green bean

American  

noun

• green beans
  plural

1. the immature green pod of the kidney bean, eaten as a vegetable.

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green bean British  

noun

1. any bean plant, such as the French bean, having narrow green edible pods when unripe

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• green beans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of green bean

An Americanism dating back to 1940–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

green bean

The old crowded wait has become a couch scroll until your green bean skewer and brisket noodles appear by e-bike.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

The roughly $40 basket includes a Butterball frozen turkey, a five-pound bag of potatoes, boxed macaroni and cheese and stuffing mixes, fresh cranberries and the ingredients for a green bean casserole and pumpkin pie.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 22, 2025

I have this sweet potato, green bean and cashew curry in my book that’s like my go-to.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2024

It found that 31% of U.S. adults don’t care for cranberry sauce while 29% would skip the sweet potatoes and 28% would forgo the green bean casserole.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 22, 2023

A tiny dot appears inside the letter b of the green bean recipe.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin