chickpea

noun

chick·​pea ˈchik-ˌpē 

: an Asian herb (Cicer arietinum) of the legume family cultivated for its short pods with one or two seeds

also : its seed

Examples of chickpea in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hummus Hummus is a protein-rich, creamy spread made from chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans. —Lindsay Curtis, Health, 25 Oct. 2025

These include things like oats, coconut glycerin, and peanut butter in the lumps of coal biscuits, oats, peanut butter and bacon in the bac’n nutty biscuits, and chickpeas, tapioca flour and apples in the brushy sticks. —Christine Persaud, USA Today, 21 Oct. 2025

Dump the chicken, tomatoes and chickpeas onto a rimmed baking sheet. —Lynda Balslev, Mercury News, 17 Oct. 2025

The chickpeas, coated in a rich, pumpkin butter sauce, tasted slightly sweet with just enough heat from the pinches of cayenne pepper. —Ashia Aubourg, Outside, 10 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of chich pea, from Middle English chiche, from Anglo-French, from Latin cicer

First Known Use

1542, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

chickpea

noun

chick·​pea ˈchik-ˌpē 

: an Asian herb of the legume family cultivated for its short pods with one or two edible seeds

also : its seed