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¹bead

noun \ˈbēd\

: a small, usually round piece of glass, wood, stone, etc., that has a hole through its center and that is put on a string with other similar pieces and worn as jewelry or that is sewn onto clothing

: a small, round drop of liquid (such as water or blood)

Full Definition of BEAD

a obsolete : prayer —usually used in plural

b plural : a series of prayers and meditations made with a rosary

: a small piece of material pierced for threading on a string or wire (as in a rosary)

plural

a : rosary

b : a necklace of beads or pearls

: a small ball-shaped body: as

a : a drop of sweat or blood

b : a bubble formed in or on a beverage

c : a small metal knob on a firearm used as a front sight

d : a blob or a line of weld metal

: a projecting rim, band, or molding

: a precise knowledge or understanding —used in such phrases as get a bead on

See bead defined for English-language learners

See bead defined for kids

Origin of BEAD

Middle English bede prayer, prayer bead, from Old English bed, gebed prayer; akin to Old English biddan to entreat, pray — more at bid

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to BEAD

Synonyms: drop, blob, driblet, drip, droplet, glob, globule

Rhymes with BEAD

Bede, bleed, brede, breed, cede, creed, deed, feed, Gide, gleed, greed, heed, keyed, knead, kneed, lead, mead, Mead, Mede, meed, need, plead, read, rede, reed, screed, seed, Snead, speed, steed, swede, treed, tweed, weed

²bead

verb

Definition of BEAD

transitive verb

: to furnish, adorn, or cover with beads or beading

: to string together like beads

intransitive verb

: to form into a bead

— bead·er noun

First Known Use of BEAD

1577

BEAD Defined for Kids

¹bead

noun \ˈbēd\

Definition of BEAD for Kids

: a small piece of solid material with a hole through it by which it can be strung on a thread

: a small round drop of liquid <a bead of sweat>

Word History of BEAD

In medieval English the word bede, from which our word bead descends, meant “a prayer.” Then, as now, people sometimes used strings of little balls to keep track of their prayers. Each little ball stood for a prayer. In time the word that meant “prayer” came to be used for the little balls themselves. Now any small object that can be strung on a string is called a bead.