string bean

American  

noun

string beans plural

1. any of various kinds of bean, as the green bean, the unripe pods of which are used as food, usually after stripping off the fibrous thread along the side.

2. the pod itself.

3. Informal. a tall, thin person.

---

string bean British  

noun

1. any of several bean plants, such as the scarlet runner, cultivated for their edible unripe pods See also green bean wax bean

2. informal a tall thin person

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• string beans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of string bean

An Americanism dating back to 1750–60