A cereal is any grass cultivated (grown) for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. The term may also refer to the resulting grain itself (specifically "cereal grain").

Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop[1] and are therefore staple crops. Edible grains from other plant families, such as buckwheat, quinoa and chia, are referred to as pseudocereals.

The seven principal cereals grown in the world are wheat, maize, rice, barley, oats, rye and sorghum.