Beans — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun verb plural noun interjection phrase noun phrase /ˈbēn/ (noun) /ˈrē-ˌfrīd-/ (plural noun)

Meaning & Definition of Beans

Beans (noun)

  1. fava bean
  2. the seed of any of various erect or climbing plants (as of the genera Phaseolus and Vigna) of the legume family other than the fava bean
  3. a plant bearing beans
  4. beans that have been softened by soaking and boiling and then baked usually with salt pork and seasoning

Beans (verb)

  1. to strike (a person) on the head with an object

Beans (plural noun)

  1. beans (such as navy beans) seasoned with molasses and salt pork and baked for a relatively long time at a relatively low temperature
  2. a confection made of peanuts with a red candy shell
  3. beans cooked with seasonings, fried, then mashed and fried again

Beans (interjection)

  1. —used like cool to express agreement or approval

Beans (phrase)

  1. to divulge secret or hidden information
  2. full of energy and life
  3. not correct or truthful, full of nonsense
  4. to not know anything about (something)

Beans (noun phrase)

  1. something that has little or no value —used in negative statements

Beans (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. active strength of body or mind

    "nine-year-old twins who are full of beans"

    similar: bounce, brio, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, esprit, gas, get-up-and-go, ginger, go, gusto, hardihood, juice, life, moxie, oomph, pep, punch, sap, snap, starch, verve, vigor, vim, vinegar, vitality, zing, zip
    related: animal spirits, animation, briskness, jauntiness, liveliness, snappiness, spirit, spiritedness, sprightliness, spunk, spunkiness, vibrance, vibrancy, vivaciousness, vivacity, ardor, élan, fervor, fire, passion, zeal, main, metal, mettle, might, muscle, potency, power, puissance, stamina, strength, brawniness, fitness, hardiness, huskiness, sturdiness, virility, health, healthiness, soundness, verdure, wellness
    opposite: lethargy, listlessness, sluggishness, torpidity
    near: indolence, laziness, debilitation, debility, delicacy, disablement, enfeeblement, faintness, feebleness, frailness, frailty, impotence, impotency, infirmity, powerlessness, puniness, slightness, softness, tenderness, weakness, enervation, exhaustion, inanition, prostration

  2. language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense

    "I know something about gardening, and you're full of beans"

    similar: applesauce (slang), balderdash, baloney, bilge, blah, blarney, blather, blatherskite, blither, bosh, bull (slang), bunk, bunkum, claptrap, codswallop (British), crapola (slang), crock, drivel, drool, fiddle, fiddle-faddle, fiddlesticks, flannel (British), flapdoodle, folderol, folly, foolishness, fudge, garbage, guff, hogwash, hokeypokey, hokum, hoodoo, hooey, horsefeathers (slang), humbug, humbuggery, jazz, malarkey, moonshine, muck, nerts (slang), nonsense, nuts, piffle, poppycock, punk, rot, rubbish, senselessness, silliness, slush, stupidity, taradiddle, tommyrot, tosh, trash, trumpery, twaddle
    related: absurdity, asininity, fatuity, foolery, idiocy, imbecility, inaneness, inanity, insanity, kookiness, lunacy, absurdness, craziness, madness, witlessness, hoity-toity, monkey business, monkeyshine(s), shenanigan(s), tomfoolery, gas, hot air, rigmarole, double-talk, greek, hocus-pocus
    near: levelheadedness, rationality, reasonability, reasonableness, sensibleness, common sense, horse sense, sense, discernment, judgment, wisdom

  3. the smallest amount or part imaginable

    "had trouble finding a job because he didn't know beans about computers"

    similar: bubkes, continental, damn, darn, diddly (slang), diddly-squat (slang), doodley-squat, fig, ghost, hoot, iota, jot, lick, modicum, rap, squat (slang), syllable, tittle, whit, whoop
    related: ace, bit, crumb, dab, driblet, glimmer, hint, little, mite, nip, ounce, particle, peanuts, pin, ray, scrap, scruple, semblance, shade, shadow, shred, skosh, smidgen, snap, speck, spot, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, touch, trace

Beans (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in brains, skulls

    similar: brains, conks, skulls, canes, clubs, cudgels, flails, flogs, lashes, saps, slashes, sledgehammers, sledges, spears, stabs, switches, thrashes, whips, rabbit-punches, sucker punches, bowls (down or over), creams, decks, dumps (slang), fells, floors, knocks down, levels, bumps, butts, jabs, jostles, kicks, knees, pokes, prods, pushes, shoves, stamps, bunts, flicks, strokes, taps, scuffs, batters, beats, buffets, bungs, chops, cuffs, drubs, laces, lambastes, licks, mangles, mauls, pelts, peppers, pommels, pummels, roughs, bangs, bashes, bats, belts, biffs, bludgeons, bobs, bonks, bops, boxes, busts, claps, clips, clobbers, clocks, clouts, cracks, hammers, hits, knocks, nails, pastes, pounds, punches, raps, slams, slaps, slogs, slugs, smacks, smites, socks, strikes, swats, swipes, tags, thumps, thwacks, wallops, whacks, whales, zaps

Related Entry: Bean (noun)

Bean is a different word from Beans. The synonyms below are for bean, not for beans.

