n. & v.
--n.
1. a any kind of leguminous plant with edible usu. kidney-shaped seeds in long pods. b one of these seeds.
2 a similar seed of coffee and other plants.
3 US sl. the head.
4 (in pl.; with neg.) US sl. anything at all (doesn't know beans about it).
--v.tr. US sl. hit on the head.
Phrases and idioms:
bean curd jelly or paste made from beans, used esp. in Asian cookery. bean sprout a sprout of a bean seed, esp. of the mung bean, used as food. full of beans colloq. lively; in high spirits. not a bean Brit. sl. no money. old bean Brit. sl. a friendly form of address, usu. to a man.
Etymology: OE bean f. Gmc