string bean

American  

noun

• string beans
  plural

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.

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string bean British  

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• string beans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of string bean

An Americanism dating back to 1750–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

string bean

Height can be found on both sides of Watson’s family — his father is 6-5, his mother 5-10 — but no one else besides Peyton’s younger brother, Christian, has string bean arms and legs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2022

After hearing this, Ginger said, "Well, I like how she looks. Can you stand a minute, string bean?"

From Fox News ● Jan. 7, 2022

It also features a very strong supporting cast whose standouts include the director Marielle Heller as Beth’s loving, enabling adopted mother, and a shockingly charming human string bean.

From Slate ● Dec. 7, 2020

A talented string bean named Van Dyke became Reiner's alter ego on the show, which ran for five seasons.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2014

He plucked what looked like a four-foot version of a string bean from a branch, split it lengthwise, and showed me flattened, shiny seeds arrayed along its length like teeth in a jaw.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann