annual grass of Europe and North Africa; grains used as food and fodder (referred to primarily in the plural: `oats')
"The farmers harvested a bountiful crop of oats to feed their livestock through the winter."
seed of the annual grass Avena sativa (spoken of primarily in the plural as `oats')
"She decided to cook porridge with oats instead of bread for breakfast."
Widely cultivated cereal grass, typically Avena sativa.
"The farmer planted rows of oat to feed the livestock through the winter."