# dict

Words: back .1
Meaning:
14. If you talk about something that happened back in the past or several years back, you are emphasizing that it happened quite a long time ago.\nThe story starts back in 1950, when I was five...\nHe contributed .50m to the project a few years back.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV prep, n ADV  emphasis\n\n15. If you think back to something that happened in the past, you remember it or try to remember it.\nI thought back to the time in 1975 when my son was desperately ill...\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV to n\n\n16. If someone moves back and forth, they repeatedly move in one direction and then in the opposite direction.\nHe paced back and forth...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n17.\nto cast your mind back: see mind


Words: back 1
Meaning:
OPPOSITE OF FRONT; NOUN AND ADJECTIVE USES\n   back  backs\n\nPlease look at category 17 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. A person’s or animal’s back is the part of their body between their head and their legs that is on the opposite side to their chest and stomach.\nShe turned her back to the audience...\nThree of the victims were shot in the back...\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n2. The back of something is the side or part of it that is towards the rear or farthest from the front. The back of something is normally not used or seen as much as the front.\n...a room at the back of the shop...\nShe raised her hands to the back of her neck...\nSmooth the mixture with the back of a soup spoon...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft the N of n\n  !=front\n3. Back is used to refer to the side or part of something that is towards the rear or farthest from the front.\nHe opened the back door...\nAnn could remember sitting in the back seat of their car.\n...the path leading to the back garden.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=front\n4. The back of a chair or sofa is the part that you lean against when you sit on it.\nThere was a neatly folded pink sweater on the back of the chair.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp\n\n5. The back of something such as a piece of paper or an envelope is the side which is less important.\nSend your answers on the back of a postcard.\n  N-COUNT: the N, usu sing\n  !=front\n6. The back of a book is the part nearest the end, where you can find the index or the notes, for example.\n...the index at the back of the book...\n  N-COUNT: the N, usu sing\n  !=front\n7. You can use back in expressions such as round the back and out the back to refer generally to the area behind a house or other building. (BRIT SPOKEN)\nHe had chickens and things round the back...\n  N-SING: prep the N\n\n8. You use back in expressions such as out back to refer to the area behind a house or other building. You also use in back to refer to the rear part of something, especially a car or building. (AM)\nDan informed her that he would be out back on the patio cleaning his shoes...\nCatlett got behind the wheel and I sat in back...\n  N-UNCOUNT: prep N, oft N of n\n\n9. In team games such as football and hockey, a back is a player who is concerned mainly with preventing the other team from scoring goals, rather than scoring goals for their own team.\n  N-COUNT\n  = defender  !=forward\n10. In American football, a back is a player who stands behind the front line, runs with the ball and attacks rather than defends.\n  N-COUNT\n\n11. If you say that something was done behind someone’s back, you disapprove of it because it was done without them knowing about it, in an unfair or dishonest way.\nYou eat her food, enjoy her hospitality and then criticize her behind her back.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v  disapproval\n\n12. If you break the back of a task or problem, you do the most difficult part of what is necessary to complete the task or solve the problem.\nIt seems at least that we’ve broken the back of inflation in this country...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n13. If you are wearing something back to front, you are wearing it with the back of it at the front of your body. If you do something back to front, you do it the wrong way around, starting with the part that should come last. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use backward)\nHe wears his baseball cap back to front...\nThe picture was printed back to front.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n  = backwards\n14. If you say that one thing happens on the back of another thing, you mean that it happens after that other thing and in addition to it.\nThe cuts, if approved, come on the back of a difficult eight years that have seen three London fire stations closed.\n  PHRASE\n\n15. If someone is on the back foot, or if something puts them on the back foot, they feel threatened and act defensively.\nFrom now on Labour will be on the back foot on the subject of welfare.\n...another scheme designed purely to put the Scots Nationalists on the back foot.\n  PHRASE\n\n(next)


Words: back 1.1
Meaning:
16. If someone or something puts your back up or gets your back up, they annoy you. (INFORMAL)\nSome food labelling practices really get my back up.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = irritate\n17.\nto take a back seat: see seat


Words: back away
Meaning:
back away\n1. If you back away from a commitment that you made or something that you were involved with in the past, you try to show that you are no longer committed to it or involved with it.\nThe company backed away from plans to cut their pay by 15%...\nUntil yesterday, Britain had backed away because it didn’t like the cost.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P from n, V P\n  = retreat\n2. If you back away, you walk backwards away from someone or something, often because you are frightened of them.\nJames got to his feet and started to come over, but the girls hastily backed away.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, also V P from n


Words: back burner
Meaning:
back burn.er\n   back burner   also backburner\n  If you put an issue on the back burner, you leave it in order to deal with it later because you now consider it to have become less urgent or important.\nMany speculated that the US would put the peace process on the back burner...\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: back catalogue
Meaning:
back cata.logue\n   back catalogue  back catalogues\n  A musical performer’s back catalogue is the music which they recorded and released in the past rather than their latest recordings.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: back copy
Meaning:
back copy  back copies\n  A back copy of a magazine or newspaper is the same as a back issue.\n  N-COUNT


Words: back country
Meaning:
back coun.try\n   back country   also backcountry\n  The back country is an area that is a long way from any city and has very few people living in it. (AM)\nThey have moved deep into the back country.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: back down
Meaning:
back down\n  If you back down, you withdraw a claim, demand, or commitment that you made earlier, because other people are strongly opposed to it.\nIt’s too late to back down now...\nHe had to back down on plans to backdate the tax changes.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P on/over n


Words: back issue
Meaning:
back is.sue\n   back issue  back issues\n  A back issue of a magazine or newspaper is one that was published some time ago and is not the most recent.\n  N-COUNT\n  = back number


Words: back number
Meaning:
back num.ber\n   back number  back numbers\n  A back number of a magazine or newspaper is the same as a back issue.\n  N-COUNT


Words: back off
Meaning:
back off\n1. If you back off, you move away in order to avoid problems or a fight.\nThey backed off in horror.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n2. If you back off from a claim, demand, or commitment that you made earlier, or if you back off it, you withdraw it.\nA spokesman says the president has backed off from his threat to boycott the conference...\nThe union has publicly backed off that demand.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P from n, V P n


Words: back out
Meaning:
back out\n  If you back out, you decide not to do something that you previously agreed to do.\nMadonna backed out of the project after much wrangling...\nWells was supposed to put up half the money, but later backed out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P of n, V P\n  = pull out


Words: back passage
Meaning:
back pas.sage\n   back passage  back passages\n  People sometimes refer to their rectum as their back passage. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: back pay
Meaning:
back pay\n  Back pay is money which an employer owes an employee for work that he or she did in the past. (BUSINESS)\nHe will receive $6,000 in back pay.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: back street
Meaning:
back street  back streets   also back-street, backstreet\n1. A back street in a town or city is a small, narrow street with very little traffic.\nThe small church of San Michel is tucked away in a narrow back street of Port-au-Prince.\n...backstreet garages.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The back streets of a town or city are the areas of small, old, poor streets rather than the richer or newer areas.\n...the back streets of Berlin.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n3. Back street activities are carried out unofficially, secretly, and often illegally.\n...back street abortions.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: back up
Meaning:
back up\n1. If someone or something backs up a statement, they supply evidence to suggest that it is true.\nRadio signals received from the galaxy’s centre back up the black hole theory...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n  = support\n2. If you back up a computer file, you make a copy of it which you can use if the original file is damaged or lost. (COMPUTING)\nMake a point of backing up your files at regular intervals...\nI get so annoyed when I lose work because I’ve forgotten to back it up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n3. If an idea or intention is backed up by action, action is taken to support or confirm it.\nThe Secretary General says the declaration must now be backed up by concrete and effective actions...\nIt is time the Government backed up its advert campaigns with tougher measures.\n  PHRASAL VERB: be V-ed P, V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n4. If you back someone up, you show your support for them.\nHis employers, Norfolk social services, backed him up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, also V P n (not pron)\n  = support\n5. If you back someone up, you help them by confirming that what they are saying is true.\nThe girl denied being there, and the man backed her up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, also V P n (not pron)\n\n6. If you back up, the car or other vehicle that you are driving moves back a short distance.\nBack up, Hans...\nA police van drove through the protesters and backed up to the front door of the house.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P to n\n  = reverse\n7. If vehicles back up, they form a line of traffic which has to wait before it can move on.\nTraffic into London on the M11 was backed up for several miles.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V-ed P, also V P, V P n (not pron)\n\n8. If you back up, you move backwards a short distance.\nI backed up carefully until I felt the wall against my back...\nShe backed up a few steps.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P amount\n\n9.\n  see also backup


Words: back-breaking
Meaning:
back-breaking\nin AM and sometimes in BRIT, use backbreaking\n  Back-breaking work involves a lot of hard physical effort.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: back-pedal
Meaning:
back-pedal  back-pedals  back-pedalling  back-pedalled\n\n  The spelling backpedal is also used. The forms back-pedaling and back-pedaled are used in American English.\n\n1. If you back-pedal, you express a different or less forceful opinion about something from the one you have previously expressed.\nAllen back-pedalled, saying that he had had no intention of offending them...\nHe appeared to back-pedal on that statement.\n  VERB: V, V on n\n  = backtrack\n2. If you say that someone back-pedals, you disapprove of their behaviour because they are not doing what they promised.\nShe’s backpedaled twice already...\nThe cabinet may backpedal on these commitments.\n  VERB: V, V on/from n  disapproval\n\n=>  back-pedalling\n...Britain’s back-pedalling on reforms.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: back-seat driver
Meaning:
back-seat driv.er\n   back-seat driver  back-seat drivers   also backseat driver\n1. If you refer to a passenger in a car as a back-seat driver, they annoy you because they constantly give you advice.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n2. If you refer to someone, especially a politician, as a back-seat driver, you disapprove of them because they try to influence a situation that does not concern them.\nThey accused the former prime minister of being a backseat driver.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: back-slapping
Meaning:
back-slapping   also backslapping\n  Back-slapping is noisy, cheerful behaviour which people use in order to show affection or appreciation to each other.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  Back-slapping is also an adjective.\nScott breaks away from his back-slapping admirers.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: backbench
Meaning:
back.bench\n   backbench\n  A backbench MP is a Member of Parliament who is not a minister and who does not hold an official position in his or her political party. (BRIT, AUSTRALIAN)\n...the Conservative backbench MP Sir Teddy Taylor...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: backbencher
Meaning:
back.bencher\n   backbencher  backbenchers\n  A backbencher is a Member of Parliament who is not a minister and who does not hold an official position in their political party. (BRIT)\n...a senior Conservative backbencher.\n  N-COUNT


Words: backbenches
Meaning:
back.benches\n   backbenches\n  The backbenches are the seats in the British House of Commons where backbenchers sit. The Members of Parliament who sit on the backbenches are also referred to as the backbenches. (BRIT)\nThis issue is creating unrest on the backbenches.\n  N-PLURAL: usu the N


Words: backbiting
Meaning:
back.bit.ing\n   backbiting\n  If you accuse someone of backbiting, you mean that they say unpleasant or unkind things about someone who is not present, especially in order to stop them doing well at work.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: backbone
Meaning:
back.bone\n   backbone  backbones\n1. Your backbone is the column of small linked bones down the middle of your back.\n  N-COUNT\n  = spine\n2. The backbone of an organization or system is the part of it that gives it its main strength.\nThe small business people of Britain are the economic backbone of the nation.\n  N-SING: usu with poss


Words: backcloth
Meaning:
back.cloth\n   backcloth  backcloths\n1. A backcloth is a large piece of cloth, often with scenery or buildings painted on it, that is hung at the back of a stage while a play is being performed. (BRIT; in AM, use backdrop)\n  N-COUNT\n  = backdrop\n2. The backcloth to an event is the general situation in which it happens. (BRIT JOURNALISM or LITERARY)\nI’m not impressed by the promise of tax cuts against the backcloth of a public-spending deficit.\n  N-SING: with supp, oft N of n\n  = background


Words: backdate
Meaning:
back.date\n   backdate  backdates  backdating  backdated   also back-date\n  If a document or an arrangement is backdated, it is valid from a date before the date when it is completed or signed.\nThe contract that was signed on Thursday morning was backdated to March 11...\nAnyone who has overpaid tax will be able to backdate their claim to last April.\n  VERB: be V-ed to n, V n to n, also V n


Words: backdoor
Meaning:
back.door\n   backdoor   also back door\n1. You can use backdoor to describe an action or process if you disapprove of it because you think it has been done in a secret, indirect, or dishonest way.\nHe did the backdoor deals that allowed the government to get its budget through Parliament on time...\nHe brushed aside talk of greedy MPs voting themselves a backdoor pay rise.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval\n  = underhand\n2. If you say that someone is doing something through or by the backdoor, you disapprove of them because they are doing it in a secret, indirect, or dishonest way.\nDentists claim the Government is privatising dentistry through the back door.\n  N-SING: the N, usu prep N  disapproval


Words: backdrop
Meaning:
back.drop\n   backdrop  backdrops\n1. A backdrop is a large piece of cloth, often with scenery painted on it, that is hung at the back of a stage while a play is being performed.\n  N-COUNT\n  = backcloth\n2. The backdrop to an object or a scene is what you see behind it.\nLeeds Castle will provide a dramatic backdrop to a fireworks display next Saturday...\n  N-COUNT: usu N prep\n  = background\n3. The backdrop to an event is the general situation in which it happens.\nThe election will take place against a backdrop of increasing instability.\n  N-COUNT: usu N prep\n  = background


Words: backer
Meaning:
back.er\n   backer  backers\n  A backer is someone who helps or supports a project, organization, or person, often by giving or lending money.\nI was looking for a backer to assist me in the attempted buy-out.\n  N-COUNT


