Definition of "bean counter" [bean counter]

• Slang A person, such as an accountant or financial officer, who is concerned with quantification, especially to the exclusion of other matters: "Companies tended to recognize two cultures—that of the technologist and that of the bean counter” ( Financial Times). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.