fava bean

noun

fa·​va bean ˈfä-və- 

: the large, flat, edible, starchy seed of an Old World upright vetch (Vicia faba) that is typically pale green to whitish in color and is eaten raw, blanched, or cooked

also : this plant widely grown for its seeds and as fodder

called also broad bean, horse bean

see favism

Examples of fava bean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While most kinds of beans are indigenous to Central and South America, soybeans are native to Asia, while lentils and fava beans originated in the Fertile Crescent and Eastern Mediterranean. —Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 19 June 2025

Earlier this year, during the ceasefire, Sabir collected ninety cans of fava beans. —Mosab Abu Toha, New Yorker, 12 June 2025

Select a crop that will be killed by cold temperatures or mowing, such as Australian winter pea, fava beans, or crimson clover. —Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 May 2025

Add morel mushrooms and fava beans to the pan with shallots. —Fox News Staff, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Italian fava "fava bean," going back to Latin faba, going back to dialectal Indo-European *b^hab^(h)- (whence also Serbian & Croatian bȍb, bòba "bean," Polish bób, Russian bob all going back to Slavic *bobŭ), probably borrowed from a European substratal language

First Known Use

1893, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fava bean

• acrolein
• adenine
• alkylene
• aniline
• anthracene
• aquiline
• asphaltene
• atlantean
• atrazine
• butadiene
• butylene
• caesarean

Kids Definition

fava bean

noun

fa·​va bean ˈfä-və- 

: broad bean

Medical Definition

fava bean

noun

fa·​va bean ˈfäv-ə- 

: broad bean