red bean

noun

1
: a red kidney bean and especially one that is small and round
2
: a small dark red seed of the adzuki bean that is often combined with sugar to produce a sweet paste used in cooking

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web People also eat glutinous rice balls, called Yuánxiāo or Tāngyuán, which are sweet treats with various fillings like black sesame, peanuts, red bean, rose petals and rock sugar. Minhae Shim Roth, Good Housekeeping, 1 Dec. 2022 On the sweeter side, the lava custard sesame balls are filled with gooey custard rather than the usual red bean paste. Rebecca Treon, Chron, 1 Apr. 2023 The menu covers the greatest hits of coffee house culture using beans roasted by San Antonio’s Estate Coffee Co. — espressos, lattes, cortados, iced coffee and the like — as well as specialty lattes inspired by Buck’s Korean mother that incorporate banana milk, red bean milk and melon milk. Mike Sutter, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Feb. 2022 My favorites are their mochi, red bean, and strawberry toppings. San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2023 Her Sakurazuké Martini plays off the sakura mochi popular in Japan this time of year, a treat of a salted cherry blossom leaf wrapped around a pale pink mochi (rice cake) stuffed with koshian, a sweet red bean paste. Washington Post, 24 Mar. 2022 Order pastries baked fresh daily or something from an all-day menu featuring a tofu scramble breakfast burrito ($12), a red bean quesadilla ($13) and cauliflower tacos ($13). Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 13 Jan. 2023 Yangtze Restaurant offers all day dim sum in an expansive dining room with circulating push carts that are packed with everything from steamed squid and shrimp rolls to vegetarian-friendly offerings like red bean cakes and liu sha bao. Kaitlyn Mcinnis, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Apr. 2022 In Korea, the holiday is called Dongji and is honored by eating a special type of red bean porridge, patjuk, with dumpling-like balls made from rice flour that are thought to resemble bird’s eggs — a symbol of new beginnings. Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'red bean.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1658, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of red bean was in 1658

Dictionary Entries Near red bean

Cite this Entry

“Red bean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red%20bean. Accessed 4 Jun. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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