cocoa bean

noun

plural cocoa beans
: a dried, fermented, fatty seed of the fruit of a South American tropical evergreen tree (Theobroma cacao of the family Malvaceae) that is used in making cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter : cacao sense 1
The cocoa bean contains cocoa solids (particles) and about 53 percent cocoa butter.Rose Levy Beranbaum

Examples of cocoa bean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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In March, the United Nations Trade and Development office released a statement with startling figures about how recent cocoa bean prices have been skyrocketing. Noël Fletcher, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024 Some of the biggest candy manufacturers in the world are environmentally harmful due to the sheer amount of sugar, palm oil and cocoa beans required to make their products, which has contributed to widespread deforestation and biodiversity loss, according to Good On You. Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2024 About 75% of the cacao fruit is discarded after the cocoa beans are harvested. Richard Collings, Axios, 15 Oct. 2024 Climate change is stressing rainforests where the highly sensitive cocoa bean grows, but chocolate lovers need not despair, say companies that are researching other ways to grow cocoa or develop cocoa substitutes. Mahnoor Khan, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cocoa bean 

Word History

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cocoa bean was in 1799

Dictionary Entries Near cocoa bean

Cite this Entry

“Cocoa bean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cocoa%20bean. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

cocoa bean

noun

More from Merriam-Webster on cocoa bean

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