bead
Americannoun
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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.
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beads,
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a necklace of beads.
You don't have your beads on this evening.
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a rosary.
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Obsolete. devotions; prayers.
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any small globular or cylindrical body.
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a drop of liquid.
beads of moisture.
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a bubble rising through effervescent liquid.
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Usually beads. a mass of such bubbles on the surface of a liquid.
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the front sight of a rifle or gun.
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a reinforced area of a rubber tire terminating the sidewall and fitting within the rim of a wheel.
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Electricity. a glass, ceramic, or plastic insulator that contains and supports the inner conductor in a coaxial cable.
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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.
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Metallurgy. the rounded mass of refined metal obtained by cupellation.
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Architecture, Furniture. a small molding having a convex circular section and, usually, a continuous cylindrical surface; astragal.
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Welding. a continuous deposit of fused metal, either straight stringer bead or zigzag weave bead.
verb (used with object)
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to form or cause to form beads or a bead on.
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to ornament with beads.
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Carpentry. to form a bead on (a piece).
verb (used without object)
idioms
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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.
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draw / get a bead on, to take careful aim at.
The marksman drew a bead on his target.
noun
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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
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a small drop of moisture
a bead of sweat
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a small bubble in or on a liquid
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a small metallic knob acting as the sight of a firearm
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to aim a rifle or pistol at
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Also called: astragal. architect carpentry a small convex moulding having a semicircular cross section
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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 )
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metallurgy a deposit of welding metal on the surface of a metal workpiece, often used to examine the structure of the weld zone
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RC Church one of the beads of a rosary
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to pray with a rosary
verb
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(tr) to decorate with beads
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to form into beads or drops
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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beadsimple
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beadssimple
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have beadedperfect
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has beadedperfect
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am beadingprogressive
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are beadingprogressive
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is beadingprogressive
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have been beadingperfect progressive
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has been beadingperfect progressive
Past
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beadedsimple
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had beadedperfect
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was beadingprogressive
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were beadingprogressive
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had been beadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bead
before 900; Middle English bede prayer, prayer bead (where, on a rosary each bead symbolizes a prayer, the word for the notion symbolized was transferred to the designating object), Old English gebed prayer; akin to bid 1, German Gebet
Explanation
A bead is a small bauble or jewel with a hole through its middle for stringing on a necklace or bracelet. You can make your own jewelry by stringing colorful beads on a long cord. Beads are decorative balls made from stone, glass, or plastic. Rosary beads — or other prayer beads — are used for praying or meditating, and in some societies beads are the equivalent of money, used as currency to buy things. You can also describe a round drop of liquid as a bead, like a bead of sweat on your forehead. The earliest meaning of bead is "prayer bead," from the Old English gebed, "prayer."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He managed to get back two coral bead crowns and a tunic but it was only in 2021 that any significant repatriation of artefacts by Western universities and museums began.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026
While investors are trying to get a bead on the Fed, earnings season is rolling on.
From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026
During breaks, she’d work at a Chicago bead store, where she learned about global jewelry-making practices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2025
Not just that, but Julia also had a bead on part-time remote work.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2025
Presently the wire tip melted and ran up into a bead.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Elsewhere, sizable sculptures of unknown creatures made from glass beads are effortfully wacky.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Orbeez are small, water-absorbing beads sold at toy stores.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
However, because the beads are entirely organic, they could then be repurposed as agricultural fertilizer or converted into biofuel.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026
Tiny flowers made from minuscule pearl beads dot her deep-red nails.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Ella loved her zigzag parts and how the beads sparkled.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
Velvet-coated sculptures of cactuses and otherworldly beaded plants provide some of the much needed levity that the show so hopes to achieve.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Twentysomethings clad in Deftones and Pikachu tees, Dodgers caps, and beaded bracelets joined the procession, snaking from the dance floor through the bar area and back down again.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
"That bag! That bag!" one shopper shouts while racing through the warehouse, filled with everything from colourful toys -- including popular Gundam action figures -- to ceramic bowls, beaded necklaces and even used umbrellas.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Actress and event co-chair Nicole Kidman donned a red, long-sleeved beaded column gown by Chanel.
From BBC ● May 4, 2026
Fishtail’s square bag was beaded all over in swirls of green vines, leaves, and glowing crimson flowers that popped out vividly against the white beads of the background.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
For the first time Gibson collaborated with other Indigenous artists, who specialized in beading, drum-making and silver engraving.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2025
Heshima winces in pain as he tries to shift his weight, sweat beading on his face.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2025
Cell biologist John Heuser from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis also thinks beading is an artifact of the preparation process.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 2, 2024
An exhibition, “Like a Memory of Night,” showed work by Sika Amakye, a young Ghanaian artist who employs traditional beading traditions passed down matrilineally.
From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
She could imagine Yellow Kettle beading them, lining them inside with the silkiest rabbit fur and pieces of an old wool blanket.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
