ˈhwēt also ˈwēt, usu -ēd.+V noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English whete, from Old English hwǣte; akin to Old High German weizzi wheat, Old Norse hveiti, Gothic hwaiteis wheat, hweits white — more at white
1. : a cereal grain that yields a fine white flour, is the chief breadstuff of temperate climates, is used also in alimentary pastes, and is important in animal feeds especially as bran or middlings — see whole wheat flour
2. : any of various grasses that constitute the genus Triticum, are characterized by wide climatic adaptability, and are cultivated in most temperate areas for the wheat they yield and on a major commercial scale especially in Europe, No. America, and Australia ; especially : an annual cereal grass ( T. aestivum syn. T. vulgare ) that is known only as a cultigen and has a long dense 4-sided spike of which each spikelet contains two, three, or sometimes more white to dark-red kernels that separate readily from the chaff in threshing — called also common wheat ; see club wheat , durum wheat , einkorn , emmer , polish wheat , spelt
3.
a. wheats plural , Britain : wheat plants
the wheats are not doing well
b. : a crop or kind of wheat
tried a new Canadian wheat this year
the wheat in the northern states
4. : a variable color averaging a light yellow that is less strong and very slightly lighter than average maize, redder and less strong than popcorn, and redder and duller than jasmine