beady

[ bee-dee ]

/ ˈbi di /

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adjective, bead·i·er, bead·i·est.

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

covered with or full of beads.

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.

Question 1 of 8

Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?

The Sunflower State

The Evergreen State

The Magnolia State

The Mockingbird State

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Origin of beady

First recorded in 1820–30; bead + -y¹

OTHER WORDS FROM beady

bead·i·ly, adverbbead·i·ness, noun

Words nearby beady

beadsman, beadswoman, bead test, bead tree, beadwork, beady, beady eye, beady-eyed, beagle, Beaglehole, beagling

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for beady

He would speak too close to you, his voice a monotone rattle sliding out from his endlessly smirking mouth, his beady dead eyes staring from under bushy eyebrows and over a nose like a hatchet.
My Friend, the Murderer|Eugene Robinson|November 24, 2020|Ozy
It’s the stuttering, beady-eyed performances of some of the characters.
“People want to believe”: How Love Fraud builds an absorbing docuseries around a romantic con man|Alissa Wilkinson|September 4, 2020|Vox
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
A tiny spaniel lay beside the fire, his beady black eyes following the nervous movements of the master of the house.
Dope|Sax Rohmer

But as he turned toward the door she caught a glimpse of a glossy black mustache, and two beady black eyes.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison
Then its cold, beady eyes were fixed on Dick and it uttered a vicious hiss.
The Rover Boys on the Farm|Arthur M. Winfield (AKA Edward Stratemeyer)
For out of the box glided a real, live snake, fully three feet long, and with beady and dangerous looking eyes!
The Rover Boys on the Farm|Arthur M. Winfield (AKA Edward Stratemeyer)
Don't thet beady-eyed greaser's gall make you want to spit all over yourself?
The Man of the Forest|Zane Grey

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 forms of beady

beadily, 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

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beady

adjective, bead·i·er, bead·i·est.

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Origin of beady

OTHER WORDS FROM beady

Words nearby beady

Example sentences from the Web for beady

British Dictionary definitions for beady

adjective beadier or beadiest

Derived forms of beady