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• ben
  ben

  noun

  the inner or back room of a two-room cottage, especially when used as a combined parlor and bedroom.
• Ben
  Ben

  noun

  a first name, form of Benjamin.

ben

¹ American  

[ben] / bɛn /

noun

1. the inner or back room of a two-room cottage, especially when used as a combined parlor and bedroom.

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adverb

1. within; inside.

adjective

1. inside; inner.

ben ² American  

[ben] / bɛn /

noun

1. the seed of a tropical tree, Moringa pterygosperma, that yields an oil ben oil used in manufacturing cosmetics and lubricating delicate machinery.

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ben ³ American  

[ben] / bɛn /

noun

Scot., Irish.

1. a mountain peak; high hill.

   Ben Nevis.

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ben ⁴ American  

[ben] / bɛn /

Also Ben

1. son of (used especially in Hebrew and Arabic names).

   Moses ben Maimon.

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Ben ⁵ American  

[ben] / bɛn /

noun

1. a first name, form of Benjamin.

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ben ¹ British  

/ bɛn /

noun

1. an inner room in a house or cottage

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preposition

1. in; within; inside; into the inner part (of a house)

adjective

1. inner

ben ² British  

/ bɛn /

noun

1. any of several Asiatic trees of the genus Moringa , esp M. oleifera of Arabia and India, whose seeds yield oil of ben , used in manufacturing perfumes and cosmetics, lubricating delicate machinery, etc: family Moringaceae

2. the seed of such a tree

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ben ³ British  

/ bɛn /

noun

1. a mountain peak (esp in place names)

   Ben Lomond

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Etymology

Origin of ben¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (Scots); as adverb, an unexplained variant of late Middle English bin, Middle English binne, Old English binnan “within” (cognate with Old Frisian binna, Middle Dutch, German binnen ), equivalent to bi- “near, around” + innan “within”; see origin at be-, in

Origin of ben²

First recorded in 1550–60; from Arabic bān, the name of the tree

Origin of ben³

First recorded in 1780–90; from Scots Gaelic, Irish beann “peak”

Origin of ben⁴

From Hebrew bēn, Arabic bin “son”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ben Ben

According to the people familiar with the internal discussions, the goal for the envoy, Qiu Xiaoqi, was to secure what Beijing calls ji ben pan—the “strategic foundation” of China’s Latin America influence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026

The new venture is "exciting" and "I feel like they're making noma more accessible," Stephen Velasco, an American who has ben living in Copenhagen for 32 years, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2025

The women call each other ben or sister in Gujarati.

From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2025

Moussi leads the Free Constitutional Party and is a supporter of late president Zine El Abidine ben Ali who was toppled by mass protests in 2011.

From Reuters ● Oct. 3, 2023

I am Jacob ben Salomon, son of the Jew.

From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz

Until he publicly resigned from Anthropic and warned about the dangers of AI systems that could end humanity, Jacob Coxon was anonymous, report Amrith Ramkumar, Erin Woo, Berber Jin and Ben Cohen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

"I don't even think the genius of KP could come close to what Harry Brook has talent-wise," said Brook's former captain and team-mate Ben Stokes, who was watching on TV.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

Still, when Ben Ashwell, chair and editor for our CFO and Technology Councils, asked about chief simulations officers—which Park once predicted would become common at Fortune 500 companies—Mandadi wasn’t buying it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

“Nothing’s conclusive until it’s randomized,” said Ben Hirsh, director of preventive cardiology at the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Ben has never shown me anything but stability.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy