bead

[ beed ]

/ bid /

noun

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.

beads,

a necklace of beads: You don't have your beads on this evening.
a rosary.
Obsolete. devotions; prayers.

any small globular or cylindrical body.

a drop of liquid: beads of moisture.

a bubble rising through effervescent liquid.

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

the front sight of a rifle or gun.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

verb (used with object)

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

to ornament with beads.

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

verb (used without object)

to form beads; form in beads or drops: perspiration beading on his forehead.

Idioms for bead

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.

draw/get a bead on, to take careful aim at: The marksman drew a bead on his target.

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 bid¹, German Gebet

SYNONYMS FOR bead

4 droplet, globule, blob, dot.

OTHER WORDS FROM bead

bead·like, adjective

Words nearby bead

beacon hill, beacon school, beacon status, beaconage, beaconsfield, bead, bead and reel, bead lightning, bead molding, bead plane, bead plant

British Dictionary definitions for draw a bead on

bead

/ (biːd) /

noun

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

a small drop of moisture a bead of sweat

a small bubble in or on a liquid

a small metallic knob acting as the sight of a firearm

draw a bead on to aim a rifle or pistol at

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

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)

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

RC Church one of the beads of a rosary

count one's beads, say one's beads or tell one's beads to pray with a rosary

verb

(tr) to decorate with beads

to form into beads or drops

Derived forms of bead

beaded, adjective

Word Origin for bead

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

Idioms and Phrases with draw a bead on (1 of 2)

draw a bead on

Take careful aim, as in The debater drew a bead on his opponent. This term, dating from about 1830, alludes to the bead on a revolver or rifle, that is, a small knob in the foresight. [c. 1930]

Idioms and Phrases with draw a bead on (2 of 2)

bead

see draw a bead on.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

bead

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Idioms for bead

Origin of bead

SYNONYMS FOR bead

OTHER WORDS FROM bead

Words nearby bead

British Dictionary definitions for draw a bead on

noun

verb

Derived forms of bead

Word Origin for bead

Idioms and Phrases with draw a bead on (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with draw a bead on (2 of 2)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

bead

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Idioms for bead

Origin of bead

SYNONYMS FOR bead

OTHER WORDS FROM bead

Words nearby bead

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for draw a bead on

noun

verb

Derived forms of bead

Word Origin for bead

Idioms and Phrases with draw a bead on (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with draw a bead on (2 of 2)

British Dictionary definitions for draw a bead on