Words: backfire
Meaning:
back.fire\n   backfire  backfires  backfiring  backfired\n1. If a plan or project backfires, it has the opposite result to the one that was intended.\nThe President’s tactics could backfire...\nIt all backfired on me!\n  VERB: V, V on/against n\n\n2. When a motor vehicle or its engine backfires, it produces an explosion in the exhaust pipe.\nThe car backfired.\n  VERB: V


Words: backgammon
Meaning:
back.gam.mon\n   backgammon\n  Backgammon is a game for two people, played on a board marked with long triangles. Each player has 15 wooden or plastic discs. The players throw dice and move the discs around the board.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: background
Meaning:
back.ground\n   background  backgrounds\n1. Your background is the kind of family you come from and the kind of education you have had. It can also refer to such things as your social and racial origins, your financial status, or the type of work experience that you have.\nShe came from a working-class background...\nHis background was in engineering.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp\n\n2. The background to an event or situation consists of the facts that explain what caused it.\nThe meeting takes place against a background of continuing political violence.\n...background information.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp, oft against N\n\n3. The background is sounds, such as music, which you can hear but which you are not listening to with your full attention.\nI kept hearing the sound of applause in the background...\nThe background music was provided by an accordion player.\n  N-SING: the N\n  !=foreground\n4. You can use background to refer to the things in a picture or scene that are less noticeable or important than the main things or people in it.\n...roses patterned on a blue background...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  !=foreground\n  Someone who stays in the background avoids being noticed, although the things that they do are important or influential.\nRosemary likes to stay in the background.\n  PHRASE


Words: backhand
Meaning:
back.hand\n   backhand  backhands\n  A backhand is a shot in tennis or squash, which you make with your arm across your body.\nShe practised her backhand.\n  N-VAR


Words: backhanded
Meaning:
back.hand.ed\n   backhanded   also back-handed\n1. A backhanded compliment is a remark which seems to be an insult but could also be understood as a compliment. A backhanded compliment is also a remark which seems to be a compliment but could also be understood as an insult.\nSaying she’s improved comes over as a backhanded compliment.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If you say that someone is doing something in a backhanded way, they are doing it indirectly.\nIn a backhanded way, I think a lot of my energy and strength comes from my campaigning.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval


Words: backhander
Meaning:
back.hand.er\n   backhander  backhanders   also back-hander\n  A backhander is an amount of money that is illegally paid to someone in a position of authority in order to encourage them to do something. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = bribe


Words: backing
Meaning:
back.ing\n   backing  backings\n1. If someone has the backing of an organization or an important person, they receive support or money from that organization or person in order to do something.\nHe said the president had the full backing of his government to negotiate a deal...\nMr Bach set up his own consulting business with the backing of his old boss.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of/for n\n  = support\n2. A backing is a layer of something such as cloth that is put onto the back of something in order to strengthen or protect it.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. The backing of a popular song is the music which is sung or played to accompany the main tune.\nSharon also sang backing vocals for Barry Manilow...\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: backlash
Meaning:
back.lash\n   backlash\n  A backlash against a tendency or recent development in society or politics, is a sudden, strong reaction against it.\n...the male backlash against feminism.\n...a right-wing backlash.\n  N-SING: usu with supp\n  = reaction


Words: backless
Meaning:
back.less\n   backless\n  A backless dress leaves most of a woman’s back uncovered down to her waist.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: backlog
Meaning:
back.log\n   backlog  backlogs\n  A backlog is a number of things which have not yet been done but which need to be done.\nThere is a backlog of repairs and maintenance in schools.\n  N-COUNT


Words: backpack
Meaning:
back.pack\n   backpack  backpacks\n  A backpack is a bag with straps that go over your shoulders, so that you can carry things on your back when you are walking or climbing.\n  N-COUNT\n  = rucksack


Words: backpacker
Meaning:
back.pack.er\n   backpacker  backpackers\n  A backpacker is a person who goes travelling with a backpack.\n  N-COUNT


Words: backpacking
Meaning:
back.pack.ing\n   backpacking\n  If you go backpacking, you go travelling with a backpack.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: backrest
Meaning:
back.rest\n   backrest  backrests\n  The backrest of a seat or chair is the part which you rest your back on.\n  N-COUNT


Words: backroom
Meaning:
back.room\n   backroom back rooms   also back-room, back room\n1. A backroom is a room that is situated at the back of a building, especially a private room.\n...the backroom of the officers’ club.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can use backroom to refer to people in an organization who do important work but are not seen or known about by the public. You can also use backroom to refer to a place where such people work.\nPublic scrutiny had brought civil servants out from the backroom and into the spotlight.\n...Mr Smith’s backroom staff.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you refer to a deal made by someone such as a politician as a backroom deal, you disapprove of it because it has been made in a secret, dishonest way.\nThey have been calling the Presidency decision a backroom deal.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval


Words: backroom boy
Meaning:
back.room boy\n   backroom boy  backroom boys   also backroom-boy\n  You can refer to a man as a backroom boy when he does important work in an organization and has good ideas but is not seen or known about by the public. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: backside
Meaning:
back.side\n   backside  backsides\n  Your backside is the part of your body that you sit on. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = bottom


Words: backsliding
Meaning:
back.slid.ing\n   backsliding\n  If you accuse someone of backsliding, you disapprove of them because they have failed to do something they promised or agreed to do, or have started again doing something undesirable that they had previously stopped doing.\n...the government’s backsliding on free market reforms...\nThis may help to maintain the gains you’ve made and to prevent backsliding.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: backstage
Meaning:
back.stage\n   backstage\n  In a theatre, backstage refers to the areas behind the stage.\nHe went backstage and asked for her autograph...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  Backstage is also an adjective.\n...a backstage pass.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: backstroke
Meaning:
back.stroke\n   backstroke\n1. Backstroke is a swimming stroke that you do lying on your back.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also the N\n\n2. The backstroke is a swimming race in which the competitors swim backstroke.\n...the 100 metres backstroke.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: backtrack
Meaning:
back.track\n   backtrack  backtracks  backtracking  backtracked   also back-track\n1. If you backtrack on a statement or decision you have made, you do or say something that shows that you no longer agree with it or support it.\nThe committee backtracked by scrapping the controversial bonus system...\nThe finance minister backtracked on his decision.\n  VERB: V, V on/from n\n  = back-pedal\n=>  back.track.ing\nHe promised there would be no backtracking on policies.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you backtrack, you go back along a path or route you have just used.\nLeonard jumped in his car and started backtracking...\nWe had to backtrack to the corner and cross the street.\n  VERB: V, V prep\n\n3. If you backtrack in an account or explanation, you talk about things which happened before the ones you were previously talking about.\nCan we just backtrack a little bit and look at your primary and secondary education?\n  VERB: V


Words: backup
Meaning:
back.up\n   backup  backups   also back-up\n1. Backup consists of extra equipment, resources, or people that you can get help or support from if necessary.\nThere is no emergency back-up immediately available...\nAlternative treatments can provide a useful back-up to conventional treatment.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you have something such as a second piece of equipment or set of plans as backup, you have arranged for them to be available for use in case the first one does not work.\nEvery part of the system has a backup...\nComputer users should make regular back-up copies of their work.\n  N-VAR


Words: backward
Meaning:
back.ward\n   backward\nIn American English, backward is usually used as an adverb instead of backwards. Backward is also sometimes used in this way in formal British English. See backwards for these uses.\n1. A backward movement or look is in the direction that your back is facing. Some people use backwards for this meaning.\nHe unlocked the door of apartment two and disappeared inside after a backward glance at Larry...\nHe did a backward flip.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=forward\n2. If someone takes a backward step, they do something that does not change or improve their situation, but causes them to go back a stage.\nAt a certain age, it’s not viable for men to take a backward step into unskilled work...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=forward\n3. A backward country or society does not have modern industries and machines.\nWe need to accelerate the pace of change in our backward country.\n  ADJ\n  !=developed\n=>  back.ward.ness\nI was astonished at the backwardness of our country at the time.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. A backward child has difficulty in learning.\nI was slow to walk and talk and my parents thought I was backward.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  back.ward.ness\n...her backwardness in practical and physical activities.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: backward-looking
Meaning:
backward-looking   also backward looking\n  If you describe someone or something as backward-looking, you disapprove of their attitudes, ideas, or actions because they are based on old-fashioned opinions or methods.\n...a stagnant, backward-looking culture...\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = regressive, reactionary  !=forward-looking


Words: backwards
Meaning:
back.wards\n   backwards\nin AM, use backward\n1. If you move or look backwards, you move or look in the direction that your back is facing.\nThe diver flipped over backwards into the water...\nHe took two steps backward...\nBess glanced backwards...\nKeeping your back straight, swing one leg backwards.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  Backwards is also an adjective.\nWithout so much as a backwards glance, he steered her towards the car.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If you do something backwards, you do it in the opposite way to the usual way.\nHe works backwards, building a house from the top downwards.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n3. You use backwards to indicate that something changes or develops in a way that is not an improvement, but is a return to old ideas or methods.\nGreater government intervention in businesses would represent a step backwards.\n...the blaming that keeps us looking backward.\n  ADV: ADV after v, n ADV\n\n4.\n  see also backward\n5. If someone or something moves backwards and forwards, they move repeatedly first in one direction and then in the opposite direction.\nDraw the floss backwards and forwards between the teeth.\n...people travelling backwards and forwards to and from London.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n6.\nto bend over backwards: see bend


Words: backwash
Meaning:
back.wash\n   backwash\n  The backwash of an event or situation is an unpleasant situation that exists after it and as a result of it.\n...the backwash of the events of 1989...\n  N-SING\n  = repercussions


Words: backwater
Meaning:
back.water\n   backwater  backwaters\n1. A backwater is a place that is isolated.\n...a quiet rural backwater.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. If you refer to a place or institution as a backwater, you think it is not developing properly because it is isolated from ideas and events in other places and institutions.\nBritain could become a political backwater with no serious influence in the world...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp  disapproval


Words: backwoods
Meaning:
back.woods\n   backwoods\n  If you refer to an area as the backwoods, you mean that it is a long way from large towns and is isolated from modern life.\n...the backwoods of Louisiana.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: backwoodsman
Meaning:
back.woods.man\n   backwoodsman  backwoodsmen\n  Backwoodsmen are people, especially politicians, who like the old ways of doing things, or who are involved in an organization at a local level. (mainly BRIT)\n...Republican Party backwoodsmen in the United States.\n  N-COUNT


Words: backyard
Meaning:
back.yard\n   backyard  backyards   also back yard\n1. A backyard is an area of land at the back of a house.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you refer to a country’s own backyard, you are referring to its own territory or to somewhere that is very close and where that country wants to influence events.\nEconomics will not stop Europe’s politicians complaining when jobs are lost in their own backyard...\n  N-COUNT: with poss


Words: bacon
Meaning:
ba.con\n   bacon\n  Bacon is salted or smoked meat which comes from the back or sides of a pig.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bacteria
Meaning:
bac.te.ria\n   bacteria\n  Bacteria are very small organisms. Some bacteria can cause disease.\nChlorine is added to kill bacteria.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: bacterial
Meaning:
bac.te.rial\n   bacterial\n  Bacterial is used to describe things that relate to or are caused by bacteria.\nCholera is a bacterial infection.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: bacteriology
Meaning:
bac.te.ri.ol.ogy\n   bacteriology\n  Bacteriology is the science and the study of bacteria.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  bac.te.rio.logi.cal\n...the national bacteriological laboratory.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: bad
Meaning:
bad  worse  worst\n1. Something that is bad is unpleasant, harmful, or undesirable.\nThe bad weather conditions prevented the plane from landing...\nWe have been going through a bad time...\nI’ve had a bad day at work...\nDivorce is bad for children...\nAnalysts fear the situation is even worse than the leadership admits.\n  ADJ\n  !=good\n2. You use bad to indicate that something unpleasant or undesirable is severe or great in degree.\nHe had a bad accident two years ago and had to give up farming...\nThis was a bad case of dangerous driving...\nThe pain is often so bad she wants to scream...\nThe floods are described as the worst in nearly fifty years.\n  ADJ\n\n3. A bad idea, decision, or method is not sensible or not correct.\nEconomist Jeffrey Faux says a tax cut is a bad idea...\nOf course politicians will sometimes make bad decisions...\nThat’s not a bad way to proceed, just somewhat different...\nThe worst thing you can do is underestimate an opponent.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = poor  !=good\n4. If you describe a piece of news, an action, or a sign as bad, you mean that it is unlikely to result in benefit or success.\nThe closure of the project is bad news for her staff...\nIt was a bad start in my relationship with Warr...\nThe report couldn’t have come at a worse time for the European Commission.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=good\n5. Something that is bad is of an unacceptably low standard, quality, or amount.\nMany old people in Britain are living in bad housing...\nThe state schools’ main problem is that teachers’ pay is so bad...\nIt was absolutely the worst food I have ever had.\n  ADJ\n  = poor  !=good\n6. Someone who is bad at doing something is not skilful or successful at it.\nHe had increased Britain’s reputation for being bad at languages...\nHe was a bad driver...\nRose was a poor cook and a worse mother.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ at -ing, ADJ n\n  = poor  !=good\n7. If you say that it is bad that something happens, you mean it is unacceptable, unfortunate, or wrong.\nNot being able to hear doesn’t seem as bad as not being able to see...\nYou need at least ten pounds if you go to the cinema nowadays.it’s really bad.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft it v-link ADJ that\n  !=good\n8. You can say that something is not bad to mean that it is quite good or acceptable, especially when you are rather surprised about this.\n`How much is he paying you?’.`Oh, five thousand.’.`Not bad.’...\n`How are you, mate?’.`Not bad, mate, how’s yourself?’...\nHe’s not a bad chap.quite human for an accountant...\nThat’s not a bad idea.\n  ADJ: with neg\n\n9. A bad person has morally unacceptable attitudes and behaviour.\nI was selling drugs, but I didn’t think I was a bad person...\nHe does not think that his beliefs make him any worse than any other man.\n  ADJ\n  = wicked  !=good\n=>  bad.ness\nThey only recognise badness when they perceive it in others.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n10. A bad child disobeys rules and instructions or does not behave in a polite and correct way.\nYou are a bad boy for repeating what I told you...\nMany parents find it hard to discourage bad behaviour.\n  ADJ\n  = naughty\n11. If you are in a bad mood, you are angry and behave unpleasantly to people.\nShe is in a bit of a bad mood because she’s just given up smoking.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n12. If you feel bad about something, you feel rather sorry or guilty about it.\nYou don’t have to feel bad about relaxing...\nI feel bad that he’s doing most of the work...\nAre you trying to make me feel bad?\n  ADJ: feel ADJ, oft ADJ about n, ADJ that\n  !=good\n13. If you have a bad back, heart, leg, or eye, it is injured, diseased, or weak.\nAlastair has a bad back so we have a hard bed.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n14. Food that has gone bad is not suitable to eat because it has started to decay.\nThey bought so much beef that some went bad.\n  ADJ: usu go ADJ, also ADJ n\n\n15. Bad language is language that contains offensive words such as swear words.\nI don’t like to hear bad language in the street...\nI said a bad word.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n16.\n(next)