  1. the upper or front part of the body that contains the brain, the major sense organs, and the mouth

    "he tried to duck, but the pitch still hit him squarely on the bean"

    similar: block (slang), dome, head, mazard (chiefly dialect), melon, nob, noddle, noggin, noodle, nut (slang), pate, poll
    related: cranium, crown, scalp, skull, occiput

  2. active strength of body or mind

    "nine-year-old twins who are full of beans"

    similar: bounce, brio, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, esprit, gas, get-up-and-go, ginger, go, gusto, hardihood, juice, life, moxie, oomph, pep, punch, sap, snap, starch, verve, vigor, vim, vinegar, vitality, zing, zip
    related: animal spirits, animation, briskness, jauntiness, liveliness, snappiness, spirit, spiritedness, sprightliness, spunk, spunkiness, vibrance, vibrancy, vivaciousness, vivacity, ardor, élan, fervor, fire, passion, zeal, main, metal, mettle, might, muscle, potency, power, puissance, stamina, strength, brawniness, fitness, hardiness, huskiness, sturdiness, virility, health, healthiness, soundness, verdure, wellness
    opposite: lethargy, listlessness, sluggishness, torpidity
    near: indolence, laziness, debilitation, debility, delicacy, disablement, enfeeblement, faintness, feebleness, frailness, frailty, impotence, impotency, infirmity, powerlessness, puniness, slightness, softness, tenderness, weakness, enervation, exhaustion, inanition, prostration

  3. language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense

    "I know something about gardening, and you're full of beans"

    similar: applesauce (slang), balderdash, baloney, bilge, blah, blarney, blather, blatherskite, blither, bosh, bull (slang), bunk, bunkum, claptrap, codswallop (British), crapola (slang), crock, drivel, drool, fiddle, fiddle-faddle, fiddlesticks, flannel (British), flapdoodle, folderol, folly, foolishness, fudge, garbage, guff, hogwash, hokeypokey, hokum, hoodoo, hooey, horsefeathers (slang), humbug, humbuggery, jazz, malarkey, moonshine, muck, nerts (slang), nonsense, nuts, piffle, poppycock, punk, rot, rubbish, senselessness, silliness, slush, stupidity, taradiddle, tommyrot, tosh, trash, trumpery, twaddle
    related: absurdity, asininity, fatuity, foolery, idiocy, imbecility, inaneness, inanity, insanity, kookiness, lunacy, absurdness, craziness, madness, witlessness, hoity-toity, monkey business, monkeyshine(s), shenanigan(s), tomfoolery, gas, hot air, rigmarole, double-talk, greek, hocus-pocus
    near: levelheadedness, rationality, reasonability, reasonableness, sensibleness, common sense, horse sense, sense, discernment, judgment, wisdom

  4. the smallest amount or part imaginable

    "had trouble finding a job because he didn't know beans about computers"

    similar: bubkes, continental, damn, darn, diddly (slang), diddly-squat (slang), doodley-squat, fig, ghost, hoot, iota, jot, lick, modicum, rap, squat (slang), syllable, tittle, whit, whoop
    related: ace, bit, crumb, dab, driblet, glimmer, hint, little, mite, nip, ounce, particle, peanuts, pin, ray, scrap, scruple, semblance, shade, shadow, shred, skosh, smidgen, snap, speck, spot, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, touch, trace

Related Entry: Spill the beans (phrase)

Spill the beans is a different word from Beans. The synonyms below are for spill the beans, not for beans.

  1. to relate sometimes questionable or secret information of a personal nature

    "We knew they wouldn't spill the beans about the wedding until we were ready to announce it."

    similar: blab, dish, gossip, talk, tattle, wag
    related: bandy (about), circulate, noise (about or abroad), rumor, blabber, disclose, divulge, reveal, tell, hint, imply, insinuate, intimate, let on, suggest, inform, report, snitch, squeal, tip (off), babble, spill, confide
    near: clam up, shut up

Related Entry: Spill the beans (about) (phrase)

Spill the beans (about) is a different word from Beans. The synonyms below are for spill the beans (about), not for beans.

  1. to make known (as information previously kept secret)

    "An inside informant spilled the beans about the company's unethical business practices."

    similar: bare, disclose, discover, divulge, expose, let on (about), reveal, spill, tell, unbosom, uncloak, uncover, unmask, unveil, bring to light, go public (with), let the cat out of the bag (about)
    related: confide, share, debunk, show up, unclothe, undrape, advertise, announce, blaze, bring out, broadcast, declare, placard, post, proclaim, promulgate, publicize, publish, sound, betray, blab, give away, leak, inform, squeal, talk, communicate, impart, relate, acknowledge, admit, avow, concede, confess, own, disinter, rake up, smoke out, unearth
    opposite: cloak, conceal, cover (up), enshroud, hide, mask, shroud, veil
    near: camouflage, disguise, gild, gloss (over), varnish, whitewash, becloud, bedim, befog, cloud, darken, eclipse, obscure, overcast, overshadow, shade

Related Entry: Spilled the beans (phrase)

Spilled the beans is a different word from Beans. The synonyms below are for spilled the beans, not for beans.

