groundnut

IPA/ˈɡraʊndnʌt/
KK[ɡrˈaʊndnˌʌt]IPA/ˈɡraʊndnʌt/

groundnut — noun

  • groundnutsingular
  • groundnutsplural

1. the small oval seed of a tropical legume plant, eaten as a snack or pressed for

1.名詞C1
釋義

the small oval seed of a tropical legume plant, eaten as a snack or pressed for oil; mainly used as the British and agricultural name for what is everywhere called a peanut.

例句

Farmers in northern Ghana sell sacks of groundnut at the weekly market.

agricultural sense: bulk crop sold by the sack

Adina spread thick groundnut paste on warm bread for her children.

compound: groundnut paste / butter

同義詞
  • peanut

    the everyday word in American English and in most informal contexts worldwide

  • monkey nut

    British informal name, usually for the whole nut still in its shell

  • earthnut

    older British name; now mostly historical or regional

文法句型

groundnut + noun (oil, butter, harvest)

用法筆記

Common in British, South Asian, and West African English, and in agricultural or scientific contexts everywhere. American everyday speech almost always uses 'peanut' instead.

常見錯誤

❌I bought a bag of groundnuts at the cinema in Chicago.
✅I bought a bag of peanuts at the cinema in Chicago.
💡in casual American English the everyday word is 'peanut'; 'groundnut' sounds technical or British.

2. a North American climbing plant of the pea family whose small underground swelli

2.名詞C2
釋義

a North American climbing plant of the pea family whose small underground swellings can be cooked and eaten, or the swelling itself; gathered as food long before Europeans arrived and still occasionally foraged today.

例句

Along the riverbank, Caleb showed the students how to dig up a groundnut without breaking the vine.

the tuber sense, in a foraging scene

Wampanoag families boiled groundnut with fish and corn during the long winter months.

historical food use of the tuber

同義詞
  • Indian potato

    older North American name referring to the same tuber

  • hopniss

    name used by some Indigenous and foraging communities

  • Apios americana

    the scientific name, used in botany and gardening texts

文法句型

the groundnut + verb (refers to the plant or its tuber)

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense refers to a wild North American vine and its starchy underground tuber, not the peanut crop. Often written 'American groundnut' or labelled with the Latin name 'Apios americana' to avoid confusion with the peanut sense.

常見錯誤

❌I bought roasted American groundnut at the supermarket.
✅I bought roasted peanuts at the supermarket.
💡the tuber sense is a foraged wild food; you will not find it in normal shops.