peanut

¹pea·nut

noun \ˈpē-(ˌ)nət\

Definition of PEANUT

1

: a low-branching widely cultivated annual herb (Arachis hypogaea) of the legume family with showy yellow flowers having a peduncle which elongates and bends into the soil where the ovary ripens into a pod containing one to three oily edible seeds; also : its seed or seed-containing pod

2

: an insignificant or tiny person

3

plural : a trifling amount

4

: a pellet usually made of polystyrene foam that is used especially as packing material

Examples of PEANUT

1. Five billion dollars is peanuts compared to what the government spends each year.
2. He works all day for peanuts.

First Known Use of PEANUT

1802

Rhymes with PEANUT

abut, all but, beechnut, blind gut, brush cut, buzz cut, catgut, chestnut, clean-cut, clear-cut, cobnut, cockshut, crew cut, crosscut, doughnut, foregut, groundnut, haircut, jump cut, kick butt, locknut, Meerut, midgut, offcut, pignut, pine nut, putt-putt, rebut, recut, rotgut, rough cut, sackbut, shortcut, somewhat, tut-tut, uncut, walnut, wing nut, woodcut

²peanut

adjective

Definition of PEANUT

: insignificant, petty <peanut politics>

Examples of PEANUT

1. <this is a peanut matter, and we're fools for wasting time on it>

First Known Use of PEANUT

1836

Related to PEANUT

Synonyms

chicken, de minimis, footling, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, measly, Mickey Mouse, minute, niggling, no-account, nominal, paltry, negligible, petty, picayune, piddling, piddly, piffling, pimping, slight, trifling, trivial

Antonyms

big, consequential, considerable, important, material, significant

Related Words

inferior, mean; imperceptible, inappreciable; little, puny, tiny; hairsplitting, nitpicking, pettifogging, quibbling; one-horse, small-fry, two-bit

Near Antonyms

serious, substantial, weighty; eventful, momentous, pivotal; conspicuous, noteworthy, outstanding, prominent, remarkable, striking; appreciable, discernible (also discernable), measurable

peanut

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Annual legume (Arachis hypogaea) and its edible seeds, which have the peculiar habit of ripening underground in pods. Native to tropical South America, peanuts were introduced early into the Old World tropics. Each pod contains one to three oblong seeds with whitish to dark-purple seed coats. Pound for pound, peanuts have more protein, minerals, and vitamins than beef liver, more fat than heavy cream, and more calories than sugar. They are pressed for edible oil, ground into peanut butter, eaten as snacks, and used in cooking. The plant is fed to livestock.

Variants of PEANUT

peanut or groundnut