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
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
Hernández lined it to the gap, where center fielder Luis Matos struggled to get a bead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2025
There was lace at my throat fixed with a glass bead.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
In a post to X on Monday, the "Turn Back Time" singer wrote: "My dear Bob has gone up to heaven. Knowing him, he's bringing sequins, beads and his sketch pad. Good nite sweet Prince."
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
"Their weight is known precisely. They therefore allow us to correctly interpret the scale's balance. Similarly, the glass beads allow us to draw the correct conclusions from the properties of the infrared radiation."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
In the dining room, vintage Doyle Lane ceramic beads dangle from a Mission-style wooden clock while designer handbags are draped over chairs and hat racks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
While Burnham told the Times his mother would be "wearing her rosary beads out" to mark him becoming prime minister, his father, Roy, will unfortunately be unaware of his son's achievement due to his dementia.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
He looked down to where beads of sweat marred the perfect camouflage of his skin.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
Toward the end of the antitrust trial against the National Football League, the women attorneys on the case with her made her beaded friendship bracelets with sayings like “Closing Queen” and “WTVR Beth Wants.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The doorbell went again and a walking sculpture dressed in an Anne Boleyn-style quilted dress with beaded face mask appeared.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Partygoers seemed more enthused about the vendor selling beaded plushie necklaces than about heading to the dance floor.
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
Moisture beaded on the bottles as I walked back to the trees.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
Back on Riohacha's promenade, Ms Aguilar says the bag's fashion rise has led artisans to adapt or add elements, such as elaborate beading, religious icons, or even football club logos.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 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
Entering the pavilion, the beaded bodices of sculptures in human form are emblazoned with dates of U.S. legislation that promised equity, the beading cascading into colorful fringe.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 18, 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
He felt the sweat beading on his forehead, slicking his hands; he was terrified to keep going.
From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
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.
