Beads are small pieces of coloured glass, wood, or plastic with a hole through the middle. Beads are often put together on a piece of string or wire to make jewellery.
...a string of beads.
...a multicoloured bead necklace.
2. countable noun
A beadof liquid or moisture is a small drop of it.
...beads of blood. [+ of]
He wiped away the beads of sweat on his forehead. [+ of]
Synonyms: drop, tear, bubble, pearl More Synonyms of bead
More Synonyms of bead
bead in British English
(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
6. Also called: astragal architecture, carpentry
a small convex moulding having a semicircular cross section
7. chemistry
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. Roman Catholic Church
one of the beads of a rosary
10. count one's beads
verb
11. (transitive)
to decorate with beads
12.
to form into beads or drops
Derived forms
beaded (ˈbeaded)
adjective
Word origin
Old English bed prayer; related to Old High German gibet prayer
bead in American English
(bid)
noun
1.
a small, usually round piece of glass, wood, metal, etc., pierced for stringing
2. [pl.]
rosary (sense 1) rosary (sense 1a)
3. [pl.]
a string of beads; necklace
4.
any small, round object, as the sight at the muzzle end of a gun barrel
5.
a drop or bubble
beads of sweat
6.
a.
a bubble in an effervescing liquid
b.
foam or a head, as on beer
7.
a globule of metal, as gold or silver, obtained by refining in a cupel
8.
the liplike region around a pneumatic tire that seals to the rim
9. Architecture
a.
a narrow, half-round molding
b.
a molding composed of small rounded ornaments, like a string of beads
10. Chemistry
a beadlike mass usually formed inside the loop of a platinum wire by the action of a flux, such as borax, upon the oxide or salt of certain metals: used in identifying metals in their compounds, since the metal determines the color of the bead
verb transitive
11.
to decorate or string with beads or beading
12.
to string like beads
verb intransitive
13.
to form a bead or beads
Idioms:
draw a bead on
say one's beads
Derived forms
beaded (ˈbeaded)
adjective
Word origin
ME bede, prayer, prayer bead < OE bed < biddan, to pray, ask: see bid1
More idioms containing
bead
draw a bead on something
Examples of 'bead' in a sentence
bead
The windows were shuttered, but a cold breeze was coming through them, stirring the long bead curtains.
Shah, Idries KARA KUSH (2002)
Grabbing Posy's arm she pulled her through the bead curtain.
Christina Jones TICKLED PINK (2002)
Sweat began to bead on her forehead and I tore off the blankets.
Robert Wilson BLOOD IS DIRT (2002)
Within their company, there's sometimes a woman in a flowered pantsuit, hair swept into a bead rosette.
Erdrich, Louise THE BINGO PALACE (2002)
Word lists with
bead
architectural features
In other languages
bead
British English: bead /biːd/ NOUN
Beads are small pieces of coloured glass, wood, or plastic with a hole through the middle which are used for jewellery or decoration.
...a string of beads.
American English: bead
Arabic: خَرَزَة
Brazilian Portuguese: contas
Chinese: 珠子
Croatian: kuglica
Czech: korálek
Danish: perle
Dutch: kraal
European Spanish: cuenta collar
Finnish: helmi puu-, muovi- etc.
French: perle bijou
German: Perle
Greek: χάντρα
Italian: perlina
Japanese: ビーズ
Korean: 구슬
Norwegian: perle
Polish: koralik
European Portuguese: contas
Romanian: mărgea
Russian: бусина
Latin American Spanish: cuenta bola ensartada
Swedish: glaspärla
Thai: ลูกปัด
Turkish: boncuk
Ukrainian: намистина
Vietnamese: hạt chuỗi
All related terms of 'bead'
bead-ruby
a N temperate liliaceous plant with small white bell-shaped flowers and small red berries
bead-rubies
a N temperate liliaceous plant with small white bell-shaped flowers and small red berries
bead lightning
lightning in which the intensity appears to vary along the path and which thus resembles a string of beads
draw a bead on
to aim a rifle or pistol at
Barbados pride
a tropical African and Asian tree, Adenanthera pavonina , of the legume family, having feathery foliage and bearing red seeds that are used in beadwork