat and/or corn whiskies in column stills.
Don't Be a Single-Malt Scotch Snob
Kayleigh Kulp
August 9, 2014
This one was born in Floral, Saskatchewan, on the outskirts of Saskatoon, in the heart of Western Canada's wheat prairies.
Gordie Howe Hockey’s Greatest War Horse
W.C. Heinz
May 31, 2014
One more thing: celiac and non-celiac gluten sensitivity are not the same as a wheat allergy.
Research Shows Link Between NSAID Use and Gut Disease
Valerie Vande Panne
April 21, 2014

Historical Examples of wheat

I watch the wife of my friend gathering poppies in the wheat.
Ballads of a Bohemian
Robert W. Service
When we got out the cargo, we found it much damaged, particularly the wheat.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
The wheat which his customers brought in, was stored at the mill and ground.
Cleveland Past and Present
Maurice Joblin
There isn't a bushel of wheat in the country that isn't in the combination.
One Day's Courtship
Robert Barr
Which is the wheat and which the tares, that must be garnered or sifted from our loves?
The Truth About Woman
C. Gasquoine Hartley

British Dictionary definitions for wheat

wheat

noun

any annual or biennial grass of the genus Triticum, native to the Mediterranean region and W Asia but widely cultivated, having erect flower spikes and light brown grains

the grain of any of these grasses, used in making flour, pasta, etc

Word Origin for wheat

Old English hwǣte, related to Old Frisian, Old Saxon hwēti, Old High German hweizi, Old Norse hveiti; see white

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 wheat

Old English hwæte "wheat," from Proto-Germanic *khwaitijaz (cf. Old Saxon hweti, Old Norse hveiti, Norwegian kveite, Old Frisian hwete, Middle Dutch, Dutch weit, Old High German weizzi, German Weizen, Gothic hvaiteis "wheat"), literally "that which is white," from *khwitaz-, the source of Old English hwit (see white; and cf. Welsh gwenith "wheat," related to gwenn "white"). The Old World grain was introduced into New Spain in 1528. Wheaties, the cereal brand name, was patented 1925.