lima bean

American  

[lahy-muh] / ˈlaɪ mə /

noun

1. a bean, Phaseolus limensis, having a broad, flat, edible seed.

2. the seed, used for food.

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lima bean British  

/ ˈliː-, ˈlaɪmə /

noun

1. any of several varieties of the bean plant, Phaseolus lunatus (or P. limensis ), native to tropical America but cultivated in the US for its flat pods containing pale green edible seeds

2. the seed of such a plant

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Etymology

Origin of lima bean

1810–20; named after Lima, Peru

Example Sentences

In the wild, Venus fly traps are the size of a lima bean and mean no harm to anything other than spiders and flies.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 21, 2023

In just over three years, lima bean fields near Long Beach became 17,500 houses in a community called Lakewood, built at the rate of a new home every 7½ minutes before completion in 1953.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2022

Jackie Freeman's cauliflower and lima bean gratin is a similar recipe — use either as a jumping-off point based on what you have in your own fridge and pantry.

From Salon • Jan. 17, 2022

And the CT scan revealed a growth about the size of a lima bean on his pituitary.

From New York Times • Dec. 29, 2021

My father pressed his fork onto his plate and crushed a lima bean.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt