A legume is a plant that keeps its seeds in a pod — a long, thin case you can split open. Beans, peas, and lentils are the ones learners meet first. Peanuts are legumes too, even though shops sell them with the nuts; they grow in pods in the ground. Both the plant and its seeds can be called legumes. In a science book the word is careful and botanical. In the kitchen, people often just say beans, peas, or pulses. Though actually, if you know a little French, be careful: French légume means “vegetable,” any vegetable, not just this kind of plant. English borrowed the word but kept the older, narrower sense — the pod plants. Tomatoes, carrots, and cabbage are not legumes.