bead
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 ).
to form or cause to form beads or a bead on.
to ornament with beads.
Carpentry. to form a bead on (a piece).
to form beads; form in beads or drops: perspiration beading on his forehead.
Idioms about 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
1Other words for bead
Other words from bead
- beadlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use bead in a sentence
He was a little, rat-like man, with a pinched, weasel face and little black eyes that shone beadlike from between lashless lids.
Connie Morgan in Alaska | James B. HendryxHe thought hard for a moment, pursing up his lips and twisting his beadlike eyes first one way and then another.
The Rover Boys on a Tour | Arthur M. WinfieldFor all he knew the beadlike eyes of four or five sharpshooters might be peering at him from the jungle.
The Fighting Edge | William MacLeod RaineA straggling fringe of jet-black hair overhung the stout baby's black, beadlike eyes.
The Adopting of Rosa Marie | Carroll Watson RankinThe waiter—half Greek, half native, and a thorough rascal—bowed low, and his beadlike eyes glistened.
To Win the Love He Sought | E. Phillips Oppenheim
British Dictionary definitions for bead
/ (biːd) /
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 moisture: a 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
(tr) to decorate with beads
to form into beads or drops
Origin of bead
1Derived forms of bead
- beaded, adjective
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with bead
see draw a bead on.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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