castor bean

noun

1. the seed of the castor-oil plant.
2. castor-oil plant.

castor bean

noun

1. another name for castor-oil plant
2. the seed of this plant

Other Words From

• castor-bean adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of castor bean¹

1810–20, Americanism; short for castor-oil bean

Example Sentences

“Those, over there, are actually castor bean stalks,” Kleckner said as we zoomed past.

From Los Angeles Times

Around 90% of oil is valuable for industrial uses in crops like castor beans, Bates said.

From Science Daily

He was arrested after agents found a plastic bag with castor beans along with a handwritten recipe for extracting ricin from the beans, according to an FBI affidavit.

From Seattle Times

She later admitted to making the ricin - a poison made from the waste material left over from castor beans processing - at her Quebec home, and placing it into an envelope with the letter.

From BBC

The researchers looked at a species of tick called the castor bean tick, which is common across Europe.

From Seattle Times