n.1 any cereal plant of the genus Triticum, bearing dense four-sided seed-spikes.
2 its grain, used in making flour etc.
Phrases and idioms:
separate the wheat from the chaff see CHAFF. wheat-belt a region where wheat is the chief agricultural product. wheat germ the embryo of the wheat grain, extracted as a source of vitamins. wheat-grass couch grass (see COUCH(2)).
Etymology: OE hw{aelig}te f. Gmc, rel. to WHITE