Words: bad .1
Meaning:
see also worse, worst\n17. If you say that it is too bad that something is the case, you mean you are sorry or sad that it is the case.\nIt is too bad that Eleanor had to leave so soon...\nToo bad he used his intelligence for criminal purposes.\n  PHRASE: oft it v-link PHR that  feelings\n  = a pity, a shame\n18. If you say `too bad’, you are indicating that nothing can be done to change the situation, and that you do not feel sorry or sympathetic about this.\nToo bad if you missed the bus.\n  CONVENTION  feelings\n  = hard luck\n19.\nto make the best of a bad job: see best\nbad blood: see blood\nbad luck: see luck\nto get a bad press: see press\nto go from bad to worse: see worse


Words: bad cheque
Meaning:
bad cheque  bad cheques\nin AM, use bad check\n  A bad cheque is a bank cheque that will not be paid because there is a mistake on it, or because there is not enough money in the account of the person who wrote the cheque.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bad debt
Meaning:
bad debt  bad debts\n  A bad debt is a sum of money that has been lent but is not likely to be repaid.\nThe bank set aside .1.1 billion to cover bad debts from business failures.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bad guy
Meaning:
bad guy  bad guys\n  A bad guy is a person in a story or film who is considered to be evil or wicked, or who is fighting on the wrong side. You can also refer to the bad guys in a situation in real life. (INFORMAL)\nIn the end the `bad guys’ are caught and sent to jail.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = baddy  !=good guy


Words: bad hair day
Meaning:
bad hair day  bad hair days\n  People sometimes say they are having a bad hair day when they do not feel very happy or relaxed, especially because their hair does not look good. (INFORMAL)\nAll this fuss is because Carol is having a bad hair day.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: bad-mouth
Meaning:
bad-mouth  bad-mouths  bad-mouthing  bad-mouthed\n  If someone bad-mouths you, they say unpleasant things about you, especially when you are not there to defend yourself.\nBoth men continually bad-mouthed each other.\n  VERB: V n


Words: bad-tempered
Meaning:
bad-tempered\n  Someone who is bad-tempered is not very cheerful and gets angry easily.\nWhen his headaches developed Nick became bad-tempered and even violent...\n  ADJ\n  = irritable


Words: baddy
Meaning:
bad.dy\n   baddy  baddies   also baddie\n  A baddy is a person in a story or film who is considered to be evil or wicked, or who is fighting on the wrong side. You can also refer to the baddies in a situation in real life. (BRIT INFORMAL; in AM, usually use bad guy)\n...a baddie who’s trying to take over the world.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = bad guy  !=goody


Words: badge
Meaning:
badge  badges\n  A badge is a piece of metal or cloth which you wear to show that you belong to an organization or support a cause. American English usually uses button to refer to a small round metal badge.\n  N-COUNT


Words: badger
Meaning:
badg.er\n   badger  badgers  badgering  badgered\n1. A badger is a wild animal which has a white head with two wide black stripes on it. Badgers live underground and usually come up to feed at night.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you badger someone, you repeatedly tell them to do something or repeatedly ask them questions.\nShe badgered her doctor time and again, pleading with him to do something...\nThey kept phoning and writing, badgering me to go back...\nRichard’s mother badgered him into taking a Spanish wife.\n  VERB: V n, V n to-inf, V n into n/ing


Words: badinage
Meaning:
badi.nage\n   badinage\n  Badinage is humorous or light-hearted conversation that often involves teasing someone. (LITERARY)\n...light-hearted badinage.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = banter


Words: badly
Meaning:
bad.ly\n   badly  worse  worst\n1. If something is done badly or goes badly, it is not very successful or effective.\nI was angry because I played so badly...\nThe whole project was badly managed...\nThe coalition did worse than expected, getting just 11.6 per cent of the vote.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  !=well\n2. If someone or something is badly hurt or badly affected, they are severely hurt or affected.\nThe bomb destroyed a police station and badly damaged a church...\nOne man was killed and another badly injured...\nIt was a gamble that went badly wrong.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n  = seriously\n3. If you want or need something badly, you want or need it very much.\nWhy do you want to go so badly?...\nPlanes landed at Bagram airport today carrying badly needed food and medicine.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  = much\n4. If someone behaves badly or treats other people badly, they act in an unkind, unpleasant, or unacceptable way.\nThey have both behaved very badly and I am very hurt...\nI would like to know why we pensioners are being so badly treated.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  !=well\n5. If something reflects badly on someone or makes others think badly of them, it harms their reputation.\nTeachers know that low exam results will reflect badly on them...\nDespite his illegal act, few people think badly of him.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n  !=well\n6. If a person or their job is badly paid, they are not paid very much for what they do.\nYou may have to work part-time, in a badly paid job with unsociable hours...\nThis is the most dangerous professional sport there is, and the worst paid.\n  ADV: usu ADV -ed, also ADV after v\n  = poorly  !=well\n7.\n  see also worse, worst


Words: badly off
Meaning:
bad.ly off\n   badly off  worse off  worst off\nin AM, also use bad off\n1. If you are badly off, you are in a bad situation.\nThe average working week in Japan is 42.3 hours, compared with 41.6 in the UK, so they are not too badly off.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n2. If you are badly off, you do not have much money.\nIt is outrageous that people doing well-paid jobs should moan about how badly off they are.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: badminton
Meaning:
bad.min.ton\n   badminton\n  Badminton is a game played by two or four players on a rectangular court with a high net across the middle. The players try to score points by hitting a small object called a shuttlecock across the net using a racket.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: baffle
Meaning:
baf.fle\n   baffle  baffles  baffling  baffled\n  If something baffles you, you cannot understand it or explain it.\nAn apple tree producing square fruit is baffling experts.\n  VERB: V n\n  = puzzle\n=>  baf.fling\nI was constantly ill, with a baffling array of symptoms.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  baf.fled\nPolice are baffled by the murder.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: bafflement
Meaning:
baf.fle.ment\n   bafflement\n  Bafflement is the state of being baffled.\nThe general response was one of understandable bafflement.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = puzzlement


Words: bag
Meaning:
bag  bags\n1. A bag is a container made of thin paper or plastic, for example one that is used in shops to put things in that a customer has bought.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  A bag of things is the amount of things contained in a bag.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. A bag is a strong container with one or two handles, used to carry things in.\nShe left the hotel carrying a shopping bag.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  A bag of things is the amount of things contained in a bag.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n3. A bag is the same as a handbag.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you have bags under your eyes, you have folds of skin there, usually because you have not had enough sleep.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n5. If you say there is bags of something, you mean that there is a large amount of it. If you say that there are bags of things, you mean that there are a large number of them. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...a hotel with bags of character.\n  QUANT: QUANT of pl-n-uncount  emphasis\n  = heaps of\n6.\n  see also bum bag, carrier bag, mixed bag, shoulder-bag, sleeping bag, tea bag\n7. If you say that something is in the bag, you mean that you are certain that you will get it or achieve it. (INFORMAL)\n`I’ll get the Republican nomination,’ he assured me. `It’s in the bag.’\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n8.\nto let the cat out of the bag: see cat


Words: bag lady
Meaning:
bag lady  bag ladies\n  A bag lady is a homeless woman who carries her possessions in shopping bags.\n  N-COUNT


Words: baggage
Meaning:
bag.gage\n   baggage\n1. Your baggage consists of the bags that you take with you when you travel.\nThe passengers went through immigration control and collected their baggage.\n...excess baggage.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = luggage\n2. You can use baggage to refer to someone’s emotional problems, fixed ideas, or prejudices.\nHow much emotional baggage is he bringing with him into the relationship?\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp


Words: baggage car
Meaning:
bag.gage car\n   baggage car  baggage cars\n  A baggage car is a railway carriage, often without windows, which is used to carry luggage, goods, or mail. (AM; in BRIT, use van)\n  N-COUNT


Words: baggy
Meaning:
bag.gy\n   baggy  baggier  baggiest\n  If a piece of clothing is baggy, it hangs loosely on your body.\n...a baggy jumper.\n  ADJ\n  !=tight


Words: bagpipes
Meaning:
bag.pipes\n   bagpipes\n  Bagpipes are a musical instrument that is traditionally played in Scotland. You play the bagpipes by blowing air through a pipe into a bag, and then squeezing the bag to force the air out through other pipes.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft the N\n  The form bagpipe is used as a modifier.


Words: baguette
Meaning:
ba.guette\n   baguette  baguettes\n  A baguette is a type of long, thin, white bread which is traditionally made in France.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bah
Meaning:
bah\n  `Bah’ is used in writing to represent a noise that people make in order to express contempt, disappointment, or annoyance. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  EXCLAM


Words: Bahamian
Meaning:
Ba.ha.mian\n   Bahamian  Bahamians\n1. Bahamian means belonging or relating to the Bahamas or to its people or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Bahamians are people who come from the Bahamas.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bail
Meaning:
bail  bails  bailing  bailed\n\n  The spelling bale is also used for meaning 4, and for meanings 1 and 3 of the phrasal verb.\n\n1. Bail is a sum of money that an arrested person or someone else puts forward as a guarantee that the arrested person will attend their trial in a law court. If the arrested person does not attend it, the money will be lost.\nHe was freed on bail pending an appeal...\nThe high court set bail at $8,000.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft on N\n\n2. Bail is permission for an arrested person to be released after bail has been paid.\nHe was yesterday given bail by South Yorkshire magistrates.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If someone is bailed, they are released while they are waiting for their trial, after paying an amount of money to the court.\nHe was bailed for probation reports...\nHe was bailed to appear before local magistrates on 5 November.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, be V-ed to-inf\n\n4. If you bail, you use a container to remove water from a boat or from a place which is flooded.\nWe kept her afloat for a couple of hours by bailing frantically.\n  VERB: V, also V n\n\n  Bail out means the same as bail.\nA crew was sent down the shaft to close it off and bail out all the water...\nThe flood waters have receded since then, but residents are still bailing out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P\n\n5. If a prisoner jumps bail, he or she does not come back for his or her trial after being released on bail.\nHe had jumped bail last year while being tried on drug charges.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: bail out
Meaning:
bail out\n1. If you bail someone out, you help them out of a difficult situation, often by giving them money.\nThey will discuss how to bail the economy out of its slump...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P of n, also V n P\n\n2. If you bail someone out, you pay bail on their behalf.\nHe has been jailed eight times. Each time, friends bailed him out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, also V P n (not pron)\n\n3. If a pilot bails out of an aircraft that is crashing, he or she jumps from it, using a parachute to land safely.\nReid was forced to bail out of the crippled aircraft...\nThe pilot bailed out safely.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P of n, V P\n\n4.\nsee bail 4


Words: bailiff
Meaning:
bail.iff\n   bailiff  bailiffs\n1. A bailiff is a law officer who makes sure that the decisions of a court are obeyed. Bailiffs can take a person’s furniture or possessions away if the person owes money. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bailiff is an official in a court of law who deals with tasks such as keeping control in court. (AM)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A bailiff is a person who is employed to look after land or property for the owner. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bait
Meaning:
bait  baits  baiting  baited\n1. Bait is food which you put on a hook or in a trap in order to catch fish or animals.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you bait a hook or trap, you put bait on it or in it.\nHe baited his hook with pie...\nThe boys dug pits and baited them so that they could spear their prey.\n  VERB: V n with n, V n\n\n3. To use something as bait means to use it to trick or persuade someone to do something.\nService stations use petrol as a bait to lure motorists into the restaurants and other facilities...\nTelevision programmes are essentially bait to attract an audience for advertisements.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N\n\n4. If you bait someone, you deliberately try to make them angry by teasing them.\nHe delighted in baiting his mother.\n  VERB: V n\n  = needle\n5. If you take the bait, you react to something that someone has said or done exactly as they intended you to do. The expression rise to the bait is also used, mainly in British English.\nWhen she attempts to make you feel guilty, don’t take the bait...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: baize
Meaning:
baize\n  Baize is a thick woollen material which is used for covering tables on which games such as cards and snooker are played.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bake
Meaning:
bake  bakes  baking  baked\n1. If you bake, you spend some time preparing and mixing together ingredients to make bread, cakes, pies, or other food which is cooked in the oven.\nHow did you learn to bake cakes?...\nI love to bake.\n  VERB: no passive, V n, V\n\n=>  bak.ing\nOn a Thursday she used to do all the baking.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also the N\n\n2. When a cake or bread bakes or when you bake it, it cooks in the oven without any extra liquid or fat.\nBake the cake for 35 to 50 minutes...\nThe batter rises as it bakes.\n...freshly baked bread.\n  VERB: V n, V, V-ed\n\n3. If places or people become extremely hot because the sun is shining very strongly, you can say that they bake.\nIf you closed the windows you baked...\nBritain bakes in a Mediterranean heatwave.\n  VERB: V, V\n\n4. A vegetable or fish bake is a dish that is made by chopping up and mixing together a number of ingredients and cooking them in the oven so that they form a fairly dry solid mass. (BRIT)\n...an aubergine bake.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n5.\n  see also baking


Words: baked beans
Meaning:
baked beans\n  Baked beans are dried beans cooked in tomato sauce in Britain or cooked with salt pork in North America. Baked beans are usually sold in cans.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: Bakelite
Meaning:
Ba.ke.lite\n   Bakelite\n  Bakelite is a type of hard plastic that was used in the past for making things such as telephones and radios. (TRADEMARK)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: baker
Meaning:
bak.er\n   baker  bakers\n1. A baker is a person whose job is to bake and sell bread, pastries, and cakes.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A baker or a baker’s is a shop where bread and cakes are sold.\nThey’re freshly baked. I fetched them from the baker’s this morning.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bakery
Meaning:
bak.ery\n   bakery  bakeries\n  A bakery is a building where bread, pastries, and cakes are baked, or the shop where they are sold.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bakeware
Meaning:
bake.ware\n   bakeware\n  Tins, trays, and dishes that are used for baking can be referred to as bakeware.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: baking
Meaning:
bak.ing\n   baking\n  You can use baking to describe weather or a place that is very hot indeed.\n...a baking July day...\nThe coffins stood in the baking heat surrounded by mourners.\n...the baking Jordanian desert.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  Baking is also an adverb.\n...the baking hot summer of 1969.\n  ADV: ADV adj\n\n  see also bake


Words: baking powder
Meaning:
bak.ing pow.der\n   baking powder  baking powders\n  Baking powder is an ingredient used in cake making. It causes cakes to rise when they are in the oven.\n  N-MASS


Words: baking sheet
Meaning:
bak.ing sheet\n   baking sheet  baking sheets\n  A baking sheet is a flat piece of metal on which you bake foods such as biscuits or pies in an oven.\n  N-COUNT


Words: baking tray
Meaning:
bak.ing tray\n   baking tray  baking trays\n  A baking tray is the same as a baking sheet. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: balaclava
Meaning:
bala.cla.va\n   balaclava  balaclavas\n  A balaclava is a tight woollen hood that covers every part of your head except your face.\n  N-COUNT


Words: balance
Meaning:
bal.ance\n   balance  balances  balancing  balanced\n1. If you balance something somewhere, or if it balances there, it remains steady and does not fall.\nI balanced on the ledge...\nHe balanced a football on his head.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V n prep/adv\n\n2. Balance is the ability to remain steady when you are standing up.\nThe medicines you are currently taking could be affecting your balance.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you balance one thing with something different, each of the things has the same strength or importance.\nBalance spicy dishes with mild ones...\nThe state has got to find some way to balance these two needs...\nSupply and demand on the currency market will generally balance.\n  V-RECIP: V n with n, V pl-n, pl-n V, also V with n\n\n=>  bal.anced\nThis book is a well balanced biography.\n  ADJ: usu adv ADJ\n\n4. A balance is a situation in which all the different parts are equal in strength or importance.\nTheir marriage is a delicate balance between traditional and contemporary values...\n...the ecological balance of the forest.\n  N-SING: with supp, oft N between pl-n\n\n5. If you say that the balance tips in your favour, you start winning or succeeding, especially in a conflict or contest.\n...a powerful new gun which could tip the balance of the war in their favour...\n  N-SING: the N\n\n6. If you balance one thing against another, you consider its importance in relation to the other one.\nShe carefully tried to balance religious sensitivities against democratic freedom.\n  VERB: V n against n\n\n7. If someone balances their budget or if a government balances the economy of a country, they make sure that the amount of money that is spent is not greater than the amount that is received.\nHe balanced his budgets by rigid control over public expenditure.\n  VERB: V n\n\n8. If you balance your books or make them balance, you prove by calculation that the amount of money you have received is equal to the amount that you have spent.\n...teaching them to balance the books...\nTo make the books balance, spending must fall and taxes must rise.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n9. The balance in your bank account is the amount of money you have in it.\nI’d like to check the balance in my account please.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n10. The balance of an amount of money is what remains to be paid for something or what remains when part of the amount has been spent.\nThey were due to pay the balance on delivery.\n  N-SING: the N\n  = remainder\n11.\n  see also bank balance\n12. If something hangs in the balance, it is uncertain whether it will happen or continue.\nThe fate of a project which could revolutionise the use of computers in hospitals hangs in the balance.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n13. If you keep your balance, for example when standing in a moving vehicle, you remain steady and do not fall over. If you lose your balance, you become unsteady and fall over.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n14. If you are off balance, you are in an unsteady position and about to fall.\nA gust of wind knocked him off balance and he fell face down in the mud.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n15. If you are thrown off balance by something, you are surprised or confused by it.\nShe was trying to behave as if his visit hadn’t thrown her off balance.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n16. You can say on balance to indicate that you are stating an opinion after considering all the relevant facts or arguments.\nOn balance he agreed with Christine.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl


Words: balance of payments
Meaning:
bal.ance of pay.ments\n   balance of payments  balances of payments\n  A country’s balance of payments is the difference, over a period of time, between the payments it makes to other countries for imports and the payments it receives from other countries for exports. (BUSINESS)\nBritain’s balance of payments deficit has improved slightly.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: balance of power
Meaning:
bal.ance of pow.er\n   balance of power\n  The balance of power is the way in which power is distributed between rival groups or countries.\n...changes in the balance of power between the United States and Europe.\n  N-SING


Words: balance of trade
Meaning:
bal.ance of trade\n   balance of trade  balances of trade\n  A country’s balance of trade is the difference in value, over a period of time, between the goods it imports and the goods it exports. (BUSINESS)\nThe deficit in Britain’s balance of trade in March rose to more than 2100 million pounds.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: balance out
Meaning:
balance out\n  If two or more opposite things balance out or if you balance them out, they become equal in amount, value, or effect.\nOutgoings and revenues balanced out...\nThe strenuous exercise undergone could balance out the increased calories.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: balance sheet
Meaning:
bal.ance sheet\n   balance sheet  balance sheets\n  A balance sheet is a written statement of the amount of money and property that a company or person has, including amounts of money that are owed or are owing. Balance sheet is also used to refer to the general financial state of a company. (BUSINESS)\nRolls-Royce needed a strong balance sheet.\n  N-COUNT


Words: balanced
Meaning:
bal.anced\n   balanced\n1. A balanced report, book, or other document takes into account all the different opinions on something and presents information in a fair and reasonable way.\n...a fair, balanced, comprehensive report.\n  ADJ  approval\n\n2. Something that is balanced is pleasing or useful because its different parts or elements are in the correct proportions.\n...a balanced diet.\n  ADJ  approval\n\n3. Someone who is balanced remains calm and thinks clearly, even in a difficult situation.\nI have to prove myself as a respectable, balanced, person.\n  ADJ  approval\n\n4.\n  see also balance


Words: balancing act
Meaning:
bal.anc.ing act\n   balancing act  balancing acts\n  If you perform a balancing act, you try to deal successfully with two or more people, groups, or situations that are in opposition to each other.\n...a delicate balancing act between a career, a home, and motherhood.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  = juggling act


Words: balcony
Meaning:
bal.co.ny\n   balcony  balconies\n1. A balcony is a platform on the outside of a building, above ground level, with a wall or railing around it.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The balcony in a theatre or cinema is an area of seats above the main seating area.\n  N-SING\n  = circle


Words: bald
Meaning:
bald  balder  baldest\n1. Someone who is bald has little or no hair on the top of their head.\nThe man’s bald head was beaded with sweat...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  bald.ness\nHe wears a cap to cover a spot of baldness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If a tyre is bald, its surface has worn down and it is no longer safe to use.\n  ADJ\n\n3. A bald statement is in plain language and contains no extra explanation or information.\nThe announcement came in a bald statement from the official news agency...\nThe bald truth is he’s just not happy.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = blunt\n=>  bald.ly\n`The leaders are outdated,’ he stated baldly. `They don’t relate to young people.’\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  = bluntly


Words: bald eagle
Meaning:
bald eagle  bald eagles\n  A bald eagle is a large eagle with a white head that lives in North America. It is the national bird of the United States of America.\n  N-COUNT


Words: balderdash
Meaning:
bal.der.dash\n   balderdash\n  If you say that something that has been said or written is balderdash, you think it is completely untrue or very stupid. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: balding
Meaning:
bald.ing\n   balding\n  Someone who is balding is beginning to lose the hair on the top of their head.\nHe wore a straw hat to keep his balding head from getting sunburned.\n  ADJ


Words: baldy
Meaning:
baldy  baldies\n  People sometimes refer to a bald person as a baldy, especially if they are talking about them or to them in a friendly or humorous way. (INFORMAL)\nThe actor Patrick Stewart is a long-time baldy and proud of it...\nGet lost, baldy.\n  N-COUNT; also N-VOC


Words: bale
Meaning:
bale  bales  baling  baled\n1. A bale is a large quantity of something such as hay, cloth, or paper, tied together tightly.\n...bales of hay.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu with supp\n\n2. If something such as hay, cloth, or paper is baled, it is tied together tightly.\nOnce hay has been cut and baled it has to go through some chemical processes.\n  VERB: be V-ed, also V n\n\n3.\n  see also bail


Words: baleful
Meaning:
bale.ful\n   baleful\n  Baleful means harmful, or expressing harmful intentions. (LITERARY)\n...a baleful look.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  bale.ful.ly\nHe watched her balefully.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: balk
Meaning:
balk  balks  balking  balked   also baulk\n  If you balk at something, you definitely do not want to do it or to let it happen.\nEven biology undergraduates may balk at animal experiments...\nLast October the bank balked, alarmed that a $24m profit had turned into a $20m deficit.\n  VERB: V at n, V


Words: Balkanization
Meaning:
Bal.kani.za.tion\n   Balkanization\n  If you disapprove of the division of a country into separate independent states, you can refer to the Balkanization of the country.\nWe can’t accept the fragmentation or balkanization of the country.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  The spellings balkanization, and in British English balkanisation are also used.  disapproval


Words: ball
Meaning:
ball  balls  balling  balled\n1. A ball is a round object that is used in games such as tennis, baseball, football, basketball, and cricket.\n...a golf ball.\n...a tennis ball.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A ball is something or an amount of something that has a round shape.\nThomas screwed the letter up into a ball...\nThey heard a loud explosion and saw a ball of fire go up.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n3. When you ball something or when it balls, it becomes round.\nHe picked up the sheets of paper, and balled them tightly in his fists...\nHis hands balled into fists...\n  VERB: V n adv/prep, V adv/prep\n\n4. The ball of your foot or the ball of your thumb is the rounded part where your toes join your foot or where your thumb joins your hand.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N of n\n\n5. A ball is a large formal social event at which people dance.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. A man’s balls are his testicles. (INFORMAL, RUDE)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n7.\n  see also balls\n8. If you say that the ball is in someone’s court, you mean that it is his or her responsibility to take the next action or decision in a situation.\nThe ball’s now in your court.you have to decide what you’re going to do.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n9. If you get the ball rolling, set the ball rolling, or start the ball rolling, you start something happening.\nHe will go to the Middle East next week to get the ball rolling again on peace talks...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n10. If someone is on the ball, they are very alert and aware of what is happening.\nShe really is on the ball; she’s bought houses at auctions so she knows what she’s doing.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n11. If someone refuses to play ball, they are unwilling to do what someone wants them to do. (INFORMAL)\nThe association has threatened to withdraw its support if the banks and building societies refuse to play ball.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: ball bearing
Meaning:
ball bear.ing\n   ball bearing  ball bearings   also ball-bearing\n  Ball bearings are small metal balls placed between the moving parts of a machine to make the parts move smoothly.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ball boy
Meaning:
ball boy  ball boys\n  In a tennis match, the ball boys pick up any balls that go into the net or off the court and throw them back to the players. In a baseball game, the ball boys are in charge of collecting the balls that are hit out of the field.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ball game
Meaning:
ball game  ball games   also ballgame\n1. Ball games are games that are played with a ball such as tennis, baseball, and football.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. A ball game is a baseball match. (AM)\nI’d still like to go to a ball game.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. You can use ball game to describe any situation or activity, especially one that involves competition. (JOURNALISM SPOKEN)\nTwo of his biggest competitors are out of the ball game.\n  N-SING\n\n  If you say that a situation is a new ball game, you mean that it is completely different from, or much more difficult than, the previous situation or any situation that you have experienced before.\nHe finds himself faced with a whole new ball game.\n  PHRASE


Words: ball girl
Meaning:
ball girl  ball girls\n  In a tennis match, the ball girls pick up any balls that go into the net or off the court and throw them back to the players. In a baseball game, the ball girls are in charge of collecting the balls that are hit out of the field.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ballad
Meaning:
bal.lad\n   ballad  ballads\n1. A ballad is a long song or poem which tells a story in simple language.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A ballad is a slow, romantic, popular song.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ballast
Meaning:
bal.last\n   ballast\n  Ballast is any substance that is used in ships or hot-air balloons to make them heavier and more stable. Ballast usually consists of water, sand, or iron.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: ballet
Meaning:
bal.let\n   ballet  ballets\n1. Ballet is a type of very skilled and artistic dancing with carefully planned movements.\nI trained as a ballet dancer...\nShe is also keen on the ballet.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also the N, oft N n\n\n2. A ballet is an artistic work that is performed by ballet dancers.\nThe performance will include the premiere of three new ballets.\n  N-COUNT


Words: balletic
Meaning:
bal.let.ic\n   balletic\n  If you describe someone’s movements as balletic, you mean that they have some of the graceful qualities of ballet.\nThe subject seems to dance with balletic grace.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: ballgown
Meaning:
ball.gown\n   ballgown  ballgowns\n  A ballgown is a long dress that women wear to formal dances.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ballistic
Meaning:
bal.lis.tic\n   ballistic\n1. Ballistic means relating to ballistics.\n...ballistic missiles...\nBallistic tests have matched the weapons with bullets taken from the bodies of victims.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If someone goes ballistic, they suddenly become very angry. (INFORMAL)\nThe singer went ballistic after one member of his band failed to show for a sound check.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n3. If something goes ballistic, it suddenly becomes very much greater or more powerful, often in a surprising or unwanted way. (INFORMAL)\nAugust registrations have gone ballistic, accounting now for a quarter of the annual total.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = mushroom


Words: ballistics
Meaning:
bal.lis.tics\n   ballistics\n  Ballistics is the study of the movement of objects that are shot or thrown through the air, such as bullets fired from a gun.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: balloon
Meaning:
bal.loon\n   balloon  balloons  ballooning  ballooned\n1. A balloon is a small, thin, rubber bag that you blow air into so that it becomes larger and rounder or longer. Balloons are used as toys or decorations.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A balloon is a large, strong bag filled with gas or hot air, which can carry passengers in a container that hangs underneath it.\nThey are to attempt to be the first to circle the Earth non-stop by balloon.\n  N-COUNT: also by N\n\n3. When something balloons, it increases rapidly in amount.\nIn London, the use of the Tube has ballooned...\nThe budget deficit has ballooned to $25 billion...\n  VERB: V, V to n\n  = soar, rocket


Words: ballooning
Meaning:
bal.loon.ing\n   ballooning\n  Ballooning is the sport or activity of flying a hot-air balloon.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: balloonist
Meaning:
bal.loon.ist\n   balloonist  balloonists\n  A balloonist is a person who flies a hot-air balloon.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ballot
Meaning:
bal.lot\n   ballot  ballots  balloting  balloted\n1. A ballot is a secret vote in which people select a candidate in an election, or express their opinion about something.\nThe result of the ballot will not be known for two weeks...\nFifty of its members will be elected by direct ballot.\n  N-COUNT: also by N\n\n2. A ballot is a piece of paper on which you indicate your choice or opinion in a secret vote.\nElection boards will count the ballots by hand...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you ballot a group of people, you find out what they think about a subject by organizing a secret vote.\nThe union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.\n  VERB: V n\n  = poll\n=>  bal.lot.ing\nInternational observers say the balloting was fair.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: ballot box
Meaning:
bal.lot box\n   ballot box  ballot boxes\n1. A ballot box is the box into which ballot papers are put after people have voted.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can refer to the system of democratic elections as the ballot box.\nMartinez expressed confidence of victory at the ballot box.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: ballot paper
Meaning:
bal.lot pa.per\n   ballot paper  ballot papers\n  A ballot paper is a piece of paper on which you indicate your choice or opinion in an election or ballot.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: ballot rigging
Meaning:
bal.lot rig.ging\n   ballot rigging   also ballot-rigging\n  Ballot rigging is the act of illegally changing the result of an election by producing a false record of the number of votes.\nThe poll was widely discredited after allegations of ballot rigging.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: ballpark
Meaning:
ball.park\n   ballpark  ballparks   also ball park\n1. A ballpark is a park or stadium where baseball is played.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A ballpark figure or ballpark estimate is an approximate figure or estimate.\nI can’t give you anything more than just sort of a ballpark figure...\nBallpark estimates indicate a price tag of $90 million a month.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. If something such as an amount or claim is in the ballpark, it is approximately right, but not exact. (INFORMAL)\nIf you compare it to some of the other surveys that have been recently conducted, then it is in the general ballpark.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n4. If you say that someone or something is in the ballpark, you mean that they are able to take part in a particular area of activity, especially because they are considered as good as others taking part.\nThis puts them in the ballpark and makes them a major player...\n  N-SING: the N


Words: ballplayer
Meaning:
ball.player\n   ballplayer  ballplayers   also ball player\n  A ballplayer is a baseball player. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: ballpoint
Meaning:
ball.point\n   ballpoint  ballpoints\n  A ballpoint or a ballpoint pen is a pen with a very small metal ball at the end which transfers the ink from the pen onto a surface.\n  N-COUNT\n  = Biro


Words: ballroom
Meaning:
ball.room\n   ballroom  ballrooms\n  A ballroom is a very large room that is used for dancing.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ballroom dancing
Meaning:
ball.room danc.ing\n   ballroom dancing\n  Ballroom dancing is a type of dancing in which a man and a woman dance together using fixed sequences of steps and movements.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: balls
Meaning:
balls  ballses  ballsing  ballsed\n1. If you say that someone has balls, you mean that they have courage. (INFORMAL, RUDE)\nI never had the balls to do anything like this.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft the N to-inf  approval\n  = guts\n2. You can say `balls’ or say that what someone says is balls when you think that it is stupid or wrong. (BRIT INFORMAL, VERY RUDE)\nWhat complete and utter balls!\n  EXCLAM; N-UNCOUNT  feelings


Words: balls up
Meaning:
balls up\n  If you balls up a task or activity, you do it very badly, making a lot of mistakes. (BRIT INFORMAL, RUDE)\nYou have single-handedly ballsed up the best opportunity we’ve had!...\nI have no intention of letting you balls it up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P, also V P\n  = cock up


Words: balls-up
Meaning:
balls-up  balls-ups\n  If you make a balls-up of something, you do it very badly and make a lot of mistakes. (BRIT INFORMAL, RUDE)\nHe’s made a real balls-up of this.\n  N-COUNT\n  = cock-up


Words: ballsy
Meaning:
ballsy  ballsier  ballsiest\n  You can describe a person or their behaviour as ballsy if you admire them because you think they are energetic and brave. (INFORMAL)\n...the most ballsy woman I know.\n...ballsy, gutsy live rap music.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ n  approval


Words: ballyhoo
Meaning:
bal.ly.hoo\n   ballyhoo  ballyhooing  ballyhooed\n1. You can use ballyhoo to refer to great excitement or anger about something, especially when you disapprove of it because you think it is unnecessary or exaggerated.\nThey announced, amid much ballyhoo, that they had made a breakthrough.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N  disapproval\n  = to-do\n2. If you say that something is ballyhooed, you mean that there is a lot of excitement about it and people are claiming that it is very good. You use this word especially when you think the thing is not as exciting or good as people say.\nThe power of red wine to counteract high cholesterol has been ballyhooed in the press.\n...the much-ballyhooed new Star Wars movie.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed  disapproval


Words: balm
Meaning:
balm  balms\n1. Balm is a sweet-smelling oil that is obtained from some tropical trees and used to make creams that heal wounds or reduce pain.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. If you refer to something as balm, you mean that it makes you feel better.\nThe place is balm to the soul.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N  approval


Words: baloney
Meaning:
ba.lo.ney\n   baloney\n  If you say that an idea or statement is baloney, you disapprove of it and think it is foolish or wrong. (mainly AM INFORMAL)\nThat’s a load of baloney.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval\n  = rubbish, garbage


Words: balsa
Meaning:
bal.sa\n   balsa\n  Balsa or balsa wood is a very light wood from a South American tree.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: balsam
Meaning:
bal.sam\n   balsam\n  Balsam is a sweet-smelling oil that is obtained from certain trees or bushes and used to make medicines and perfumes.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: balsamic vinegar
Meaning:
bal.sam.ic vin.egar\n   balsamic vinegar\n  Balsamic vinegar is a type of vinegar which tastes sweet and is made from grape juice.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: balti
Meaning:
bal.ti\n   balti  baltis\n  A balti is a vegetable or meat dish of Indian origin which is cooked and served in a bowl-shaped pan.\n  N-VAR


Words: balustrade
Meaning:
bal.us.trade\n   balustrade  balustrades\n  A balustrade is a railing or wall on a balcony or staircase.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bamboo
Meaning:
bam.boo\n   bamboo  bamboos\n  Bamboo is a tall tropical plant with hard, hollow stems. The young shoots of the plant can be eaten and the stems are used to make furniture.\n...huts with walls of bamboo.\n...bamboo shoots.\n  N-VAR


Words: bamboozle
Meaning:
bam.boo.zle\n   bamboozle  bamboozles  bamboozling  bamboozled\n  To bamboozle someone means to confuse them greatly and often trick them.\nHe bamboozled Mercer into defeat...\nHe was bamboozled by con men.\n  VERB: V n into n, be V-ed\n  = dupe


Words: ban
Meaning:
ban  bans  banning  banned\n1. To ban something means to state officially that it must not be done, shown, or used.\nCanada will ban smoking in all offices later this year.\n...a banned substance.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n  = prohibit\n=>  ban.ning      bannings\nNo reason was given for the banning of the magazine...\nOpposition groups see the bannings as the latest stage of a government clampdown.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. A ban is an official ruling that something must not be done, shown, or used.\nThe General also lifted a ban on political parties.\n  N-COUNT: oft N on n\n\n3. If you are banned from doing something, you are officially prevented from doing it.\nHe was banned from driving for three years.\n  VERB: be V-ed from n, also V n\n  = bar


Words: banal
Meaning:
ba.nal\n   banal\n  If you describe something as banal, you do not like it because you think that it is so ordinary that it is not at all effective or interesting.\nBland, banal music tinkled discreetly from hidden loudspeakers.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n  You can refer to banal things as the banal.\nThe allegations ranged from the banal to the bizarre.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n=>  ba.nal.ity      banalities\n...the banality of life...\nNeil’s ability to utter banalities never ceased to amaze me.\n  N-VAR


Words: banana
Meaning:
ba.na.na\n   banana  bananas\n1. Bananas are long curved fruit with yellow skins.\n...a bunch of bananas.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If someone is behaving in a silly or crazy way, or if they become extremely angry, you can say that they are going bananas. (INFORMAL)\nAdamson’s going to go bananas on this one.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ


Words: banana peel
Meaning:
ba.na.na peel\n   banana peel  banana peels\n  A banana peel is the same as a banana skin. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: banana republic
Meaning:
ba.na.na re.pub.lic\n   banana republic  banana republics\n  Small, poor countries that are politically unstable are sometimes referred to as banana republics. (OFFENSIVE)\n  N-COUNT


Words: banana skin
Meaning:
ba.na.na skin\n   banana skin  banana skins\n1. The thick yellow or green covering of a banana is called a banana skin. (BRIT; in AM, use banana peel)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If an important or famous person slips on a banana skin, they say or do something that makes them look stupid and causes them problems. (mainly BRIT JOURNALISM; in AM, use banana peel)\n...waiting for the government to slip on this week’s banana skin.\n  N-COUNT


Words: banana split
Meaning:
ba.na.na split\n   banana split  banana splits\n  A banana split is a kind of dessert. It consists of a banana cut in half along its length, with ice cream, nuts, and sauce on top.\n  N-COUNT


Words: band
Meaning:
band  bands  banding  banded\n1. A band is a small group of musicians who play popular music such as jazz, rock, or pop.\nHe was a drummer in a rock band...\nLocal bands provide music for dancing.\n  N-COUNT-COLL\n\n  see also one-man band\n2. A band is a group of musicians who play brass and percussion instruments.\nBands played German marches.\n  N-COUNT-COLL\n\n  see also brass band\n3. A band of people is a group of people who have joined together because they share an interest or belief.\nBands of government soldiers, rebels and just plain criminals have been roaming some neighborhoods.\n...a small but growing band of Japanese companies taking their first steps into American publishing.\n  N-COUNT-COLL: with supp\n\n4. A band is a flat, narrow strip of cloth which you wear round your head or wrists, or which forms part of a piece of clothing.\nAlmost all hospitals use a wrist-band of some kind with your name and details on it.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also armband, hatband, waistband\n5. A band is a strip of something such as colour, light, land, or cloth which contrasts with the areas on either side of it.\n...bands of natural vegetation between strips of crops...\nA band of light glowed in the space between floor and door.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n6. A band is a strip or loop of metal or other strong material which strengthens something, or which holds several things together.\nSurgeons placed a metal band around the knee cap to help it knit back together.\n...a strong band of flat muscle tissue.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also elastic band, rubber band\n7. A band is a range of numbers or values within a system of measurement.\n...a new tax band of 20p in the pound on the first .2,000 of taxable income.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n  see also waveband\n8.\n  see also wedding band


Words: band together
Meaning:
band together\n  If people band together, they meet and act as a group in order to try and achieve something.\nWomen banded together to protect each other...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: Band-Aid
Meaning:
Band-Aid  Band-Aids   also band-aid\n1. A Band-Aid is a small piece of sticky tape that you use to cover small cuts or wounds on your body. (TRADEMARK) (mainly AM; in BRIT, use plaster)\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you refer to a Band-Aid solution to a problem, you mean that you disapprove of it because you think that it will only be effective for a short period.\nWe need long-term solutions, not short-term Band-Aid ones.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval\n  = cosmetic


