peanut

noun

pea·nut | \ ˈpē-(ˌ)nət

Definition of peanut

(Entry 1 of 2)

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 peanuts plural : a trifling amount

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

peanut

adjective

Definition of peanut (Entry 2 of 2)

: insignificant, petty peanut politics

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Examples of peanut in a Sentence

Noun

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

Adjective

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The foods not allowed on this plan include legumes (peanuts, beans, lentils, tofu), grains, dairy, refined sugar, salt, artificial sweeteners, anything processed, and alcohol. — Amy Capetta, Good Housekeeping, "Paleo Versus Keto: Which Is the Better Diet for You?," 10 Dec. 2018 Southwest Airlines will no longer serve peanuts, citing allergy concerns. — Chicago Tribune Staff, chicagotribune.com, "Morning Spin: Union that endorsed Democrat J.B. Pritzker gives Conservative Party candidate Sam McCann nearly $80K," 11 July 2018 Packing peanuts, for example, are sometimes made with starch instead of styrofoam. — Eva Botkin-kowacki, The Christian Science Monitor, "Closing the loop on plastic recycling?," 5 July 2018 Topping choices include sprinkles, graham crackers, chopped peanuts, bacon pieces, shredded coconut and/or Oreos. — Joyce Smith, kansascity, "New to Leawood: Donut shop where you can top doughnuts with bacon, ice cream, more," 29 June 2018 The menu, from chef Zach Panoske, formerly of Harbor House, and sous chef Paris Dreibelbis, formerly of Ardent, includes snacks such as house potato chips ($4), adobo roasted peanuts ($5) and cheese and meat boards ($19 to $22). — Carol Deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "View MKE restaurant opens Monday in Brewers Hill, in former Wolf Peach site," 21 June 2018 At May's own cafe their offerings are free of wheat, gluten, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish/shellfish and sesame. — Dana Mcmahan, The Courier-Journal, "How to make Louisville's dining scene work for your healthy diet," 19 June 2018 The beef comes out thinly sliced, topped with cilantro and crushed peanuts, and the conch is cut into tender chunks mixed with slivers of fresh scallion. — Lillian Li, Bon Appetit, "We Like Our Crispy Intestines Extra Crispy," 6 June 2018 The company's kicking peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish to the curb for this new product. — Taylor Seely, USA TODAY, "Nestlé Toll House unveils allergen-free chocolate chips made with only 3 ingredients," 30 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Early estimates of losses to the peanut crop range from $10 million to $20 million. — Jeff Martin, The Seattle Times, "Farmers fear it will take years to recover from storm strike," 30 Oct. 2018 Cotton, pecan and peanut crops were lost in Georgia, and one million power customers were offline Thursday in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia, according to reports from local utilities. — Jon Kamp And Arian Campo-flores, WSJ, "Michael Blasts Deadly Path Across Several Southern States," 11 Oct. 2018 In The Bitter Southerner, James Beard-award winning writer Shane Mitchell offers a history of and paean to this most versatile and nutritional of ground nuts and to the region where it’s grown, correcting a few peanut myths along the way. — Michelle Weber, Longreads, "Goodness, How Delicious, Eating Goober Peas," 2 May 2018 Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and remaining sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. — Woman's Day Kitchen, Woman's Day, "Asian Noodles and Meatballs," 16 Aug. 2018 This may help explain why peanut allergies are more common in Western countries, where the nuts are often roasted (part of the process of making peanut butter), than in Asian nations where raw or boiled peanuts are more common. — Amber Dance, Washington Post, "Peanut allergy is one of the most severe food allergies. New therapies might help.," 12 May 2018 The double dose of peanuts in the form of whole nuts and peanut butter means these bars are really filling, even in small portions. — Becky Krystal, charlotteobserver, "These five-ingredient, 10-minute peanut bars will be your new afternoon pick-me-up | Charlotte Observer," 3 Apr. 2018 The military has long disqualified recruits for a broad range of medical conditions that could impact performance, including bad knees, heel spurs, diabetes and even peanut allergies. — New York Times, "Sergeant Sues Defense Dept. Over ‘Outdated’ H.I.V. Policies," 31 May 2018 Nails and eyes aren’t quite peanut butter and jelly. — Korin Miller, SELF, "6 Simple Ways to Take Better Care of Your Eyes," 1 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'peanut.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Statistics for peanut

Last Updated

18 Feb 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for peanut

The first known use of peanut was in 1802

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More Definitions for peanut

peanut

noun

English Language Learners Definition of peanut

: a nut with a thin shell that grows under the ground and that can be eaten

informal : a very small amount of money

See the full definition for peanut in the English Language Learners Dictionary

peanut

noun

pea·nut | \ ˈpē-ˌnət

Kids Definition of peanut

: a nutlike edible seed related to the pea that comes from the tough underground pods of a widely grown plant and that are eaten whole or crushed to form a spread ( peanut butter ) or produce oil for cooking ( peanut oil )