- (v.i.) To form beadlike bubbles.
- (n.) A prayer.
- (n.) A bubble in spirits.
- (n.) Any small globular body.
- (n.) 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 Mohammedans, whence the phrases to tell beads, to at one's beads, to bid beads, etc., meaning, to be at prayer.
- (n.) A small knob of metal on a firearm, used for taking aim (whence the expression to draw a bead, for, to take aim).
- (n.) A small molding of rounded surface, the section being usually an arc of a circle. It may be continuous or broken into short embossments.
- (n.) 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.
- (v.t.) To ornament with beads or beading.
- (n.) A drop of sweat or other liquid.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). bead. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/bead/definitions/1978828 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "bead" http://smartdefine.org/bead/definitions/1978828 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, bead, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/bead/definitions/1978828>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "bead" 27 May 2011. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/bead/definitions/1978828> |