bead

American  

[beed] / bid /

noun

beads plural

1. 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.

2. beads,

   1. a necklace of beads.

      You don't have your beads on this evening.

   2. a rosary.

   3. Obsolete. devotions; prayers.

3. any small globular or cylindrical body.

4. a drop of liquid.

   beads of moisture.

   Synonyms:

   dot, blob, globule, droplet

5. a bubble rising through effervescent liquid.

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

7. the front sight of a rifle or gun.

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

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

10. 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.

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

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

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

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verb (used with object)

beads, present (3rd person singular) beaded, past participle, past beading present participle

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

2. to ornament with beads.

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

verb (used without object)

beads, present (3rd person singular) beaded, past participle, past beading present participle

1. to form beads; form in beads or drops.

   perspiration beading on his forehead.

idioms

1. 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.

2. draw / get a bead on, to take careful aim at.

   The marksman drew a bead on his target.

bead British  

/ biːd /

noun

1. 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

2. a small drop of moisture

   a bead of sweat

3. a small bubble in or on a liquid

4. a small metallic knob acting as the sight of a firearm

5. to aim a rifle or pistol at

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

7. 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 )

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

9. RC Church one of the beads of a rosary

10. to pray with a rosary

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verb

1. (tr) to decorate with beads

2. to form into beads or drops

bead More Idioms  

1. see draw a bead on.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• beaded
  adjective
• beadlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beads
  plural

Participles

• beading
  present
• beaded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bead
  simple
• beads
  simple
• have beaded
  perfect
• has beaded
  perfect
• am beading
  progressive
• are beading
  progressive
• is beading
  progressive
• have been beading
  perfect progressive
• has been beading
  perfect progressive

Past

• beaded
  simple
• had beaded
  perfect
• was beading
  progressive
• were beading
  progressive
• had been beading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bead
  simple
• will have beaded
  perfect
• will be beading
  progressive
• will have been beading
  perfect progressive

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

See Examples For:

bead beads beaded beading

“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

He managed to get back two coral bead crowns and a tunic but it was only in 2021 that any significant repatriation of artefacts by Western universities and museums began.

From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026

While investors are trying to get a bead on the Fed, earnings season is rolling on.

From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026

Hernández lined it to the gap, where center fielder Luis Matos struggled to get a bead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2025

“She’s good with her hands. And she loves making bead necklaces.”

From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman

Doyle Lane ceramic beads hang on a wooden clock above a collection of $2 bills.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

Elsewhere, sizable sculptures of unknown creatures made from glass beads are effortfully wacky.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Orbeez are small, water-absorbing beads sold at toy stores.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

However, because the beads are entirely organic, they could then be repurposed as agricultural fertilizer or converted into biofuel.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

Sisters safe and shining, with grad-cap feathers flying, rock your beads and rock your vote.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Velvet-coated sculptures of cactuses and otherworldly beaded plants provide some of the much needed levity that the show so hopes to achieve.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 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

Twentysomethings clad in Deftones and Pikachu tees, Dodgers caps, and beaded bracelets joined the procession, snaking from the dance floor through the bar area and back down again.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

It’s multicolored and features an eye motif and beaded tassels hanging down toward the clavicle.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

Her eyes were closed, and she pressed her beaded tadidnn pouch against her chest.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

Heshima winces in pain as he tries to shift his weight, sweat beading on his face.

From BBC ● Feb. 18, 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

The collection closed with formalwear with clusters of beading, as if barnacles, and coral-inspired embroidery gave a naturalistic touch.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 13, 2024

“And the surfaces of his paintings, which blend hand embroidery and beading with Korean pigments and oil paint, are rich, complicated and undeniably satisfying.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2023

For the first time, Thomas realized how humid it was in the woods, the damp air already beading sweat on his forehead, the backs of his hands.

From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner

Related Words

• dot
• pellet
• stone