kidney bean

American  

noun

1. a common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, cultivated in many varieties for its edible seeds and pods.

2. the mature kidney-shaped seed of this plant.

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kidney bean British  

noun

1. any of certain bean plants having kidney-shaped seeds, esp the French bean and scarlet runner

2. the seed of any of these beans

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Etymology

Origin of kidney bean

First recorded in 1540–50

Example Sentences

In fact, Ms. Reese says, it’s the right kidney bean paired with the right chef that makes a bowl of red beans and rice one to remember.

From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2023

I all but begged Yamada to share Superkhana's version as a fittingly celebratory end to my week of kidney bean cookery.

From Salon • Oct. 6, 2021

The 110-ton elliptical sculpture in Millennium Park is officially titled Cloud Gate, but it does look like a giant metal kidney bean.

From Chicago Tribune • Jan. 6, 2016

If the green bean cans weigh 2 oz less than the kidney bean cans, how many of each can was donated?

From Textbooks • Feb. 13, 2015

By each name is a capsule description of what Yolanda might remember of that relative: the one with the kidney bean swimming pool, the fat one, the one who was an ambassador.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez