Phrase guide

castor bean

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A castor oil plant, of the species Ricinus communis.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The seed of the castor oil plant, used in the production of castor oil and of the poison ricin.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: castor oil bean, mole bean

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the toxic seed of the castor-oil plant; source of castor oil

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: oilseed, oil-rich seed

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: الخروع — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Bulgarian: рици́ново се́ме (ricínovo séme) — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Chinese Mandarin: 蓖麻子 (bìmázǐ) — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Dutch: ricinuszaad — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Dutch: castorzaad — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Dutch: wonderboon — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Finnish: risiinipapu — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Japanese: 蓖麻子 (himashi) — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Kikuyu: mbarĩki — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Macedonian: рицинус (ricinus) — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Meru: mbarĩki — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Polish: nasiono rącznika pospolitego — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Portuguese: mamona — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Portuguese: rícino — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Punjabi: ਹਰਨੌਲ਼ੀ (harnauḷī) — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Spanish: semilla de ricino — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Tamil: ஆமணக்கு விதை (āmaṇakku vitai) — seed of the castor oil plant
  • Tamil: கொட்டைமுத்து (koṭṭaimuttu) — seed of the castor oil plant