bean

Meanings

1. A type of seed, often kidney-shaped, eaten as a vegetable and grown in pods.
2. A seed of a plant used for a drink, such as a coffee bean.

Example sentences

• "She cooked green beans with garlic."

  Level A1, Meaning 1

• "We had beans and rice for dinner."

  Level A1, Meaning 1

• "The coffee beans smelled wonderful."

  Level A2, Meaning 2

• "Beans are a good source of protein."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• pea : A pea is a small, round green seed in a pod. A bean is usually larger and kidney-shaped.
• lentil : A lentil is a small flat seed that cooks quickly. A bean is larger.

Word family and forms

Forms: beans

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "bean".

• green beans
• baked beans
• a can of beans
• coffee beans
• spill the beans
• a bean salad

Idioms and phrases

spill the beans

To tell a secret.

"Please do not spill the beans about the surprise party."

full of beans

Full of energy and cheerful.

"The children were full of beans this morning."

Origin

Bean comes from Old English bean, a very old Germanic word that is the same in many related languages, such as Dutch boon and German Bohne. English has had the word since before the year 950.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

Usage notes

Being described as "full of beans" is an informal way of saying someone has a lot of energy.

How to remember it

Bean is a short word for a small, healthy seed. It rhymes with green and clean.

Test yourself

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