[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/beady/)

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# beady

adjective (beady, beadier, beadiest)

«beady» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Small, round and shiny, like a bead; used mostly about eyes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beady/#m1)
2. (informal) Watching very closely and suspiciously, as in «a beady eye». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beady/#m2)

### In the lessons

In stories, birds, rats and villains have beady eyes; it makes a creature seem sharp, alert and a bit sneaky. Phrase: keep a beady eye on (watch carefully, often a teacher or parent).

### Examples

- The crow watched us with its beady black eyes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beady/#x1)
- The teacher kept a beady eye on the back row. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beady/#x2)
- The rat stared out from the hole with beady eyes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beady/#x3)
- Grandma has a beady eye for mess. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beady/#x4)
- The doll had little beady eyes made of glass. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beady/#x5)
- Keep a beady eye on your bag at the station. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beady/#x6)
- He had bright beady eyes and stiff grey whiskers and his tail was like a long bit of black india-rubber. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beady/#x7)

### Note

Comparative beadier, superlative beadiest. Mostly used with «eye» or «eyes». It is a little unkind to say a person has beady eyes.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «beady» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beady/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«beady» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/beady.html) on Mova free.