bead
a small, usually round object of glass, wood, stone, or the like with a hole through it, often strung with others of its kind in necklaces, rosaries, etc.
beads,
a necklace of beads: You don't have your beads on this evening.
a rosary.
Obsolete. devotions; prayers.
any small globular or cylindrical body.
a drop of liquid: beads of moisture.
a bubble rising through effervescent liquid.
Usually beads. a mass of such bubbles on the surface of a liquid.
the front sight of a rifle or gun.
a reinforced area of a rubber tire terminating the sidewall and fitting within the rim of a wheel.
Electricity. a glass, ceramic, or plastic insulator that contains and supports the inner conductor in a coaxial cable.
Chemistry. a globule of borax or some other flux, supported on a platinum wire, in which a small amount of some substance is heated in a flame as a test for its constituents.
Metallurgy. the rounded mass of refined metal obtained by cupellation.
Architecture, Furniture. a small molding having a convex circular section and, usually, a continuous cylindrical surface; astragal.
Welding. a continuous deposit of fused metal, either straight (stringer bead ) or zigzag (weave bead ).
to form or cause to form beads or a bead on.
to ornament with beads.
Carpentry. to form a bead on (a piece).
to form beads; form in beads or drops: perspiration beading on his forehead.
Idioms about bead
count / say / tell one's beads, to say one's prayers, using rosary beads: There were a few old women counting their beads in the hushed silence of the chapel.
draw / get a bead on, to take careful aim at: The marksman drew a bead on his target.
Origin of bead
1Other words for bead
Other words from bead
- beadlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use bead in a sentence
He wipes beads of sweat from his brow, and extends his hand out towards the crowd.
Revenge of the Rock Nerds: TV on the Radio’s Long Road to ‘Seeds’ | Marlow Stern | December 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen I express skepticism that the beads are doing anything, I get pushback that the kids have been healthy since wearing them.
Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R. | Russell Saunders | November 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTApparently the succinic acid in the beads has an anti-inflammatory effect.
Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R. | Russell Saunders | November 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe beads are also a risk in and of themselves if the strand breaks.
Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R. | Russell Saunders | November 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShe would periodically show up at the house and stay in the attic, where she hung beads and burned incense.
Wonder Woman’s Creation Story Is Wilder Than You Could Ever Imagine | Tom Arnold-Forster | November 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Beads of perspiration gathered on my forehead as I slowly rose to my feet and faced Giles.
Uncanny Tales | VariousBut Madame only set her teeth hard into her under lip, and Edna saw the sweat gather in beads on her white forehead.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinHis arms were growing heavy with fatigue, his mouth was parched, and great beads of perspiration stood upon his brow.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniLittle Maude was threading beads; and the two others, much younger, stood looking on—Reginald and Anne.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodPeople were walking about in purple and gold togas; on the house-tops were pigeons whose throats shone like iridescent beads.
Kari the Elephant | Dhan Gopal Mukerji
British Dictionary definitions for bead
/ (biːd) /
a small usually spherical piece of glass, wood, plastic, etc, with a hole through it by means of which it may be strung with others to form a necklace, etc
a small drop of moisture: a bead of sweat
a small bubble in or on a liquid
a small metallic knob acting as the sight of a firearm
draw a bead on to aim a rifle or pistol at
Also called: astragal architect carpentry a small convex moulding having a semicircular cross section
chem a small solid globule made by fusing a powdered sample with borax or a similar flux on a platinum wire. The colour of the globule serves as a test for the presence of certain metals (bead test)
metallurgy a deposit of welding metal on the surface of a metal workpiece, often used to examine the structure of the weld zone
RC Church one of the beads of a rosary
count one's beads, say one's beads or tell one's beads to pray with a rosary
(tr) to decorate with beads
to form into beads or drops
Origin of bead
1Derived forms of bead
- beaded, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with bead
see draw a bead on.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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