jumping bean

jump·ing bean

(jŭm′pĭng)n. A seed of certain Mexican plants, especially of the genus Sebastiania, containing the larva of a tortricid moth whose movements cause the seed to jerk or roll.

jumping bean

n (Zoology) a seed of any of several Mexican euphorbiaceous plants, esp species of Sebastiania, that contains a moth caterpillar whose movements cause it to jerk about

jump′ing bean`

n. the seed of any of certain Mexican plants of the genera Sebastiania and Sapium, of the spurge family: the movements of a moth larva inside the seed cause it to move about or jump. [1885–90]

Thesaurus

Noun

jumping bean - seed of Mexican shrubs of the genus Sebastiana containing the larva of a moth whose movements cause the bean to jerk or tumblejumping seed, Mexican jumping beangenus Sebastiana, Sebastiana - Mexican spurgesseed - a small hard fruit

jumping bean

jumping bean:

see spurgespurge
, common name for members of the Euphorbiaceae, a family of herbs, shrubs, and trees of greatly varied structure and almost cosmopolitan distribution, although most species are tropical. In the United States the family is most common in the Southeast.
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jumping bean

jump·ing bean

jumping bean

jump′ing bean`

jumping bean

jumping bean:

jumping bean

Synonyms for jumping bean

noun seed of Mexican shrubs of the genus Sebastiana containing the larva of a moth whose movements cause the bean to jerk or tumble

Synonyms

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