1. (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A tropical Asian grass (Coix lacryma-jobi) having white beadlike grains.
2. (used with a pl. verb) The grains of this plant, eaten or used as ornamental beads.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.