bead

Noun · Verb
US[beed]/bid/1 syllable
Synonyms: droppearlbeadingbeadworkastragal

Open English WordNet

Noun (3)beads

  1. a small ball with a hole through the middleType of jewelry, jewelleryKinds bugle
  2. a shape that is spherical and small“he studied the shapes of low-viscosity drops”“beads of sweat on his forehead”Synonyms: droppearlType of sphereKinds teardrop, dewdrop
  3. a beaded molding for edging or decorating furnitureSynonyms: beadingbeadworkastragalType of molding, mouldingKinds quirk bead, bead and quirk

Verb (3)beads, beaded, beading

  1. form into beads, as of water or sweat, for exampleMore general form
  2. decorate by sewing beads onto“bead the wedding gown”More general decorate, adorn
  3. string together like beadsMore general string, thread

Related words beady adjective, droplet noun, drop noun

Word of the day · Oct 21About this word
artificenoun

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Bead (bēd), noun

Origin: OE. bede prayer, prayer bead, AS. bed, gebed, prayer; akin to D. bede, G. bitte, AS. biddan, to ask, bid, G. bitten to ask, and perh. to Gr. πείθειν to persuade, L. fidere to trust. Beads are used by the Roman Catholics to count their prayers, one bead being dropped down a string every time a prayer is said. Cf. Sp. cuenta bead, fr. contar to count. See Bid, in to bid beads, and Bide.

1. A prayer. obsolete

2. A little perforated ball, to be strung on a thread, and worn for ornament; or used in a rosary for counting prayers, as by Roman Catholics and Muslims, whence the phrases to tell beads, to be at one's beads, to bid beads, etc., meaning, to be at prayer.

3. Any small globular body; as, (a) A bubble in spirits. (b) A drop of sweat or other liquid. “Cold beads of midnight dew.” William Wordsworth (c) A small knob of metal on a firearm, used for taking aim (whence the expression to draw a bead, for, to take aim). (d) Architecture A small molding of rounded surface, the section being usually an arc of a circle. It may be continuous, or broken into short embossments. (e) Chemistry A glassy drop of molten flux, as borax or microcosmic salt, used as a solvent and color test for several mineral earths and oxides, as of iron, manganese, etc., before the blowpipe; as, the borax bead; the iron bead, etc.

Bead and butt Carpentry, framing in which the panels are flush, having beads stuck or run upon the two edges. Knight, Edward Henry — Bead mold, a species of fungus or mold, the stems of which consist of single cells loosely jointed together so as to resemble a string of beads. [Written also bead mould.] — Bead tool, a cutting tool, having an edge curved so as to make beads or beading. — Bead tree Botany, a tree of the genus Melia, the best known species of which (Melia azedarach), has blue flowers which are very fragrant, and berries which are poisonous.

Bead transitive verb [past tense & past participle Beaded; present participle & verbal noun Beading.]

To ornament with beads or beading.

Bead intransitive verb

To form beadlike bubbles.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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