Words: bandage
Meaning:
band.age\n   bandage  bandages  bandaging  bandaged\n1. A bandage is a long strip of cloth which is wrapped around a wounded part of someone’s body to protect or support it.\nWe put some ointment and a bandage on his knee...\nHis chest was swathed in bandages.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you bandage a wound or part of someone’s body, you tie a bandage around it.\nApply a dressing to the wound and bandage it.\n...a bandaged hand.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n  Bandage up means the same as bandage.\nI bandaged the leg up and gave her aspirin for the pain.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, also V P n (not pron)


Words: bandanna
Meaning:
ban.dan.na\n   bandanna  bandannas   also bandana\n  A bandanna is a brightly-coloured piece of cloth which is worn around a person’s neck or head.\n  N-COUNT


Words: banded
Meaning:
band.ed\n   banded\n  If something is banded, it has one or more bands on it, often of a different colour which contrasts with the main colour.\n...a stark tower, banded in dark and light stone.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ in/with n


Words: bandit
Meaning:
ban.dit\n   bandit  bandits\n  Robbers are sometimes called bandits, especially if they are found in areas where the law has broken down.\nThis is real bandit country.\n  N-COUNT\n  = outlaw


Words: banditry
Meaning:
ban.dit.ry\n   banditry\n  Banditry is used to refer to acts of robbery and violence in areas where the rule of law has broken down.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bandleader
Meaning:
band.leader\n   bandleader  bandleaders\n  A bandleader is the person who conducts a band, especially a jazz band.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bandsaw
Meaning:
band.saw\n   bandsaw  bandsaws\n  A bandsaw is an electric saw that consists of a metal band that turns round and is used for cutting wood, metal, and other materials.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bandsman
Meaning:
bands.man\n   bandsman  bandsmen\n  Bandsmen are musicians in a band, especially a military or brass band.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: bandstand
Meaning:
band.stand\n   bandstand  bandstands\n1. A bandstand is a platform with a roof where a military band or a brass band can play in the open air.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. A bandstand is a platform inside a hall or large room where the band that is playing at a dance or other occasion stands. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: bandwagon
Meaning:
band.wagon\n   bandwagon  bandwagons\n1. You can refer to an activity or movement that has suddenly become fashionable or popular as a bandwagon.\nSo what is really happening as the information bandwagon starts to roll?\n...the environmental bandwagon.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. If someone, especially a politician, jumps or climbs on the bandwagon, they become involved in an activity or movement because it is fashionable or likely to succeed and not because they are really interested in it.\nMany farms are jumping on the bandwagon and advertising organically grown food...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing  disapproval


Words: bandwidth
Meaning:
band.width\n   bandwidth  bandwidths\n  A bandwidth is the range of frequencies used for a particular telecommunications signal, radio transmission, or computer network.\n  N-VAR


Words: bandy
Meaning:
ban.dy\n   bandy  bandies  bandying  bandied\n  If you bandy words with someone, you argue with them.\nBrand shook his head. He was tired of bandying words with the man...\nThe prosecution and defense were bandying accusations back and forth.\n  VERB: V n with n, V n adv


Words: bandy about
Meaning:
bandy about   or bandy around\n  If someone’s name or something such as an idea is bandied about or is bandied around, that person or that thing is discussed by many people in a casual way.\nYoung players now hear various sums bandied around about how much players are getting.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P


Words: bane
Meaning:
bane\n  The bane of someone or the bane of someone’s life is something that frequently makes them feel unhappy or annoyed.\nSpots can be the bane of a teenager’s life.\n  N-SING: usu the N of n


Words: bang
Meaning:
bang  bangs  banging  banged\n1. A bang is a sudden loud noise such as the noise of an explosion.\nI heard four or five loud bangs...\nShe slammed the door with a bang...\n  N-COUNT; SOUND\n\n2. If something bangs, it makes a sudden loud noise, once or several times.\nThe engine spat and banged.\n  VERB: V\n\n3. If you bang a door or if it bangs, it closes suddenly with a loud noise.\n...the sound of doors banging...\nAll up and down the street the windows bang shut...\nThe wind banged a door somewhere.\n  VERB: V, V adj, V n\n  = slam\n4. If you bang on something or if you bang it, you hit it hard, making a loud noise.\nWe could bang on the desks and shout till they let us out...\nThere is no point in shouting or banging the table.\n  VERB: V on n, V n\n\n5. If you bang something on something or if you bang it down, you quickly and violently put it on a surface, because you are angry.\nShe banged his dinner on the table...\nHe banged down the telephone.\n  VERB: V n prep, V n with adv\n\n6. If you bang a part of your body, you accidentally knock it against something and hurt yourself.\nShe’d fainted and banged her head...\nHe hurried into the hall, banging his shin against a chair in the darkness.\n  VERB: V n, V n against/on n\n\n  Bang is also a noun.\n...a nasty bang on the head.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. If you bang into something or someone, you bump or knock them hard, usually because you are not looking where you are going.\nVarious men kept banging into me in the narrow corridor.\n  VERB: V into n\n  = bump\n8. Bangs are hair which is cut so that it hangs over your forehead. (AM; in BRIT, use fringe)\n  N-PLURAL\n\n9. You can use bang to emphasize expressions that indicate an exact position or an exact time.\n...bang in the middle of the track...\nFor once you leave bang on time for work.\n  ADV: ADV prep  emphasis\n  = right\n10.\n  see also big bang theory\n11. If you say bang goes something, you mean that it is now obvious that it cannot succeed or be achieved.\nThere will be more work to do, not less. Bang goes the fantasy of retirement at 35.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n12. If something begins or ends with a bang, it begins or ends with a lot of energy, enthusiasm, or success.\nHer career began with a bang in 1986.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n13.\nto bang your head against a brick wall: see brick


Words: bang-on
Meaning:
bang-on   also bang on\n  If someone is bang-on with something, they are exactly right in their opinions or actions. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nIf we are not bang-on with our preparations then we could have problems...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ


Words: banger
Meaning:
bang.er\n   banger  bangers\n1. Bangers are sausages. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can describe a car as a banger if it is old and in very bad condition. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...this clapped-out old banger.\n  N-COUNT: usu adj N\n\n3. Bangers are fireworks that make a lot of noise. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: Bangladeshi
Meaning:
Bang.la.deshi\n   Bangladeshi  Bangladeshis\n1. Bangladeshi means belonging to or relating to Bangladesh, or to its people or culture.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. The Bangladeshis are the people who come from Bangladesh.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bangle
Meaning:
ban.gle\n   bangle  bangles\n  A bangle is a decorated metal or wooden ring that you can wear round your wrist or ankle.\n  N-COUNT


Words: banish
Meaning:
ban.ish\n   banish  banishes  banishing  banished\n1. If someone or something is banished from a place or area of activity, they are sent away from it and prevented from entering it.\nI was banished to the small bedroom upstairs...\nThey tried to banish him from politics.\n  VERB: be V-ed from/to n, V n from/to n\n  = expel\n2. If you banish something unpleasant, you get rid of it.\n...a public investment programme intended to banish the recession.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If you banish the thought of something, you stop thinking about it.\nHe has now banished all thoughts of retirement...\nThe past few days had been banished from his mind.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed from/to n


Words: banishment
Meaning:
ban.ish.ment\n   banishment\n  Banishment is the act of banishing someone or the state of being banished.\n...banishment to `Devil’s Island’.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N prep


Words: banister
Meaning:
ban.is.ter\n   banister  banisters   also bannister\n  A banister is a rail supported by posts and fixed along the side of a staircase. The plural banisters can be used to refer to one of these rails.\nI still remember sliding down the banisters.\n  N-COUNT


Words: banjo
Meaning:
ban.jo\n   banjo  banjos\n  A banjo is a musical instrument that looks like a guitar with a circular body, a long neck, and four or more strings.\n  N-VAR: oft the N


Words: bank
Meaning:
AREAS AND MASSES\n   bank  banks\n1. The banks of a river, canal, or lake are the raised areas of ground along its edge.\n...30 miles of new developments along both banks of the Thames.\n...an old warehouse on the banks of a canal.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n  = side\n2. A bank of ground is a raised area of it with a flat top and one or two sloping sides.\n...resting indolently upon a grassy bank.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A bank of something is a long high mass of it.\nOn their journey south they hit a bank of fog off the north-east coast of Scotland.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n4. A bank of things, especially machines, switches, or dials, is a row of them, or a series of rows.\nThe typical laborer now sits in front of a bank of dials.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5.\n  see also banked\n\nOTHER VERB USES\n   bank  banks  banking  banked\n  When an aircraft banks, one of its wings rises higher than the other, usually when it is changing direction.\nA plane took off and banked above the highway in front of him.\n  VERB: V\n\nFINANCE AND STORAGE\n   bank  banks  banking  banked\n1. A bank is an institution where people or businesses can keep their money.\nWhich bank offers you the service that best suits your financial needs?...\nI had .10,000 in the bank.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bank is a building where a bank offers its services.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you bank money, you pay it into a bank.\nOnce you have registered your particulars with an agency and it has banked your cheque, the process begins.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. If you bank with a particular bank, you have an account with that bank.\nMy husband has banked with the Co-op since before the war.\n  VERB: V with n\n\n5. You use bank to refer to a store of something. For example, a blood bank is a store of blood that is kept ready for use.\n...Britain’s National Police Computer, one of the largest data banks in the world.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu n N


Words: bank account
Meaning:
bank ac.count\n   bank account  bank accounts\n  A bank account is an arrangement with a bank which allows you to keep your money in the bank and to take some out when you need it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bank balance
Meaning:
bank bal.ance\n   bank balance  bank balances\n  Your bank balance is the amount of money that you have in your bank account at a particular time.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bank card
Meaning:
bank card  bank cards   also bankcard\n1. A bank card is a plastic card which your bank gives you so you can get money from your bank account using a cash machine. It is also called an ATM card in American English. In Britain, you also use bank cards to prove who you are when you pay for something by cheque.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bank card is a credit card that is supplied by a bank. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bank draft
Meaning:
bank draft bank drafts\n  A bank draft is a cheque which you can buy from a bank in order to pay someone who is not willing to accept a personal cheque.\nPayments should be made by credit card or bank draft in U.S. dollars.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bank holiday
Meaning:
bank holi.day\n   bank holiday  bank holidays\n  A bank holiday is a public holiday. (BRIT; in AM, usually use national holiday)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bank manager
Meaning:
bank man.ag.er\n   bank manager bank managers\n  A bank manager is someone who is in charge of a bank, or a particular branch of a bank, and who is involved in making decisions about whether or not to lend money to businesses and individuals. (BUSINESS)\nThis may have influenced your bank manager’s decision not to give you a loan.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bank on
Meaning:
bank on\n  If you bank on something happening, you expect it to happen and rely on it happening.\n`He’s not still there, I suppose?’.`I wouldn’t bank on that,’ she said.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n  = count on


Words: bank rate
Meaning:
bank rate  bank rates\n  The bank rate is the rate of interest at which a bank lends money, especially the minimum rate of interest that banks are allowed to charge, which is decided from time to time by the country’s central bank.\n...a sterling crisis that forced the bank rate up.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bank statement
Meaning:
bank state.ment\n   bank statement  bank statements\n  A bank statement is a printed document showing all the money paid into and taken out of a bank account. Bank statements are usually sent by a bank to a customer at regular intervals.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bankable
Meaning:
bank.able\n   bankable\n  In the entertainment industry, someone or something that is described as bankable is very popular and therefore likely to be very profitable.\nThis movie made him the most bankable star in Hollywood.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: banked
Meaning:
banked\n1. A banked stretch of road is higher on one side than the other.\nHe struggled to hold the bike down on the banked corners...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If a place is banked with something, it is piled high with that thing. If something is banked up, it is piled high.\nFlowerbeds and tubs are banked with summer bedding plants...\nThe snow was banked up along the roadside.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n  = piled


Words: banker
Meaning:
bank.er\n   banker  bankers\n  A banker is someone who works in banking at a senior level.\n...an investment banker.\n...a merchant banker.\n  N-COUNT


Words: banker’s draft
Meaning:
bank.er’s draft\n   banker’s draft banker’s drafts\n  A banker’s draft is the same as a bank draft.\nYou pay for the car by banker’s draft in the local currency.\n  N-COUNT


Words: banking
Meaning:
bank.ing\n   banking\n  Banking is the business activity of banks and similar institutions.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: banknote
Meaning:
bank.note\n   banknote  banknotes   also bank note\n  Banknotes are pieces of paper money.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bankroll
Meaning:
bank.roll\n   bankroll  bankrolls  bankrolling  bankrolled\n1. To bankroll a person, organization, or project means to provide the financial resources that they need. (mainly AM INFORMAL)\nThe company has bankrolled a couple of local movies.\n  VERB: V n\n  = finance\n2. A bankroll is the financial resources used to back a person, project, or institution. (AM)\nWe have a guaranteed minimum bankroll of .1.7m over the five LPs.\n  N-SING


Words: bankrupt
Meaning:
bank.rupt\n   bankrupt  bankrupts  bankrupting  bankrupted\n1. People or organizations that go bankrupt do not have enough money to pay their debts. (BUSINESS)\nIf the firm cannot sell its products, it will go bankrupt...\nHe was declared bankrupt after failing to pay a .114m loan guarantee.\n  ADJ\n  = insolvent\n2. To bankrupt a person or organization means to make them go bankrupt. (BUSINESS)\nThe move to the market nearly bankrupted the firm and its director...\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. A bankrupt is a person who has been declared bankrupt by a court of law. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you say that something is bankrupt, you are emphasizing that it lacks any value or worth.\nHe really thinks that European civilisation is morally bankrupt.\n  ADJ  emphasis


