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mung bean

American  
[muhng] / mʌŋ /

noun

  1. a plant, Vigna radiata, of the legume family, cultivated for its edible seeds, pods, and young sprouts.

  2. the seed or pod of this plant.


mung bean British  
/ mʌŋ /

noun

  1. an E Asian bean plant, Phaseolus aureus, grown for forage and as the source of bean sprouts used in oriental cookery

  2. the seed of this plant

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of mung bean

1905–10; earlier moong < Hindi mū̃g, variant of mūg; compare Pali, Prakrit mugga, Sanskrit mudga

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Layer the ingredients in the mold: ½ cup rice, 2 tablespoons mung beans, 1 piece pork belly, 1 tablespoon fried shallot, 2 tablespoons mung bean and ½ cup rice to top it off.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 25, 2022

Glass noodles might describe those made with sweet potato or mung bean starches.

From Washington Post • May 24, 2021

They finally determined that a protein from the mung bean, grown mostly in Asia, was the answer.

From Washington Times • Dec. 23, 2019

Dr. Raj, 65, has cooked vegetable curries and biryani, raita, spiced carrot and sprouted mung bean salads and naan or chapati, supplemented with a sweet potato dish with marshmallow, she said, “to add Thanksgiving flavor.”

From New York Times • Nov. 25, 2019

Jomon sites often contain remains of edible plants that are native to Japan as wild species but are also grown as crops today, including adzuki bean, mung bean, and barnyard millet.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond