# pea

/ˈpi/ (US) · /pˈiː/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/pea
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. vegetable

noun · CEFR A2

a small, round, green seed that you eat as a vegetable.

For teachers: the small, spherical, edible seed of the legume Pisum sativum.

- She served the roast chicken with a side of mashed potatoes and fresh peas.
- The chef insisted on shelling the peas by hand to ensure that only the most tender specimens were included in the spring risotto.

### 2. the plant

noun · CEFR B1

the climbing plant that produces pods containing peas.

For teachers: any of several leguminous plants of the family Fabaceae, characterized by climbing stems and seed-bearing pods.

- The pea plants in the garden are starting to climb up the wooden fence.
- Mendel's pioneering work in genetics relied on the careful cross-pollination of different varieties of the common garden pea.

## Examples

- I like peas in my soup.
- She added frozen peas to the pasta sauce for extra color and nutrition.
- The garden yielded a bountiful harvest of crisp, sweet peas that the family preserved in jars for the winter months.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.