bead

[ beed ]

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

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)

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

   perspiration beading on his forehead.

bead

/ 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. draw a bead on
   to aim a rifle or pistol at
6. Also calledastragal 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. count one's beads or say one's beads or tell one's beads
    to pray with a rosary

verb

1. tr to decorate with beads
2. to form into beads or drops

Derived Forms

• ˈbeaded, adjective

Other Words From

• beadlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bead¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of bead¹

Old English bed prayer; related to Old High German gibet prayer

Idioms and Phrases

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.

More idioms and phrases containing bead

see draw a bead on .

Example Sentences

It’s still hard to draw a bead on this team.

From Los Angeles Times

The prince wore a blue and white bracelet made by his daughter, Princess Charlotte, on his wrist, with the word "Papa" spelled out by four beads.

From BBC

Sitting atop a lotus, the Hindu goddess of wisdom holds a book, prayer beads and a classical instrument called a veena in her four hands.

From BBC

Objects packed with the highest levels of these chemicals included a sushi tray, a beaded necklace and a spatula.

From Salon

When I arrive to report for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, there are two men flanking the gates of the clinic holding rosary beads and carrying leaflets.

From BBC

Related Words

• dot
• pellet
• stone