bean
/biːn
/noun
1An edible seed, typically kidney-shaped, growing in long pods on certain leguminous plants: a tin of beans beans on toast [as modifier]: a bean casserole...
- We went to Notcutts and bought some compost since my bean seedlings are growing into triffids and need planting out ASAP.
- About half the nation's $629 million dry edible bean crop is grown in those two states and Michigan.
- There are also shell beans (lima, navy, kidney, mung, garbanzo and soya) that you can grow just for the bean seeds inside the pod.
1.1The hard seed of coffee, cocoa, and certain other plants.Some of the world's largest industries are built around beans: coffee and cocoa, for example....
- Cocoa processing (crushing the beans to form cocoa powder and butter) is far more profitable than cocoa growing.
- Cocoa beans contain copper and most of the mineral remains preserved after the beans are processed into cocoa or chocolate.
2A leguminous plant that bears beans in pods.
- Phaseolus and other genera, family Leguminosae: numerous species, including the runner bean (P. coccineus), French bean (P. vulgaris), and broad bean (Vicia faba).
- Hyacinth bean, a vigorous annual vine, can quickly cover an arbor during one season.
- Ricin, one of the deadliest naturally occurring poisons, is derived from castor plant beans, which are grown worldwide to produce castor oil.
3 (North American also beans) [with negative] informal A very small amount or nothing at all of something (used emphatically): there is not a single bean of substance in the report...
- Having the world's best beans doesn't mean beans unless they are roasted correctly.
- When it comes to small businesses, the net profit doesn't mean beans because the seller is doing everything possible to keep this number low to avoid taxes.
- There really isn't much to recycle in the ordinary light bulb, even the combination of glass and metal doesn't amount to beans.
3.1Used in reference to money: he didn’t have a bean...
- I don't think Selina would even bid one bean for me.
- Lio and Tracy have just spent their entire savings buying their first house and don't have a bean to spend on décor.
- I have not one bean to my name after the UK jaunt.
4 informal, dated A person’s head, especially when regarded as a source of common sense: this morning the old bean seems to be functioning in a slow way...
- You gotta use your bean to get this right so, as they say in the military, listen up.
- Every time you make a decision, take any action on your own responsibility, give and order or use your bean, you are preparing yourself for greater opportunities.
- Why doesn't Foley use his bean and draft legislation prohibiting tornadoes from entering or coming near to trailer parks?
verb [with object] informal, chiefly North American
Hit (someone) on the head: she picked up a rock and beaned him on the forehead...
- That felt better until a bunch of 12-year-olds started beaning me in the head with their tubes.
- During the fifth inning though she was beaned by the ball while the opponent was at bat.
- They're still waiting, in part because his 1998 season was ruined when he was beaned at midseason, and then he struggled with his confidence.
Phrases
full of beans
know how many beans make five
old bean
Origin
Old English bēan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch boon and German Bohne.
Beans have long been a basic foodstuff. To spill the beans, ‘to reveal a secret’ is an American expression from the early 20th century. Full of beans, ‘lively, in high spirits’, first recorded in the mid 19th century, originally referred to horses. Beans were one of their staple foods and a well-fed horse would be full of energy and vitality. As an insulting term for an accountant, bean-counter is another US term, originating in the 1970s. The rather dated bean meaning ‘the head’ is also originally from the US. It lives on in the close-fitting hat, the beanie [1940].