the edible nutritious seed of various plants of the legume family, esp. of the genus Phaseolus.
2.
a plant producing such seeds.
3.
the pod of such a plant, esp. when immature and eaten as a vegetable.
4.
any of various other beanlike seeds or plants, as the coffee bean.
5.
Slang.
a.
a person's head.
b.
a coin or a bank note considered as a coin: I can't pay for the ticket, I don't have a bean in my jeans.
6.
BritishInformal. a minimum amount of money: They've been disinherited and now haven't a bean.
7.
beans, Informal. the slightest amount: He doesn't know beans about navigation.
–verb (used with object)
8.
Slang. to hit on the head, esp. with a baseball.
–interjection
9.
beans, (used to express disbelief, annoyance, etc.).
—Idioms
10.
full of beans, Informal.
a.
energetic; vigorously active; vital: He is still full of beans at 95.
b.
stupid; erroneous; misinformed.
11.
spill the beans, Informal. to disclose a secret, either accidentally or imprudently, thereby ruining a surprise or plan: He spilled the beans, and she knew all about the party in advance.
[Origin: bef. 950; ME bene, OE béan; c. ON baun, OFris bāne, D boon, OS, OHG bona (G Bohne), prob. < Gmc *babnō, c. Russ bob, L faba < European IE *bhabh-]
Any of various New World twining herbs of the genus Phaseolus in the pea family, having leaves with three leaflets, variously colored flowers, and edible pods and seeds.
A seed or pod of any of these plants.
Any of several related plants or their seeds or pods, such as the adzuki bean, broad bean, or soybean.
Any of various other plants or their seeds or fruits, especially those suggestive of beans, such as the coffee bean or the vanilla bean.
Slang A person's head.
beansSlang A small amount: I don't know beans about investing.
Chiefly British A fellow; a chap.
tr.v.
beaned, bean·ing, beansSlang
To hit (another) on the head with a thrown object, especially a pitched baseball.
[Middle English ben, broad bean, from Old English bēan; see bha-bhā- in Indo-European roots.]
BeanAudio Help (bēn) Pronunciation Key
American frontiersman in Texas who in 1881 appointed himself justice of the peace and handed down judgments based on one law book and one six-shooter.
O.E. bean "bean, pea, legume," from P.Gmc. *bauno (cf. O.N. baun, Ger. bohne), of unknown origin. As a metaphor for "Something of small value" it is attested from 1297. Meaning "head" is U.S. baseball slang c.1905 (in bean-ball "a pitch thrown at the head"). Slang bean-counter is first recorded 1975. The notion of lucky or magic beans in Eng. folklore is from the exotic beans or large seeds that wash up occasionally in Cornwall and western Scotland, carried from the Caribbean or South America by the Gulf Stream. They were cherished, believed to ward off the evil eye and aid in childbirth. To not know beans (Amer.Eng. 1933) is perhaps from the "of little worth" sense, but may have a connection to colloquial expression recorded around Somerset, to know how many beans make five "be a clever fellow." Bean bag is 1871 as a device in children's games, 1969 as a type of chair. Beanery "cheap restaurant" is from 1887. Bean-fest "annual dinner given by employers for their workers" is from 1805; they had a reputation for rowdiness; the popular abbreviated form was beano.
Bean\ (b[=e]n), n. [OE. bene, AS. be['a]n; akin to D. boon, G. bohne, OHG. p[=o]na, Icel. baun, Dan. b["o]nne, Sw. b["o]na, and perh. to Russ. bob, L. faba.]1. (Bot.) A name given to the seed of certain leguminous herbs, chiefly of the genera Faba, Phaseolus, and Dolichos; also, to the herbs. Note: The origin and classification of many kinds are still doubtful. Among true beans are: the black-eyed bean and China bean, included in Dolichos Sinensis; black Egyptian bean or hyacinth bean, D. Lablab; the common haricot beans, kidney beans, string beans, and pole beans, all included in Phaseolus vulgaris; the lower bush bean, Ph. vulgaris, variety nanus; Lima bean, Ph. lunatus; Spanish bean and scarlet runner, Ph. maltiflorus; Windsor bean, the common bean of England, Faba vulgaris. As an article of food beans are classed with vegetables. 2. The popular name of other vegetable seeds or fruits, more or less resembling true beans. Bean aphis (Zo["o]l.), a plant louse (Aphis fab[ae]) which infests the bean plant. Bean fly (Zo["o]l.), a fly found on bean flowers. Bean goose (Zo["o]l.), a species of goose (Anser segetum). Bean weevil (Zo["o]l.), a small weevil that in the larval state destroys beans. The American species in Bruchus fab[ae]. Florida bean (Bot.), the seed of Mucuna urens, a West Indian plant. The seeds are washed up on the Florida shore, and are often polished and made into ornaments. Ignatius bean, or St. Ignatius's bean (Bot.), a species of Strychnos. Navy bean, the common dried white bean of commerce; probably so called because an important article of food in the navy. Pea bean, a very small and highly esteemed variety of the edible white bean; -- so called from its size. Sacred bean. See under Sacred. Screw bean. See under Screw. Sea bean. (a) Same as Florida bean. (b) A red bean of unknown species used for ornament. Tonquin bean, or Tonka bean, the fragrant seed of Dipteryx odorata, a leguminous tree. Vanilla bean. See under Vanilla.
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Audio Help [been] Pronunciation Key 
