1. A climbing or sprawling annual legume native to Africa, widely cultivated for its edible beans, animal fodder, and soil improvement
   "Cowpeas thrive in the hot summers of the American South"; "cowpea plants thrive in the hot summers of the American South";
   - cowpea plant, black-eyed pea [N. Amer], Vigna unguiculata, Vigna sinensis, black-eyed bean [Brit], black-eye bean [Brit]
    
2. Fruit or seed of the cowpea plant
   "She soaked the cowpeas overnight before cooking";
   - black-eyed pea [N. Amer], black-eyed bean [Brit], black-eye bean [Brit]
    
3. Eaten fresh as shell beans or dried
   "She prepared a traditional New Year's dish of cowpeas for good luck";
   - black-eyed pea [N. Amer], black-eyed bean [Brit], black-eye bean [Brit]

Derived forms: cowpeas

Type of: legume, leguminous plant

Part of: genus Vigna, Vigna

Encyclopedia: Cowpea