Library / English Dictionary

BEAD

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A small ball with a hole through the middle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bead" is a kind of...):

jewellery; jewelry (an adornment (as a bracelet or ring or necklace) made of precious metals and set with gems (or imitation gems))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bead"):

bugle (a tubular glass or plastic bead sewn onto clothing for decoration)

Derivation:

bead (string together like beads)

bead (decorate by sewing beads onto)

beady (covered with beads or jewels or sequins)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A beaded molding for edging or decorating furniture

Synonyms:

astragal; bead; beading; beadwork

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bead" is a kind of...):

molding; moulding (a decorative strip used for ornamentation or finishing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bead"):

bead and quirk; quirk bead (beading formed with a narrow groove separating it from the surface it decorates)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A shape that is spherical and small

Example:

beads of sweat on his forehead

Synonyms:

bead; drop; pearl

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("bead" is a kind of...):

sphere (a solid figure bounded by a spherical surface (including the space it encloses))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bead"):

dewdrop (a drop of dew)

teardrop (anything shaped like a falling drop (as a pendant gem on an earring))

Derivation:

bead (form into beads, as of water or sweat, for example)

beady (small and round and shiny like a shiny bead or button)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

String together like beads

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "bead" is one way to...):

draw; string; thread (thread on or as if on a string)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

bead (a small ball with a hole through the middle)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Decorate by sewing beads onto

Example:

bead the wedding gown

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "bead" is one way to...):

adorn; beautify; decorate; embellish; grace; ornament (make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

bead (a small ball with a hole through the middle)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Form into beads, as of water or sweat, for example

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "bead" is one way to...):

form (assume a form or shape)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

bead (a shape that is spherical and small)

Credits

 Context examples: 

An embolic bead that is made from a plastic-like resin or polymer.

(Plastic Embolic Bead, NCI Thesaurus)

DNA and RNA are polymers comprised of many nucleotides, strung together like beads in a necklace.

(Nucleotide, NCI Dictionary)

The bulkheads, all painted in clear white and beaded round with gilt, bore a pattern of dirty hands.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Tell your beads, father, and con your psalter, but do not come between me and those whom the king has given to me!

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

After conjugation of the captured analyte to the bead, the beads are differentiated by their size and their spectral signature, allowing quantitation of analyte concentration in the sample.

(Multi-Analyte Fluorescent Detection, NCI Thesaurus)

A rare, autosomal recessive metabolic disorder characterized by hoarseness of voice, eyelid beading, skin lesions, and seizures.

(Lipoid Proteinosis of Urbach and Wiethe, NCI Thesaurus)

In transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), irinotecan-eluting beads are administered into blood vessels that feed the tumor, occluding tumor blood vessels and inducing ischemic tumor necrosis while simultaneously delivering high-dose chemotherapy locally.

(Irinotecan-Eluting Beads, NCI Thesaurus)

A cell-separation technique where magnetizable microspheres or beads are first coated with monoclonal antibody, allowed to search and bind to target cells, and are then selectively removed when passed through a magnetic field.

(Magnetic Bead Separation, NCI Thesaurus)

A tiny bead made from particles of iron and carbon that can be attached to an anticancer drug.

(Magnetic-targeted carrier, NCI Dictionary)

It is characterized by the presence of thin, fragile hairs that appear beaded.

(Monilethrix, NCI Thesaurus)