bead

American  

[beed] / bid /

noun

1. 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.

2. beads,

   1. a necklace of beads.

      You don't have your beads on this evening.

   2. a rosary.

   3. Obsolete. devotions; prayers.

3. any small globular or cylindrical body.

4. a drop of liquid.

   beads of moisture.

   Synonyms:

   dot, blob, globule, droplet

5. a bubble rising through effervescent liquid.

6. Usually beads. a mass of such bubbles on the surface of a liquid.

7. the front sight of a rifle or gun.

8. a reinforced area of a rubber tire terminating the sidewall and fitting within the rim of a wheel.

9. Electricity. a glass, ceramic, or plastic insulator that contains and supports the inner conductor in a coaxial cable.

10. 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.

11. Metallurgy. the rounded mass of refined metal obtained by cupellation.

12. Architecture, Furniture. a small molding having a convex circular section and, usually, a continuous cylindrical surface; astragal.

13. Welding. a continuous deposit of fused metal, either straight stringer bead or zigzag weave bead.

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verb (used with object)

1. to form or cause to form beads or a bead on.

2. to ornament with beads.

3. Carpentry. to form a bead on (a piece).

verb (used without object)

1. to form beads; form in beads or drops.

   perspiration beading on his forehead.

idioms

1. 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.

2. draw / get a bead on, to take careful aim at.

   The marksman drew a bead on his target.

bead British  

/ biːd /

noun

1. 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

2. a small drop of moisture

   a bead of sweat

3. a small bubble in or on a liquid

4. a small metallic knob acting as the sight of a firearm

5. to aim a rifle or pistol at

6. Also called: astragal.  architect carpentry a small convex moulding having a semicircular cross section

7. 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 )

8. metallurgy a deposit of welding metal on the surface of a metal workpiece, often used to examine the structure of the weld zone

9. RC Church one of the beads of a rosary

10. to pray with a rosary

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verb

1. (tr) to decorate with beads

2. to form into beads or drops

bead More Idioms  

1. see draw a bead on.

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Other Word Forms

• beaded
  adjective
• beadlike
  adjective

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

While investors are trying to get a bead on the Fed, earnings season is rolling on.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

"I'm bursting with confidence now... not a single bead of sweat."

From BBC • Oct. 23, 2025

Not just that, but Julia also had a bead on part-time remote work.

From Slate • Aug. 4, 2025

Difficult to draw a bead on the Buccaneers.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2024

A bead of sweat trickled down the curve of his bald head, made its way to his earlobe, and hung there, trembling.

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

Related Words

• dot
• pellet
• stone