Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain which is a worldwide staple food.

Wheat is grown on more land area than any other food crop (220.4 million hectares or 545 million acres, 2014). World trade in wheat is greater than for all other crops combined. In 2017, world production of wheat was 772 million tonnes (1.7 trillion pounds), with a forecast of 2019 production at 766 million tonnes (1.7 trillion pounds), making it the second most-produced cereal after maize.

From Asia, wheat continued to spread across Europe and to the Americas in the Columbian exchange. In the British Isles, wheat straw (thatch) was used for roofing in the Bronze Age, and was in common use until the late 19th century.