lima bean

American  

[lahy-muh] / ˈlaɪ mə /

noun

• lima beans
  plural

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

2. the seed, used for food.

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lima bean British  

/ ˈlaɪmə-, ˈliː- /

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• lima beans
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of lima bean

1810–20; named after Lima, Peru

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lima bean

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

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

As she skillfully snapped lima bean pods off the bushes at her farm, another woman said about voting: “My husband never did; I never did.”

From Washington Post ● Oct. 9, 2019

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

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

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