beanbag
Americannoun
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beanbags
plural
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a small cloth bag filled with dried beans, as for tossing in various children's games.
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any such game.
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any similar bag used as a cushion or support, as the base for an ashtray, etc.
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Also called beanbag chair. a large, soft, frameless chair resembling a beanbag, typically a clothlike plastic shell, filled with plastic chips, that molds itself readily to the contours of the occupant.
noun
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a small cloth bag filled with dried beans and thrown in games
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Also called: sag bag. a very large cushion loosely filled with foam rubber or polystyrene granules so that it moulds into a comfortable shape: used as an informal low seat
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of beanbag
Explanation
A beanbag is a bag filled with dried beans that's used for recreation or relaxation. A big beanbag is large enough to sit on while you watch TV. Smaller beanbags are used in games like "beanbag toss," or for learning to juggle, while large ones can be used as lightweight, portable furniture. Most beanbags are made from cloth or plastic, and filled with actual beans or small plastic beads. The word beanbag, or bean-bag, has been around since the late 1800s, though the beanbag chair wasn't invented until 1969.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Even passing details of a beanbag in a frat-house game of cornhole—“its lumpiness shifting and contorting in flight”—are imbued with charming affection.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
Politics ain’t beanbag, as the old saying goes, and it’s time to bring the heat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
Each baby lay comfortably on a soft beanbag while wearing sound-cancelling headphones and viewing bright, colorful images designed to hold their attention for 15-20 minutes.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 5, 2026
The jury heard that Genevieve had been swaddled and face down on the beanbag when she became unwell.
From BBC ● May 20, 2024
Freddie led me around the tables, beanbag chairs, reading pods, and down the hall to the back door of the library.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
Make adjustable desks standard issue, with a corner of each workspace left intentionally bare for beanbags, shelving, a foot hammock—whatever people actually want.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
Some shops were decorated with psychedelic art on the walls, beanbags laid out over the floor and ambient music playing; others were little more than just wooden table stalls in the middle of the street.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2024
They huddled together on beanbags in the enveloping pink light, mouthing the words to Katy Perry songs.
From New York Times ● Jan. 31, 2024
The early December days have been warm in Israel, and people sit on colourful beanbags scattered across the grass.
From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2023
She slumped into one of Molly’s leather beanbags.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
