A bean is a small vegetable seed that grows inside a long pod. People use beans for cooking and eating in many meals.
I like to eat green beans.
She cooked beans for dinner.
Some beans are dried seeds used in making drinks like coffee or chocolate. These beans are not eaten like vegetables but are processed to make drinks or sweets.
I bought fresh coffee beans today.
Chocolate is made from cocoa beans.
Bean can mean a small bit or piece of something, like a small amount of money or advice. It is often used in informal talking to show something little or small.
He does not have a bean to spend.
She gave a bean of advice to me.
In informal English, bean can mean the head or brain of a person. People use it in jokes or friendly talk to mean someone’s head or mind.
He bumped his bean on the door.
Use your bean to think carefully.
To bean something means to throw a beanbag or small soft object at it. This action is used in games or sports where you try to hit a target.
He beaned the can with a beanbag.
They beaned the target to score points.
In some informal situations, bean means no money or very little money. People say this to show they are broke or have no cash.
I don’t have a bean left.
He hasn’t earned a bean this month.
In British informal English, bean can mean a tiny bit of knowledge or information. Saying 'not know a bean' shows someone does not understand something at all.
He does not know a bean about music.
I don’t know a bean of this topic.
A bean is the seed inside certain plants that people can eat. It grows in a green or dry pod and is part of cooking and farming.
The bean is inside the green pod.
She picked fresh beans from the plant.
