black bean

American  

noun

black beans plural

1. a black variety of kidney bean, used in Latin American cooking.

2. a black soybean, fermented and used in Asian cooking.

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black bean British  

noun

1. Also called: Moreton Bay chestnut.  an Australian leguminous tree, Castanospermum australe , having thin smooth bark and yellow or reddish flowers: used in furniture manufacture

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• black beans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of black bean

First recorded in 1790–95

Example Sentences

This year, I’m trying to think beyond meat and get truly comfortable with a tofu cutlet and an old-school black bean burger.

From Salon • Dec. 20, 2025

At another get-together in my early 20s, I made black bean avocado brownies.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2024

Trader Joe’s has issued a recall of a brand of black bean tamales, the sixth item that the popular grocery chain has recalled since July.

From New York Times • Aug. 30, 2023

Both the black bean and cabbage dishes were good.

From Washington Times • Jul. 19, 2023

The three of them stopped at the wide aisle of frozen foods and started taking inventory: black bean soup, lunch rolls, pizzas, bagels, pizza bagels, tripe, codfish, catfish, I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-fish fish.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi