peanut

[pee-nuht, -nuh t] /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.
adjective
5.
of or pertaining to the peanut or peanuts.
6.
made with or from peanuts.
7.
Informal. small, insignificant, or petty.
Origin
1790-1800, Americanism; pea1 + nut
Examples from the web for peanut
  • Nutritionists must alter diets whenever an otter isn't eating his biscuits or an armadillo has a peanut allergy.
  • He's helped create a kids' menu for the palace restaurant, featuring peanut-butter sandwiches and tuna melts.
  • Here he's got two slabs of camp-made bread slathered with peanut butter and pancake syrup.
  • In the chimp study, tubes of peanut butter and frozen juice bars were used.
  • There are patents on making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
  • They claim to have gone there to open a peanut-oil processing plant.
  • Maybe you want to test peanut butter for salmonella contamination.
  • When you buy reduced-fat peanut butter, fat often is replaced with sugar or other unhealthy fillers.
  • It's a warm bittersweet-chocolate cake in a pool of caramel strewn with cocoa nibs, and on top is a scoop of salted peanut gelato.
  • In a large bowl of electric mixer, place the peanut butter, butter and brown sugar.
British Dictionary definitions for peanut

peanut

/ˈpiːˌnʌt/
noun
1.
  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, (Brit) groundnut, (Brit) monkey nut. the edible nutlike seed of this plant, used for food and as a source of oil
See also peanuts
Word Origin and History for 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.

Slang definitions & phrases for peanut

peanut

adjective

: a peanut operation

noun

A small or trivial person; something insignificant (1934+)