Word.ws English Dictionary

drawing a bead on

drawing a bead on is the present participle and gerund of draw a bead on.

Meaning of draw a bead on

Verb

draw a bead on (third-person singular simple present draws a bead on, present participle drawing a bead on, simple past drew a bead on, past participle drawn a bead on)

  1. (US, slang, transitive) To aim a gun at.
    • (As George gets fairly into the following, Gretchen draws a bead on him, and lets drive at the close, but the gun snaps.)1892, Mark Twain, Meisterschaft: In Three Acts, act II, scene I, page 188
    Synonyms:
    take a bead on
  2. (US, slang, transitive) To take aim at.
  3. (US, slang, transitive) to cast one's eyes on.

Questions about drawing a bead on

What is drawing a bead on the present participle and gerund of?
Drawing a bead on is the present participle and gerund of draw a bead on.

Words near drawing a bead on in the dictionary

  1. drawhook
  2. drawhooks
  3. drawin'
  4. drawing
  5. drawing a bath
  6. drawing a bead on
  7. drawing a blank
  8. drawing a line
  9. drawing a line in the sand
  10. drawing a line under
  11. drawing a long bow

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: drawing a bead on (page history and authors); draw a bead on (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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