Words: bankruptcy
Meaning:
bank.rupt.cy\n   bankruptcy  bankruptcies\n1. Bankruptcy is the state of being bankrupt. (BUSINESS)\nMany established firms were facing bankruptcy.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = insolvency\n2. A bankruptcy is an instance of an organization or person going bankrupt. (BUSINESS)\nThe number of corporate bankruptcies climbed in August.\n  N-COUNT\n  = insolvency\n3. If you refer to something’s bankruptcy, you are emphasizing that it is completely lacking in value or worth.\nThe massacre laid bare the moral bankruptcy of the regime.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu supp N  emphasis


Words: banned substance
Meaning:
banned sub.stance\n   banned substance  banned substances\n  In sport, banned substances are drugs that competitors are not allowed to take because they could artificially improve their performance.\n  N-COUNT


Words: banner
Meaning:
ban.ner\n   banner  banners\n1. A banner is a long strip of cloth with something written on it. Banners are usually attached to two poles and carried during a protest or rally.\n...a large crowd of students carrying banners denouncing the government...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone does something under the banner of a particular cause, idea, or belief, they do it saying that they support that cause, idea, or belief.\nRussia was the first country to forge a new economic system under the banner of Marxism...\n  PHRASE: PHR n


Words: banner headline
Meaning:
ban.ner head.line\n   banner headline  banner headlines\n  A banner headline is a large headline in a newspaper that stretches across the front page.\nToday’s front page of The Sun carries a banner headline `The adulterer, the bungler and the joker.’\n  N-COUNT


Words: banns
Meaning:
banns\n  When a minister or priest reads or publishes the banns, he or she makes a public announcement in church that two people are going to be married.\n  N-PLURAL: the N


Words: banquet
Meaning:
ban.quet\n   banquet  banquets\n  A banquet is a grand formal dinner.\nLast night he attended a state banquet at Buckingham Palace.\n  N-COUNT


Words: banqueting
Meaning:
ban.quet.ing\n   banqueting\n  A banqueting hall or room is a large room where banquets are held.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: banquette
Meaning:
ban.quette\n   banquette  banquettes\n  A banquette is a long, low, cushioned seat. Banquettes are usually long enough for more than one person to sit on at a time.\n  N-COUNT


Words: banshee
Meaning:
ban.shee\n   banshee  banshees\n  In Irish folk stories, a banshee is a female spirit who warns you by her long, sad cry that someone in your family is going to die.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bantamweight
Meaning:
bantam.weight\n   bantamweight  bantamweights\n  A bantamweight is a boxer who weighs between 51 and 53.5 kilograms, or a wrestler who weighs between 52 and 57 kilograms. A bantamweight is heavier than a flyweight but lighter than a featherweight.\n...the European bantamweight title-holder.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N n


Words: banter
Meaning:
ban.ter\n   banter  banters  bantering  bantered\n1. Banter is teasing or joking talk that is amusing and friendly.\nShe heard Tom exchanging good-natured banter with Jane.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you banter with someone, you tease them or joke with them in an amusing, friendly way.\nThe soldiers bantered with him as though he was a kid brother...\nWe bantered a bit while I tried to get the car started.\n  V-RECIP: V with n, pl-n V, also V with quote (non recip)


Words: Bantu
Meaning:
Ban.tu\n   Bantu\n1. Bantu means belonging or relating to a group of peoples in central and southern Africa.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Bantu languages belong to a group of languages spoken in central and southern Africa.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: baptism
Meaning:
bap.tism\n   baptism  baptisms\n  A baptism is a Christian ceremony in which a person is baptized. Compare christening.\n  N-VAR


Words: baptism of fire
Meaning:
bap.tism of fire\n   baptism of fire  baptisms of fire\n  If someone who has just begun a new job has a baptism of fire, they immediately have to cope with very many severe difficulties and obstacles.\nIt was Mark’s first introduction to royal duties and he came through his baptism of fire unscathed.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: baptismal
Meaning:
bap.tis.mal\n   baptismal\n  Baptismal means relating to or connected with baptism. (FORMAL)\n...the baptismal ceremony.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: Baptist
Meaning:
Bap.tist\n   Baptist  Baptists\n1. A Baptist is a Christian who believes that people should not be baptized until they are old enough to understand the meaning of baptism.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Baptist means belonging or relating to Baptists.\n...a Baptist church.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: baptize
Meaning:
bap.tize\n   baptize  baptizes  baptizing  baptized\nin BRIT, also use baptise\n  When someone is baptized, water is put on their heads or they are covered with water as a sign that their sins have been forgiven and that they have become a member of the Christian Church. Compare christen.\nAt this time she decided to become a Christian and was baptised...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: bar
Meaning:
bar  bars  barring  barred\n1. A bar is a place where you can buy and drink alcoholic drinks. (mainly AM)\n...Devil’s Herd, the city’s most popular country-western bar.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bar is a room in a pub or hotel where alcoholic drinks are served. (BRIT)\nI’ll see you in the bar later...\nOn the ship there are video lounges, a bar and a small duty-free shop.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A bar is a counter on which alcoholic drinks are served.\nMichael was standing alone by the bar when Brian rejoined him...\nHe leaned forward across the bar.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also coffee bar, public bar, singles bar, snack bar, wine bar\n4. A bar is a long, straight, stiff piece of metal.\n...a brick building with bars across the ground floor windows.\n...a crowd throwing stones and iron bars.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If you say that someone is behind bars, you mean that they are in prison.\nFisher was behind bars last night, charged with attempted murder...\nNearly 5,000 people a year are put behind bars over motoring penalties.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n6. A bar of something is a piece of it which is roughly rectangular.\nWhat is your favourite chocolate bar?\n...a bar of soap.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n7. If you bar a door, you place something in front of it or a piece of wood or metal across it in order to prevent it from being opened.\nFor added safety, bar the door to the kitchen.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  barred\nThe windows were closed and shuttered, the door was barred.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n8. If you bar someone’s way, you prevent them from going somewhere or entering a place, by blocking their path.\nHe stepped in front of her, barring her way.\n  VERB: V n\n  = block\n9. If someone is barred from a place or from doing something, they are officially forbidden to go there or to do it.\nAmnesty workers have been barred from Sri Lanka since 1982...\nMany jobs were barred to them.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed from n, be V-ed to n\n  = ban\n10. If something is a bar to doing a particular thing, it prevents someone from doing it.\nOne of the fundamental bars to communication is the lack of a universally spoken, common language...\n  N-COUNT: usu N to n/-ing\n\n11. If you say that there are no holds barred when people are fighting or competing for something, you mean that they are no longer following any rules in their efforts to win.\nIt is a war with no holds barred and we must prepare to resist...\n  PHRASE\n\n12. You can use bar when you mean `except’. For example, all the work bar the washing means all the work except the washing.\nBar a plateau in 1989, there has been a rise in inflation ever since the mid-1980’s...\nThe aim of the service was to offer everything the independent investor wanted, bar advice.\n  PREP\n  = save\n  see also barring\n  You use bar none to add emphasis to a statement that someone or something is the best of their kind.\nHe is simply the best goalscorer we have ever had, bar none.\n  PHRASE  emphasis\n  = without exception\n13. The Bar is used to refer to the profession of a barrister in England, or of any kind of lawyer in the United States.\nRobert was planning to read for the Bar.\n  N-PROPER: the N\n\n14. In music, a bar is one of the several short parts of the same length into which a piece of music is divided. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use measure)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bar chart
Meaning:
bar chart  bar charts\n  A bar chart is a graph which uses parallel rectangular shapes to represent changes in the size, value, or rate of something or to compare the amount of something relating to a number of different countries or groups. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use bar graph)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bar code
Meaning:
bar code  bar codes   also barcode\n  A bar code is an arrangement of numbers and parallel lines that is printed on products to be sold in shops. The bar code can be read by computers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bar mitzvah
Meaning:
bar mitz.vah\n   bar mitzvah  bar mitzvahs\n  A bar mitzvah is a ceremony that takes place on the thirteenth birthday of a Jewish boy, after which he is regarded as an adult.\n  N-COUNT


Words: barb
Meaning:
barb  barbs\n1. A barb is a sharp curved point near the end of an arrow or fish-hook which makes it difficult to pull out.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A barb is an unkind remark meant as a criticism of someone or something.\nThe barb stung her exactly the way he hoped it would.\n  N-COUNT\n  = gibe


Words: Barbadian
Meaning:
Bar.ba.dian\n   Barbadian  Barbadians\n1. Barbadian means belonging or relating to Barbados or its people.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Barbadian is someone who comes from Barbados.\n  N-COUNT


Words: barbarian
Meaning:
bar.bar.ian\n   barbarian  barbarians\n1. In former times, barbarians were people from other countries who were thought to be uncivilized and violent.\nThe Roman Empire was overrun by Nordic barbarians.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe someone as a barbarian, you disapprove of them because they behave in a way that is cruel or uncivilized.\nOur maths teacher was a bully and a complete barbarian...\nWe need to fight this barbarian attitude to science.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: barbaric
Meaning:
bar.bar.ic\n   barbaric\n  If you describe someone’s behaviour as barbaric, you strongly disapprove of it because you think that it is extremely cruel or uncivilized.\nThis barbaric treatment of animals has no place in any decent society.\n...a particularly barbaric act of violence.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: barbarism
Meaning:
bar.ba.rism\n   barbarism\n  If you refer to someone’s behaviour as barbarism, you strongly disapprove of it because you think that it is extremely cruel or uncivilized.\nWe do not ask for the death penalty: barbarism must not be met with barbarism.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: barbarity
Meaning:
bar.bar.ity\n   barbarity  barbarities\n  If you refer to someone’s behaviour as barbarity, you strongly disapprove of it because you think that it is extremely cruel.\n...the barbarity of war.\n  N-VAR  disapproval\n  = savagery


Words: barbarous
Meaning:
bar.ba.rous\n   barbarous\n1. If you describe something as barbarous, you strongly disapprove of it because you think that it is rough and uncivilized.\nHe thought the poetry of Whitman barbarous.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n2. If you describe something as barbarous, you strongly disapprove of it because you think that it is extremely cruel.\n...a barbarous attack.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = barbaric


Words: barbecue
Meaning:
bar.becue\n   barbecue  barbecues  barbecuing  barbecued\nin AM, also use barbeque, Bar-B-Q\n1. A barbecue is a piece of equipment which you use for cooking on in the open air.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone has a barbecue, they cook food on a barbecue in the open air.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you barbecue food, especially meat, you cook it on a barbecue.\nTuna can be grilled, fried or barbecued...\nHere’s a way of barbecuing corn-on-the-cob that I learned in the States.\n...barbecued chicken.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n, V-ed, also V


Words: barbed
Meaning:
barbed\n  A barbed remark or joke seems polite or humorous, but contains a cleverly hidden criticism.\n...barbed comments.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = snide


Words: barbed wire
Meaning:
barbed wire\n  Barbed wire is strong wire with sharp points sticking out of it, and is used to make fences.\nThe factory was surrounded by barbed wire.\n...a barbed-wire fence.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: barber
Meaning:
bar.ber\n   barber  barbers\n1. A barber is a man whose job is cutting men’s hair.\n...a barber’s shop in south London.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A barber’s is a shop where a barber works. (BRIT; in AM, use barber shop)\nMy Mum took me to the barber’s.\n  N-SING


Words: barber shop
Meaning:
bar.ber shop\n   barber shop  barber shops\nin AM, also use barbershop\n  A barber shop is a shop where a barber works.\n  N-COUNT


Words: barbershop
Meaning:
barber.shop\n   barbershop  barbershops\n1. Barbershop is a style of singing where a small group of people, usually men, sing in close harmony and without any musical instruments accompanying them.\n...a barbershop quartet.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n2.\nsee barber shop


Words: barbiturate
Meaning:
bar.bi.tu.rate\n   barbiturate  barbiturates\n  A barbiturate is a drug which people take to make them calm or to help them to sleep.\nShe was addicted to barbiturates.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Bard
Meaning:
Bard\n  People sometimes refer to William Shakespeare as the Bard.\n...a new production of the Bard’s early tragedy, Richard III.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: bare
Meaning:
bare  barer  barest  bares  baring  bared\n1. If a part of your body is bare, it is not covered by any clothing.\nShe was wearing only a thin robe over a flimsy nightdress, and her feet were bare...\nShe had bare arms and a bare neck.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A bare surface is not covered or decorated with anything.\nThey would have liked bare wooden floors throughout the house.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. If a tree or a branch is bare, it has no leaves on it.\n...an old, twisted tree, its bark shaggy, many of its limbs brittle and bare.\n  ADJ\n\n4. If a room, cupboard, or shelf is bare, it is empty.\nHis fridge was bare apart from three very withered tomatoes...\nHe led me through to a bare, draughty interviewing room.\n  ADJ\n\n5. An area of ground that is bare has no plants growing on it.\nThat’s probably the most bare, bleak, barren and inhospitable island I’ve ever seen.\n  ADJ\n\n6. If someone gives you the bare facts or the barest details of something, they tell you only the most basic and important things.\nNewspaper reporters were given nothing but the bare facts by the Superintendent in charge of the investigation.\n  ADJ: det ADJ\n  = plain\n7. If you talk about the bare minimum or the bare essentials, you mean the very least that is necessary.\nThe army would try to hold the western desert with a bare minimum of forces...\nThese are the bare essentials you’ll need to dress your baby during the first few months.\n  ADJ: det ADJ\n  = absolute\n8. Bare is used in front of an amount to emphasize how small it is.\nSales are growing for premium wines, but at a bare 2 percent a year.\n  ADJ: a ADJ amount  emphasis\n  = mere\n9. If you bare something, you uncover it and show it. (WRITTEN)\nWalsh bared his teeth in a grin...\n  VERB: V n\n\n10.\nbare bones: see bone\n11. If someone does something with their bare hands, they do it without using any weapons or tools.\nPolice believe the killer punched her to death with his bare hands...\nRescuers were using their bare hands to reach the trapped miners.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n12. If you lay something bare, you uncover it completely so that it can then be seen.\nThe clearing out of disused workshops laid bare thousands of Italianate glazed tiles.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = expose\n13. If you lay bare something or someone, you reveal or expose them.\nNo one wants to expose themselves, lay their feelings bare.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: bare-faced
Meaning:
bare-faced\nin AM and sometimes in BRIT, use barefaced\n  You use bare-faced to describe someone’s behaviour when you want to emphasize that they do not care that they are behaving wrongly.\nWhat bare-faced cheek!\n...crooked politicians who tell bare-faced lies.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n  = brazen, shameless


