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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

bean.

Any plant of several genera of the taxonomic family Fabaceae that produces large edible seeds or edible seedpods.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈbi(ː)n/[ˈbɪin]

  1. Any plant of several genera of the taxonomic family Fabaceae that produces large edible seeds or edible seedpods.

  2. The large edible seed of such a plant (for example, a broad bean, navy bean, or garbanzo bean).

  3. The edible seedpod of such a plant.

    Green beans, also called French beans, can be pickled.

  4. The bean-like seed of certain other plants, such as a vanilla bean or (especially) a coffee bean.

    broadly

  5. An object resembling a pea or bean in shape, often made from plastic or styrofoam and used in large numbers as packing material or as stuffing for beanbags and similar items.

    broadly

  6. The head or brain.

    slang

  7. The human clitoris.

    slang

  8. A person; especially, a baby.

    endearing · often · slang

  9. A guinea coin or sovereign.

    UK · archaic · slang

  10. Money.

    UK · slang
    I haven't got a bean.

  11. Clipping of JavaBean.

    abbreviation · alt-of · clipping

  12. Any form of tablet, especially benzedrine (benny).

    slang

  13. Clipping of toe bean.

    abbreviation · alt-of · clipping · colloquial
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰabʰ-? Proto-Germanic *babnōder.? Proto-Germanic *baunō Proto-West Germanic *baunu Old English bēan Middle English bene English bean From Middle English bene, from Old English bēan, from Proto-West Germanic *baunu, from Proto-Germanic *baunō (“bean”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰabʰ- (“bean”). Cognate with Scots bene, bein (“bean”), North Frisian buan, Saterland Frisian Boone, West Frisian bean, beanne, Dutch boon, German Bohne, Luxembourgish Boun, Danish bønne, Faroese bøn, bøna, Icelandic baun, Norwegian Bokmål bønne, Norwegian Nynorsk bauna, baune, bogna, bønne, Swedish böna, Irish pónaire, Manx poanrey, Scottish Gaelic pònair, Latin faba, Russian боб (bob), Serbo-Croatian bȍb /бо̏б. Doublet of fava.

verb/ˈbi(ː)n/[ˈbɪin]

  1. To hit with a projectile, especially a deliberately aimed blow to the head.

    transitive
    The pitcher beaned the batter, rather than letting him hit another home run.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰabʰ-? Proto-Germanic *babnōder.? Proto-Germanic *baunō Proto-West Germanic *baunu Old English bēan Middle English bene English bean From Middle English bene, from Old English bēan, from Proto-West Germanic *baunu, from Proto-Germanic *baunō (“bean”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰabʰ- (“bean”). Cognate with Scots bene, bein (“bean”), North Frisian buan, Saterland Frisian Boone, West Frisian bean, beanne, Dutch boon, German Bohne, Luxembourgish Boun, Danish bønne, Faroese bøn, bøna, Icelandic baun, Norwegian Bokmål bønne, Norwegian Nynorsk bauna, baune, bogna, bønne, Swedish böna, Irish pónaire, Manx poanrey, Scottish Gaelic pònair, Latin faba, Russian боб (bob), Serbo-Croatian bȍb /бо̏б. Doublet of fava.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.