Stringless means without strings attached. The word most commonly describes string beans (also called green beans) that have had their tough, fibrous strings removed, or that were bred to grow without those strings in the first place.

If you've ever snapped the ends off fresh green beans, you might have noticed thin, stringy fibers running along the sides. Older varieties of beans had these tough strings that needed to be pulled off before cooking, otherwise they'd be unpleasant to chew. Modern stringless varieties grow tender all the way through, making them much easier to prepare and more enjoyable to eat.

The word can also describe anything that lacks strings it would normally have. A stringless puppet would flop lifelessly without the strings that usually control its movements. A stringless guitar couldn't make any music. In each case, stringless emphasizes what's missing: those thin cords or fibers that would normally be there.