BEAN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does bean mean? 

• BEAN (noun)
  The noun BEAN has 4 senses:

1. any of various edible seeds of plants of the family Leguminosae used for food

2. any of various seeds or fruits that are beans or resemble beans

3. any of various leguminous plants grown for their edible seeds and pods

4. informal terms for a human head

  Familiarity information: BEAN used as a noun is uncommon.

• BEAN (verb)
  The verb BEAN has 1 sense:

1. hit on the head, especially with a pitched baseball

  Familiarity information: BEAN used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BEAN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of various edible seeds of plants of the family Leguminosae used for food

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

bean; edible bean

Hypernyms ("bean" is a kind of...):

legume (the seedpod of a leguminous plant (such as peas or beans or lentils))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bean"):

golden gram; green bean; green gram; green soy; mash bean; monggo; moong; mung; mung bean; munggo (seed of the mung bean plant used for food)

common bean (any of numerous beans eaten either fresh or dried)

soy; soya; soya bean; soybean (the most highly proteinaceous vegetable known; the fruit of the soybean plant is used in a variety of foods and as fodder (especially as a replacement for animal protein))

goa bean (Old World tropical bean)

Holonyms ("bean" is a part of...):

bean; bean plant (any of various leguminous plants grown for their edible seeds and pods)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of various seeds or fruits that are beans or resemble beans

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("bean" is a kind of...):

seed (a small hard fruit)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bean"):

coumara nut; tonka bean (fragrant black nutlike seeds of the tonka bean tree; used in perfumes and medicines and as a substitute for vanilla)

algarobilla; algarroba; algarrobilla (mesquite pod used in tanning and dyeing)

calabar bean; ordeal bean (dark brown highly poisonous seed of the calabar-bean vine; source of physostigmine and used in native witchcraft)

divi-divi (twisted seed pods of the divi-divi tree; source of tannin)

algarroba; algarroba bean; carob; carob bean; locust bean; locust pod (long pod containing small beans and sweetish edible pulp; used as animal feed and source of a chocolate substitute)

soy; soya bean; soybean (a source of oil; used for forage and soil improvement and as food)

broad bean; fava bean; horsebean (seed of the broad-bean plant)

golden gram; green bean; green gram; green soy; mash bean; monggo; moong; mung; mung bean; munggo (seed of the mung bean plant; used for food)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Any of various leguminous plants grown for their edible seeds and pods

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

bean; bean plant

Hypernyms ("bean" is a kind of...):

legume; leguminous plant (an erect or climbing bean or pea plant of the family Leguminosae)

Meronyms (parts of "bean"):

bean; edible bean (any of various edible seeds of plants of the family Leguminosae used for food)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bean"):

shell bean; shell bean plant (a bean plant grown primarily for its edible seed rather than its pod)

pole bean (a climbing bean plant that will climb a wall or tree or trellis)

bush bean (a bean plant whose bushy growth needs no supports)

Holonyms ("bean" is a member of...):

Fabaceae; family Fabaceae; family Leguminosae; legume family; Leguminosae; pea family (a large family of trees, shrubs, vines, and herbs bearing bean pods; divided for convenience into the subfamilies Caesalpiniaceae; Mimosaceae; Papilionaceae)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Informal terms for a human head

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

attic; bean; bonce; dome; noggin; noodle

Hypernyms ("bean" is a kind of...):

human head (the head of a human being)

Derivation:

bean (hit on the head, especially with a pitched baseball)

• BEAN (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Hit on the head, especially with a pitched baseball

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "bean" is one way to...):

hit (deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

bean (informal terms for a human head)

beaner (a baseball deliberately thrown at the batter's head)

 Context examples 

It emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods, and includes whole grains, poultry, fish, lean meats, beans, and nuts.

(DASH ranked Best Diet Overall for eighth year in a row by U.S. News and World Report, National Institutes of Health)

An immunotoxin of monoclonal antibody (MoAb) RFB4 covalently linked to a single deglycosylated ricin toxin A-chain (dgA), originated from castor beans.

(IgG-RFB4-SMPT-dgA Immunotoxin, NCI Thesaurus)

The new antibiotic, known as phazolicin, prevents harmful bacteria from entering root systems of bean plants.

(Scientists discover new antibiotic in tropical forest, National Science Foundation)

He took a little bone the size of a bean out of a pill-box.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate, or vitamin B9, which is found in leafy green vegetables, nuts, peas, beans and other foods.

(Daily folic acid supplement may reduce risk of gestational diabetes, National Institutes of Health)

Most isoflavones for human consumption and that are currently studied are derived from soy beans.

(Isoflavone, NCI Thesaurus)

These results indicate that the bioactive compounds found in cocoa bean extract could have a beneficial effect at low concentrations, and they can be easily incorporated into different products.

(Scientists identify bioactive compounds in cacao pods to develop drugs to combat skeletal disorders, University of Granada)

It is found in beans, peas, brown rice, wheat bran and nuts.

(Inositol, NCI Dictionary)

The DASH eating plan emphasizes vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; includes fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans, nuts, and vegetable oils; and limits sweets, sugary beverages, and red meats.

(Low-glycemic diets may not improve cardiovascular outcomes when compared to high-glycemic diets, NIH)

Leafy green vegetables, beans, and peas also have B vitamins.

(B Vitamins, NIH)