to bead
5
6.6
- verb
- /biːd/
- Myles took a deep breath, feeling sweat begin to bead on his pallid flesh.
Examples
-
You see how it just kind of beads up and like doesn't really wash off.
-
Everywhere were silken webs, some still beaded with the old night's vanishing dew.
Fiction book (1993) -
You put water on top of your skin, it beads up there, right?
-
A soft rain was beading on his face and shoulders, but he ignored it.
Fiction book (2001) -
I look in the mirror over the visor and see it beaded on my upper lip.
Fiction book (1990) -
Nervous sweat soaked me, beading up wet on my face and neck.
Fiction book (1996) -
The sound of hissing filled my ears; moisture beaded my face and dampened my hair.
Fiction book (1993) -
"I'm not going to be able to do this," Woo said, his forehead beading with perspiration.
Fiction book (1994) -
The fine misty rain blurred Hughes's glasses and beaded on the creamy skin of the roses.
Fiction book (1995) -
When the rain began, the droplets quickly beaded on the surface of my umbrella.
Synonyms
1
7.2
To form small rounded drops of liquid on a surface
Antonyms
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
- Specialized
A narrow rounded edge next to a small groove on wood or frames used as decoration
- Specialized
A spreading fern with fronds divided into small beadlike lobes and round spore clusters
- US
A shrub from Florida and the Caribbean with white or yellow flowers and shiny black seeds
- Specialized
A North American plant with white poisonous berries that look like small balls
How Water-Repellent
Surface Forms
Etymology
Bead as a verb for liquids comes from the idea of a small round object. When drops form like tiny balls they look like little beads, so water or sweat can 'bead' on a surface.