bead
Americannoun
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beads
plural
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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,
-
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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beads,
present (3rd person singular)
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beaded,
past participle, past
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beading
present participle
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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)
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beads,
present (3rd person singular)
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beaded,
past participle, past
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beading
present participle
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:
“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
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
Also discovered in the archaeological excavation -- led by UW Department of Anthropology Professor Todd Surovell -- was a bead made from a hare bone, the oldest known bead in the Americas.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2024
My wrist tingled, and I lifted the adinkra bracelet and stared at the silver bead.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
During the campaign, she crisscrossed the country by road, wearing jeans and a white shirt, with rosary beads around her neck.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
He appeared at Margate Magistrates' Court on Friday via videolink wearing a grey T-shirt and rosary beads.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
"These ubiquitous little beads of rock are the basic building blocks from which the planets themselves were eventually assembled," Grewal said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
Audiences and critics alike are bored of film executives clinging to the same proven names and proven plots as tightly as worry beads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
All around him beads of water sparkled as blades of sunlight struck through them.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
The distinction matters: the study did not suggest that every beaded axon is damaged.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
Iconic fashion designer Bob Mackie, who has died aged 87, spent his career styling the biggest stars in his signature bedazzled, feathered and beaded couture.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
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
Partygoers seemed more enthused about the vendor selling beaded plushie necklaces than about heading to the dance floor.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
He stands up and walks back to the beaded curtain.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
In those settings, the beading can accompany damage to the cell membrane and the internal framework that helps maintain the axon's structure.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
That later changed to a pale pink suit with silver beading before a final switch to a dark brown velvet number.
From BBC ● May 11, 2025
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
“Axon morphology in living animals is under constant and dynamic change,” says neuroscientist Tong Wang from ShanghaiTech University, who has studied beading in diseased neurons.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 2, 2024
Around a peeled twig Ten Snow had wound a long length of the finest sinew thread to use in beading.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
