navy bean

noun

A white bean of a variety of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris).

Similar
pearl haricot beanboston beanwhite pea beanYankee beanpea beanwhite bean
First used 19th c.
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounnavy bean (plural navy beans)

plural navy beans

  1. A white bean of a variety of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris).First known use 19th c.

    Beans—Very scarce Navy Beans 112 a 115c.

    1851 May 10, “The Markets”, in North Carolina Standard, volume 1, no. 53, Raleigh, N.C., archived from the original on 25 Sep 2016, page 3
    1 more example

    Janie […] baked big pans of navy beans with plenty of sugar and hunks of bacon laying on top.

    1937, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Amistad, published 2013, page 132

    Synonyms: pearl haricot bean, boston bean, white pea bean, Yankee bean

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA white bean of a variety of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris).

Similar
pearl haricot beanboston beanwhite pea beanYankee bean

More synonyms by meaning

nounwhite-seeded bean; usually dried

Similar
pea beanwhite bean
Broader
common bean
Also see
pea beanwhite beanyankee bean

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

So called because the United States Navy has served the beans as a staple to its sailors since the mid-1800s.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

navy bean. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/navy%20bean

MLA

“navy bean.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/navy%20bean. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “navy bean,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/navy%20bean.

Source: navy bean on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.