string bean

noun

1. any of various kinds of bean, as the green bean, the unripe pods of which are used as food, usually after stripping off the fibrous thread along the side.

2. the pod itself.

3. Informal.,  a tall, thin person.

string bean

noun

1. any of several bean plants, such as the scarlet runner, cultivated for their edible unripe pods See also green bean wax bean

2. informal,  a tall thin person

Word History and Origins

Origin of string bean¹

An Americanism dating back to 1750–60

Example Sentences

Like ‘string bean,’ and ‘soup tureen,’ and ‘Byzantine,’ and—well, there are far too many to list.

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Daddy kept a beautiful garden in her backyard, with rows of string beans, rhubarb, potatoes, onions, scallions, carrots, radishes, and beans.

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They paint, play with bubbles and forage for food like frozen strawberries, string beans and heads of lettuce.

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And my daughter ate that lie right up along with her string beans.

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The fruit that ultimately emerges is a pod that looks like a long, thick string bean and contains black seeds.

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