bead

American  

[beed] / bid /

noun

beads plural

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)

beads, present (3rd person singular) beaded, past participle, past beading present participle

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)

beads, present (3rd person singular) beaded, past participle, past beading present participle

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

Derived Forms

• beaded
  adjective
• beadlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beads
  plural

Participles

• beading
  present
• beaded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bead
  simple
• beads
  simple
• have beaded
  perfect
• has beaded
  perfect
• am beading
  progressive
• are beading
  progressive
• is beading
  progressive
• have been beading
  perfect progressive
• has been beading
  perfect progressive

Past

• beaded
  simple
• had beaded
  perfect
• was beading
  progressive
• were beading
  progressive
• had been beading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bead
  simple
• will have beaded
  perfect
• will be beading
  progressive
• will have been beading
  perfect progressive

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

“I don’t think anybody had a firm bead on what the result was going to be,” Lance Dutson, a Maine Republican strategist who worked on Collins’ 2008, 2014, and 2020 campaigns, told me.

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2026

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

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

The researchers found that certain phosphate groups in DNA can pull in positively charged molecules during a chemical reaction, helping them align correctly -- much like a magnet drawing a metal bead into place.

From Science Daily • Nov. 8, 2025

Hernández lined it to the gap, where center fielder Luis Matos struggled to get a bead.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 14, 2025

A bead of sweat rolled off my forehead, stinging my eyes, but I didn’t dare move to wipe it away.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

Related Words

• dot
• pellet
• stone