  1. to relate sometimes questionable or secret information of a personal nature

    "We knew they wouldn't spill the beans about the wedding until we were ready to announce it."

    similar: blabbed, dished, gossiped, talked, tattled, wagged
    related: bandied (about), circulated, noised (about or abroad), rumored, blabbered, disclosed, divulged, revealed, told, hinted, implied, insinuated, intimated, let on, suggested, informed, reported, snitched, squealed, tipped (off), babbled, spilled, confided
    near: clammed up, shut up

Related Entry: Spills the beans (phrase)

Spills the beans is a different word from Beans. The synonyms below are for spills the beans, not for beans.

  1. to relate sometimes questionable or secret information of a personal nature

    "We knew they wouldn't spill the beans about the wedding until we were ready to announce it."

    similar: blabs, dishes, gossips, talks, tattles, wags
    related: bandies (about), circulates, noises (about or abroad), rumors, blabbers, discloses, divulges, reveals, tells, hints, implies, insinuates, intimates, lets on, suggests, informs, reports, snitches, squeals, tips (off), babbles, spills, confides
    near: clams up, shuts up

Related Entry: Spilling the beans (phrase)

Spilling the beans is a different word from Beans. The synonyms below are for spilling the beans, not for beans.

  1. to relate sometimes questionable or secret information of a personal nature

    "We knew they wouldn't spill the beans about the wedding until we were ready to announce it."

    similar: blabbing, dishing, gossiping, talking, tattling, wagging
    related: bandying (about), circulating, noising (about or abroad), rumoring, blabbering, disclosing, divulging, revealing, telling, hinting, implying, insinuating, intimating, letting on, suggesting, informing, reporting, snitching, squealing, tipping (off), babbling, spilling, confiding
    near: clamming up, shutting up

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Beans

The most common words with a similar meaning to Beans:

Slang: applesauce, bull, crapola, horsefeathers, nerts, diddly, diddly-squat, squat, dumps
British: codswallop, flannel
bounce, brio, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, esprit, gas, get-up-and-go, ginger, go, gusto, hardihood, juice, life, moxie, oomph, pep, punch, sap, snap, starch, verve, vigor, vim, vinegar, vitality, zing, zip, balderdash, baloney, bilge, blah, blarney, blather, blatherskite, blither, bosh, bunk, bunkum

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Beans

Words with the opposite meaning of Beans:

lethargy, listlessness, sluggishness, torpidity

Related Words for Beans

animal spirits, animation, briskness, jauntiness, liveliness, snappiness, spirit, spiritedness, sprightliness, spunk, spunkiness, vibrance, vibrancy, vivaciousness, vivacity, ardor, élan, fervor, fire, passion, zeal, main, metal, mettle, might, muscle, potency, power, puissance, stamina

Near Antonyms of Beans

indolence, laziness, debilitation, debility, delicacy, disablement, enfeeblement, faintness, feebleness, frailness, frailty, impotence, impotency, infirmity, powerlessness, puniness, slightness, softness, tenderness, weakness, enervation, exhaustion, inanition, prostration, levelheadedness, rationality, reasonability, reasonableness, sensibleness, common sense

Word Forms of Beans

Inflections: beaned, beaning

Origin & Etymology of Beans

Middle English bene, from Old English bēan; akin to Old High German bōna bean

First known use: before 12th century

Words & Phrases Containing Beans

baked beans, Boston baked beans, cool beans, refried beans, spill the beans, a hill of beans, full of beans, not know beans about

Frequently Asked Questions about Beans

What does "Beans" mean?

"Beans" means fava bean. As an a noun, a verb, a plural noun, an interjection, a phrase and a noun phrase, it is defined as: fava bean. It has 4 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Beans"?

Other words for "Beans" include bounce, brio, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, esprit and gas. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Beans" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Beans"?

There are 310 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Beans". Common alternatives include bounce, brio, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, esprit, gas, get-up-and-go and ginger.

What is a slang word for "Beans"?

Slang words for "Beans" include applesauce, bull, crapola, horsefeathers, nerts and diddly.

What is the opposite of "Beans"?

Antonyms of "Beans" include lethargy, listlessness, sluggishness and torpidity. Near antonyms include indolence, laziness, debilitation and debility.

How do you use "Beans" in a sentence?

Examples of "Beans" in a sentence: "nine-year-old twins who are full of beans"; "I know something about gardening, and you're full of beans"; "had trouble finding a job because he didn't know beans about computers".

Is "Beans" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Beans" can be used as a noun, a verb, a plural noun, an interjection, a phrase and a noun phrase, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Beans"?

"Beans" is pronounced /ˈbēn/ as a noun and /ˈrē-ˌfrīd-/ as a plural noun.