bead

[ beed ]

/ bid /

noun

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.

beads,

a necklace of beads: You don't have your beads on this evening.
a rosary.
Obsolete. devotions; prayers.

any small globular or cylindrical body.

a drop of liquid: beads of moisture.

a bubble rising through effervescent liquid.

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

the front sight of a rifle or gun.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

verb (used with object)

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

to ornament with beads.

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

verb (used without object)

to form beads; form in beads or drops: perspiration beading on his forehead.

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What does "scattergood" mean?

a person who acts as though he or she knows everything and who dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others.

a person who spends possessions or money extravagantly or wastefully; spendthrift.

a well-intentioned but naive and often ineffectual social or political reformer.

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Idioms for bead

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.

draw / get a bead on, to take careful aim at: The marksman drew a bead on his target.

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 bid¹, German Gebet

SYNONYMS FOR bead

4 droplet, globule, blob, dot.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR bead ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM bead

beadlike, adjective

Words nearby bead

Beacon Hill, beacon school, Beaconsfield, beacon status, be a credit to, bead, bead and reel, beadblast, beaded, beaded hair, beaded lizard

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for bead

The wall directly opposite the entrance was covered in colorful glass and bead mosaics.
A Little Too Off the Beaten Path in Burma|Katya Cengel|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The bead embroidery on the back of her coat said “Revolution.”
Ilya Yashin & Ksenia Sobchak, the Russian Opposition’s Romeo & Juliet|Anna Nemtsova|December 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It also takes years of training to be able to sew, embroider, bead, and otherwise embellish these clothes.
Chanel, Armani, and Givenchy Present Their Haute-Couture Collections in Paris|Robin Givhan|July 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
In contrast, Hell on Wheels often has too much happening to get a bead on where the story is going.
‘Hell on Wheels’ Has Found Its Way|Allen Barra|January 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Getting the gun out quickly and drawing a bead on a target, I decided, would challenge even Billy the Kid.
Ranger Rick and the Coyote|Carol Flake Chapman|September 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST
He drew his bead back into the room and looked at Emma with a laugh of satisfaction.
Demos|George Gissing
I could carry my bead purse to school every day, or wear my coral chain a little while before I go to sleep at night.
New Chronicles of Rebecca|Kate Douglas Wiggin
A bead similar in shape, color and marking rested at that very moment over my own heart.
The Millionaire Baby|Anna Katharine Green
If the bead is completely saturated, it retains its opalescent appearance.
A System of Instruction in the Practical Use of the Blowpipe|Anonymous
A shell somewhat similar to this made into a bead was found in the Nez Perce region.
The Archaeology of the Yakima Valley|Harlan Ingersoll Smith

British Dictionary definitions for bead

bead

/ (biːd) /

noun

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

a small drop of moisturea bead of sweat

a small bubble in or on a liquid

a small metallic knob acting as the sight of a firearm

draw a bead on to aim a rifle or pistol at

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

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)

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

RC Church one of the beads of a rosary

count one's beads, say one's beads or tell one's beads to pray with a rosary

verb

(tr) to decorate with beads

to form into beads or drops

Derived forms of bead

beaded, adjective

Word Origin for bead

Old English bed prayer; related to Old High German gibet prayer

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with bead

bead

see draw a bead on.

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bead