beady

[ bee-dee ]

/ ˈbi di /

adjective, bead·i·er, bead·i·est.

beadlike; small, globular, and glittering: beady eyes.

covered with or full of beads.

Nearby words

beadledom, beadroll, beadsman, beadswoman, beadwork, beady, beady eye, beady-eyed, beagle, beaglehole, beagling

Origin of beady

First recorded in 1820–30; bead + -y¹

Related formsbead·i·ly, adverbbead·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for beady

He agreed, and I could almost feel his beady little eyes going ‘KERCHING!’
How Susan Boyle Won My Heart|Piers Morgan|April 16, 2009|DAILY BEAST
He leaned forward till his beady eyes were close to her defiant ones.
Wyoming, a Story of the Outdoor West|William MacLeod Raine
Bulger did not fail to notice that, within a minute or two, a heavy, beady perspiration came out on his face and forehead.
The House of Mystery|William Henry Irwin
He looked into the beady eyes, sparkling with passion, and the cat-like glitter of them set his blood tingling.
The Courage of Captain Plum|James Oliver Curwood

The ghastly yellow color of her face made the unnatural brightness of her beady eyes more extraordinary still.
Paul Patoff|F. Marion Crawford
His great face was yellow and seemed in that moment of a preternatural flabbiness; his beady eyes were beadier than ever.
Captain Blood|Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for beady

beady

/ (ˈbiːdɪ) /

adjective beadier or beadiest

small, round, and glittering: used esp of eyes

resembling or covered with beads

Derived Formsbeadily, adverbbeadiness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for beady

beady

adj.

in reference to eyes, 1826, from bead (n.) + -y (2). Related: Beadily; beadiness.