Skip to main content
to bead

to bead

10 6.6
To form small rounded drops of liquid on a surface
  • verb
  • /biːd/
translation icon : perlarse
  • 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

to pearl
vsto bead
1 7.2

To form small rounded drops of liquid on a surface

forms the small rounded drops itself rather than causing them

Antonyms

664 1.6

To put a thin layer over a surface

217 3.0

To take in things such as liquid, light, or information

Phrasal Verbs

1 8.8

Aim a gun carefully at someone or something to be ready to shoot

Pay close attention to a person, goal, or problem

To carefully aim at or watch a target

Compounds

bead and quirk
  • Specialized
9.9

A narrow rounded edge next to a small groove on wood or frames used as decoration

bead fern
  • Specialized
9.9

A spreading fern with fronds divided into small beadlike lobes and round spore clusters

bead tree
  • Specialized
9.9

A small tropical tree with bright red or black seeds used for jewelry

9.9

A person who makes loud, joyful noise at celebrations to excite people

9.9

A shrub from Florida and the Caribbean with white or yellow flowers and shiny black seeds

9.9

A Caribbean tree with small hard seeds used to make jewelry

9.9

A large Caribbean tree whose bright red seeds people use to make jewellery

quirk bead
  • Specialized
9.9

A small decorative edge with a narrow groove along wood or stone

white bead
  • Specialized
9.9

A North American plant with white poisonous berries that look like small balls

How Water-Repellent

to bead
10 6.6
to spread
664 1.6
to soak
141 1.0

Surface Forms

bead infinitive
beaded past
beaded past participle
beading present participle
beads third person singular

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.