Definition

1. Noun:
   • A European twining plant whose flowers are used chiefly to flavor malt liquors; cultivated in America. This refers specifically to the common hop plant (Humulus lupulus), a climbing vine whose dried female flowers (cones) are used to flavor beer.

Usage

• The word "bine" is a specialized botanical term. It is most commonly used in the context of brewing, botany, or horticulture to refer to the hop plant or its flexible, twining stem.
• It is not a common word in everyday conversation.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The farmer cultivated bine for the local brewery.
  • Unlike a vine that uses tendrils, a bine climbs by wrapping its stem around a support.

Advanced Usage

• "Hop bine": This is a common compound term specifying the plant. While "bine" alone can refer to the hop plant, "hop bine" is often used for clarity.
  • The hop bines were trained to grow up strings in the hopyard.

Variants and Related Words

• Bine can also refer more generally to a twining stem of a climbing plant, especially one that climbs by its stem (like hops or bindweed), as opposed to a "vine" which may use tendrils or other means.
• Hop (n): The common name for the plant or its flowers used in brewing.
• Bindweed (n): A common name for plants in the family, which are also climbing bines.

Synonyms

• Hop plant
• Hop vine (common, though technically a bine)
• Humulus lupulus (scientific name)

Notes

• The word "bine" is a homograph. It is also an archaic or dialectal variant of "bind," but this usage is extremely rare in modern English. The primary contemporary meaning is the one defined above.
• Do not confuse with "vine." While all bines are climbing plants, not all climbing plants (vines) are bines. Bines climb by wrapping their main stem.

Noun

1. European twining plant whose flowers are used chiefly to flavor malt liquors; cultivated in America