Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
dictionary thesaurus view recents

castor bean

noun
Save Word

Definition of castor bean

: the very poisonous seed of the castor-oil plant also : castor-oil plant

Examples of castor bean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There are some new kicks on the block—and they're made out of castor bean oil, eucalyptus tree, algae, and natural rubber. — Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, "Reebok Steps into Sustainable Fashion with Its First Plant-Based Running Shoes," 3 Dec. 2019 Its soles are made from castor beans and natural rubber. — Chauncey Alcorn, CNN, "Vegan sneakers set to be next plant-based craze in 2020," 14 Dec. 2019 The shoe adorns a sleek highly cushioned, responsive midsole, all made from sustainability grown castor beans. — James Love, Essence, "Reebok Releases A New Running Sneakers Made from Plants," 3 Dec. 2019 Gophers and moles have an extraordinarily sensitive sense of smell so the smell of the castor bean pellets often drives them away. — Earl Nickel, SFChronicle.com, "How to keep pesky visitors out of the garden," 20 Sep. 2019 Ricin is a poison derived from castor beans and exposure to it can be deadly. — Nancy A. Youssef, WSJ, "Two Letters Sent to the Pentagon Test Positive for Ricin," 2 Oct. 2018 The brand also uses other sustainable materials like recycled water bottles for the polyester in the laces, recycled cardboard that makes up 90% of the packaging, sugar cane in the foam sole, and castor bean oil in the insole. — Lexie Sachs, Good Housekeeping, "We Reviewed Allbirds, the "World's Most Comfortable" Shoes — Here's What You Need to Know," 11 Sep. 2019 Ricin is a highly poisonous substance found in castor beans and only a few milligrams of it is enough to kill a human, authorities said. — Andy Nguyen, Glendale News-Press, "La Crescenta man admits to intending to poison wife with ricin, feds say," 9 Sep. 2019 Castor oil is made by pressing the seeds of castor beans, which yields a viscous liquid thicker than olive oil and pale yellow in hue. — Elizabeth Kiefer, Washington Post, "Cleopatra used it as a beauty aid. Now castor oil is staging a cosmetics comeback.," 8 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'castor bean.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of castor bean

1819, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about castor bean

Time Traveler for castor bean

Time Traveler

The first known use of castor bean was in 1819

See more words from the same year

Statistics for castor bean

Last Updated

2 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Castor bean.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/castor%20bean. Accessed 26 January 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for castor bean

castor bean

noun
cas·​tor bean | \ ˈkas-tər- How to pronounce castor bean (audio) \

Medical Definition of castor bean

: the very poisonous seed of the castor-oil plant also : castor-oil plant

More from Merriam-Webster on castor bean

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about castor bean

Comments on castor bean

What made you want to look up castor bean? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

sublimate

Listen to the pronounciation of sublimate

to express in a more acceptable way

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Intact Latin Quiz

  • roman tablet
  • What did focus mean in Latin?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Bee Cubed

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games