Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
full of beans

full of beans

1 6.8
Having a lot of energy and feeling lively
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : lleno de energía
  • And I’m just full of beans!
  • young and full of beans

Examples

  • Then I woke up full of beans.

    Blog text (22)

  • Course, I was young and full of beans back then.

    Lone Star (1996)

  • Of course, I was young and full of beans then.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The other strange thing is that I wake up about the same time, around 5 a.m., full of beans.

    Blog text (4)

  • Today I woke up full of beans.

    Blog text (22)

  • Today I woke up full of beans and ready to tackle the day.

  • I feel full of beans after that refreshing morning run.

  • Children often seem full of beans when they are excited about a trip.

Synonyms

lively
vsfull of beans
111 1.3

Having a lot of energy and enthusiasm

emphasizes the same energy but in a casual, idiomatic way
energetic
vsfull of beans
93 1.6

Full of energy and active

expresses comparable liveliness but in a more colloquial tone
vibrant
vsfull of beans
81 4.1

Full of energy and activity that makes people feel excited

shares that lively quality but uses friendlier, informal language
jolly
vsfull of beans
79 1.0

Happy and lively in a friendly way

shares cheerfulness but places more emphasis on mood than energy
vital
vsfull of beans
30 3.8

Full of energy and enthusiasm

is similar in energy but feels more casual and playful
full of energy
vsfull of beans
12 2.1

Being very active and excited to do things

is a more informal and playful expression with the same meaning
chirpy
vsfull of beans
  • Informal
2 3.1

Feeling happy and full of energy

keeps the energy but is less focused on cheerful mood

Antonyms

apathetic
24 6.8

Not showing much interest or energy

lethargic
15 5.3

Being very tired and slow with little interest or energy

How Energetic

hyper
37 4.2
full of beans
  • UK
1 6.8
energetic
93 1.6
lively
111 1.3

Surface Forms

full of beans positive

Morphology

full + of + beans

Although 'full of' is compositional, the noun 'beans' does not transparently map onto 'energy' or 'liveliness' for an average B1 learner; the meaning is an idiomatic, culture-specific extension (chiefly British) rather than a predictable composition of the parts. Because the link between 'beans' and being energetic is not obvious cross-linguistically or from the literal meanings, learners who know the words are unlikely to derive the idiomatic sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

Full of beans may come from old farm life: horses that ate beans often became lively and ran around, so being full of beans gave a picture of someone full of energy. So today full of beans means 'very energetic'.