old bean

noun

"old-bean" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“old bean” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An old friend; an old chap or fellow.

Corpus desk

Index EN-old-bean · old bean · English

old bean · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "O" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for old bean
PropertyValue
Headwordold bean
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “old bean” in English

old beansits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

old bean is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An old friend; an old chap or fellow.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for old bean in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Possibly from playful mid-word substitution of "boy" in "old boy" The correct English form is old bean, spelled O-L-D- -B-E-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    An old friend; an old chap or fellow.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how old bean appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] it is really an uncommon piece of exaggerative imagination which we find in the description of this old bean's elaborate costume, with its pads, straps, strings […]
  2. When this here old Bean told me, you could have knocked me down with a feather.

Etymology

Possibly from playful mid-word substitution of "boy" in "old boy"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "old bean"?
"old bean" is spelled O-L-D- -B-E-A-N.
What does "old bean" mean?
As a noun, "old bean" means: An old friend; an old chap or fellow.
What is the origin of the word "old bean"?
Possibly from playful mid-word substitution of "boy" in "old boy" See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list