prayer beads
Americanplural noun
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of prayer beads
First recorded in 1620–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It paid homage to a nurse’s steady hands, to a mother’s prayer beads slipping through her fingers, and to a belief that our stories do not end at the point of collapse.
From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026
A teenager draws his slingshot, while fighters holding prayer beads take control of a Soviet tank, and peasants clutching pitchforks face Soviet soldiers.
From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026
Shrouded in crimson robes, prayer beads moving rhythmically past his fingers, the monk walks towards us.
From BBC • Jul. 2, 2025
She recalled him studying the Quran, often by candlelight at night and quizzing neighbors about its teachings, always clutching his white prayer beads.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 2, 2023
Du Barry is wringing her prayer beads, and Elisabeth has bitten her lips raw.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