Words: bareback
Meaning:
bare.back\n   bareback\n  If you ride bareback, you ride a horse without a saddle.\nI rode bareback to the paddock.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  Bareback is also an adjective.\nShe dreamed of being a bareback rider in a circus.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: barefoot
Meaning:
bare.foot\n   barefoot   also barefooted\n  Someone who is barefoot or barefooted is not wearing anything on their feet.\nI wore a white dress and was barefoot...\nAlan came running barefoot through the house.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, ADJ after v, ADJ n


Words: bareheaded
Meaning:
bare.headed\n   bareheaded\n  Someone who is bareheaded is not wearing a hat or any other covering on their head.\nHe was bareheaded in the rain...\nI rode bareheaded...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, ADJ after v


Words: barely
Meaning:
bare.ly\n   barely\n1. You use barely to say that something is only just true or only just the case.\nAnastasia could barely remember the ride to the hospital...\nIt was 90 degrees and the air conditioning barely cooled the room...\nHis voice was barely audible...\n  ADV: ADV before v, ADV group, oft ADV amount\n  = scarcely\n2. If you say that one thing had barely happened when something else happened, you mean that the first event was followed immediately by the second.\nThe Boeing 767 had barely taxied to a halt before its doors were flung open...\n  ADV: ADV before v


Words: barfly
Meaning:
bar.fly\n   barfly  barflies\n  A barfly is a person who spends a lot of time drinking in bars (AM INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bargain
Meaning:
bar.gain\n   bargain  bargains  bargaining  bargained\n1. Something that is a bargain is good value for money, usually because it has been sold at a lower price than normal.\nAt this price the wine is a bargain...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bargain is an agreement, especially a formal business agreement, in which two people or groups agree what each of them will do, pay, or receive.\nI’ll make a bargain with you. I’ll play hostess if you’ll include Matthew in your guest-list...\nThe treaty was based on a bargain between the French and German governments.\n  N-COUNT\n  = deal\n3. When people bargain with each other, they discuss what each of them will do, pay, or receive.\nThey prefer to bargain with individual clients, for cash...\nShop in small local markets and don’t be afraid to bargain.\n  VERB: V with n, V\n  = negotiate\n=>  bar.gain.er      bargainers\nA union bargainer said that those jobs have been saved.\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  bar.gain.ing\nThe government has called for sensible pay bargaining.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft supp N\n\n4. If people drive a hard bargain, they argue with determination in order to achieve a deal which is favourable to themselves.\n...a law firm with a reputation for driving a hard bargain.\n  PHRASE: V, ADJ, and N inflect\n\n5. You use into the bargain when mentioning an additional quantity, feature, fact, or action, to emphasize the fact that it is also involved. You can also say in the bargain in American English.\nThis machine is designed to save you effort, and keep your work surfaces tidy into the bargain...\nShe is rich. Now you say she is a beauty into the bargain.\n  PHRASE: cl PHR  emphasis\n\n6. If you keep your side of the bargain, you do what you have promised or arranged to do.\nDealing with this dictator wasn’t an option. He wouldn’t have kept his side of the bargain.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: bargain basement
Meaning:
bar.gain base.ment\n   bargain basement   also bargain-basement\n  If you refer to something as a bargain basement thing, you mean that it is cheap and not very good quality.\n...a bargain-basement rock musical.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: bargain for
Meaning:
bargain for   or bargain on\n  If you have not bargained for or bargained on something that happens, you did not expect it to happen and so feel surprised or worried by it.\nThe effects of this policy were more than the government had bargained for...\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu with brd-neg, V P n


Words: bargain hunter
Meaning:
bar.gain hunt.er\n   bargain hunter  bargain hunters   also bargain-hunter\n  A bargain hunter is someone who is looking for goods that are value for money, usually because they are on sale at a lower price than normal.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bargaining chip
Meaning:
bar.gain.ing chip\n   bargaining chip  bargaining chips\n  In negotiations with other people, a bargaining chip is something that you are prepared to give up in order to obtain what you want.\nRubio suggests that oil be used as a bargaining chip in any trade talks.\n  N-COUNT\n  = bargaining counter


Words: bargaining counter
Meaning:
bar.gain.ing coun.ter\n   bargaining counter  bargaining counters\n  A bargaining counter is the same as a bargaining chip. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: barge
Meaning:
barge  barges  barging  barged\n1. A barge is a long, narrow boat with a flat bottom. Barges are used for carrying heavy loads, especially on canals.\nCarrying goods by train costs nearly three times more than carrying them by barge.\n  N-COUNT: also by N\n\n2. If you barge into a place or barge through it, you rush or push into it in a rough and rude way. (INFORMAL)\nStudents tried to barge into the secretariat buildings...\n  VERB: V into/through n\n\n3. If you barge into someone or barge past them, you bump against them roughly and rudely. (INFORMAL)\nHe barged past her and sprang at Gillian, knocking her to the floor.\n  VERB: V into/past n


Words: barge in
Meaning:
barge in\n  If you barge in or barge in on someone, you rudely interrupt what they are doing or saying. (INFORMAL)\nI’m sorry to barge in like this, but I have a problem I hope you can solve.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, also V P on n


Words: barge pole
Meaning:
barge pole   also bargepole\n  If you say that you wouldn’t touch something with a barge pole, you mean that you would not want to have anything to do with it, either because you do not trust it, or because you do not like it. (BRIT INFORMAL; in AM, use wouldn’t touch something with a ten-foot pole)\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: baritone
Meaning:
bari.tone\n   baritone  baritones\n  In music, a baritone is a man with a fairly deep singing voice that is lower than that of a tenor but higher than that of a bass.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bark
Meaning:
bark  barks  barking  barked\n1. When a dog barks, it makes a short, loud noise, once or several times.\nDon’t let the dogs bark...\nA small dog barked at a seagull he was chasing.\n  VERB: V, V at n\n\n  Bark is also a noun.\nThe Doberman let out a string of roaring barks.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you bark at someone, you shout at them aggressively in a loud, rough voice.\nI didn’t mean to bark at you...\nA policeman held his gun in both hands and barked an order.\n  VERB: V at n, V n, also V with quote\n\n3. Bark is the tough material that covers the outside of a tree.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. If you say that someone’s bark is worse than their bite, you mean that they seem much more unpleasant or hostile than they really are. (INFORMAL)\nShe can be a bit tetchy but her bark is worse than her bite.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n5.\nto be barking up the wrong tree: see tree


Words: barkeeper
Meaning:
bar.keep.er\n   barkeeper  barkeepers\n  A barkeeper is someone who serves drinks behind a bar. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: barking mad
Meaning:
bark.ing mad\n   barking mad\n  If you say that someone is barking mad, you mean that they are insane or are acting very strangely. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThe builder looked at me as though I was barking mad.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ  disapproval\n  = bonkers


Words: barley
Meaning:
bar.ley\n   barley\n  Barley is a grain that is used to make food, beer, and whisky.\n...fields of ripening wheat and barley.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: barley water
Meaning:
bar.ley wa.ter\n   barley water\n  Barley water is a drink made from barley. It is sometimes flavoured with orange or lemon.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: barmaid
Meaning:
bar.maid\n   barmaid  barmaids\n  A barmaid is a woman who serves drinks behind a bar. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use bartender)\n  N-COUNT


Words: barman
Meaning:
bar.man\n   barman  barmen\n  A barman is a man who serves drinks behind a bar. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use bartender)\n  N-COUNT


Words: barmy
Meaning:
bar.my\n   barmy  barmier  barmiest\n  If you say that someone or something is barmy, you mean that they are slightly crazy or very foolish. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...a barmy idea.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = crazy


Words: barn dance
Meaning:
barn dance  barn dances\n  A barn dance is a social event people go to for country dancing.\n  N-COUNT


Words: barnacle
Meaning:
bar.na.cle\n   barnacle  barnacles\n  Barnacles are small shellfish that fix themselves tightly to rocks and the bottoms of boats.\n  N-COUNT


Words: barnstorm
Meaning:
barn.storm\n   barnstorm  barnstorms  barnstorming  barnstormed\n  When people such as politicians or performers barnstorm, they travel around the country making speeches or giving shows. (AM)\nHe barnstormed across the nation, rallying the people to the cause...\nThe president travels thousands of miles as he barnstorms the country.\n...his barnstorming campaign for the governorship of Louisiana.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V n, V-ing, also V


Words: barnstorming
Meaning:
barn.storm.ing\n   barnstorming\n  A barnstorming performance is full of energy and very exciting to watch. (BRIT)\n...a barnstorming performance by rock legends The Who.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  approval


Words: barnyard
Meaning:
barn.yard\n   barnyard  barnyards\n  On a farm, the barnyard is the area in front of or next to a barn.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft the N


Words: barometer
Meaning:
ba.rom.eter\n   barometer  barometers\n1. A barometer is an instrument that measures air pressure and shows when the weather is changing.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If something is a barometer of a particular situation, it indicates how things are changing or how things are likely to develop.\nIn past presidential elections, Missouri has been a barometer of the rest of the country...\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n


Words: baron
Meaning:
bar.on\n   baron  barons\n1. A baron is a man who is a member of the lowest rank of the nobility. (BRIT)\n...their stepfather, Baron Michael Distemple.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE\n\n2. You can use baron to refer to someone who controls a large amount of a particular industry or activity and who is therefore extremely powerful.\n...the battle against the drug barons.\n...the British press barons.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu n N


Words: baroness
Meaning:
bar.on.ess\n   baroness  baronesses\n  A baroness is a woman who is a member of the lowest rank of the nobility, or who is the wife of a baron. (BRIT)\n...Baroness Blatch.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: baronet
Meaning:
bar.on.et\n   baronet  baronets\n  A baronet is a man who has been made a knight. When a baronet dies, the title is passed on to his son. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: baronial
Meaning:
ba.ro.nial\n   baronial\n1. If you describe a house or room as baronial, you mean that it is large, impressive, and old-fashioned in appearance, and looks as if it belongs to someone from the upper classes.\n...baronial manor houses...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Baronial means relating to a baron or barons.\n...the baronial feuding of the Middle Ages.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: baroque
Meaning:
ba.roque\n   baroque\n1. Baroque architecture and art is an elaborate style of architecture and art that was popular in Europe in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.\nThe baroque church of San Leonardo is worth a quick look.\n...a collection of treasures dating from the Middle Ages to the Baroque period.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  The baroque style and period in art and architecture are sometimes referred to as the baroque.\n...the seventeenth-century taste for the baroque.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n2. Baroque music is a style of European music that was written in the 18th century.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: barrack
Meaning:
bar.rack\n   barrack  barracks  barracking  barracked\n1. A barracks is a building or group of buildings where soldiers or other members of the armed forces live and work. `Barracks’ is the singular and plural form.\n...an army barracks in the north of the city.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names\n\n2. If people in an audience barrack public speakers or performers, they interrupt them, for example by making rude remarks. (BRIT)\nFans gained more enjoyment barracking him than cheering on the team...\n  VERB: V n\n  = heckle\n=>  bar.rack.ing\nHe was affected badly by the barracking that he got from the crowd.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = heckling


Words: barracuda
Meaning:
bar.ra.cu.da\n   barracuda  barracudas  or barracuda\n  A barracuda is a large tropical sea fish that eats other fish.\n  N-COUNT


Words: barrage
Meaning:
bar.rage\n   barrage  barrages  barraging  barraged\n1. A barrage is continuous firing on an area with large guns and tanks.\nThe two fighters were driven off by a barrage of anti-aircraft fire.\n  N-COUNT\n  = bombardment\n2. A barrage of something such as criticism or complaints is a large number of them directed at someone, often in an aggressive way.\nHe was faced with a barrage of angry questions from the floor.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n\n\n3. If you are barraged by people or things, you have to deal with a great number of people or things you would rather avoid.\nDoctors are complaining about being barraged by drug-company salesmen...\nHughes was barraged with phone calls from friends who were furious at the indiscreet disclosures.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed by n, be V-ed with n\n\n4. A barrage is a structure that is built across a river to control the level of the water.\n...a hydro-electric tidal barrage.\n  N-COUNT


Words: barrage balloon
Meaning:
bar.rage bal.loon\n   barrage balloon  barrage balloons\n  Barrage balloons are large balloons which are fixed to the ground by strong steel cables. They are used in wartime, when the cables are intended to destroy low-flying enemy aircraft.\n  N-COUNT


Words: barrel
Meaning:
bar.rel\n   barrel  barrels  barrelling  barrelled\nin AM, use barreling, barreled\n1. A barrel is a large, round container for liquids or food.\nThe wine is aged for almost a year in oak barrels.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In the oil industry, a barrel is a unit of measurement equal to 159 litres.\nIn 1989, Kuwait was exporting 1.5 million barrels of oil a day...\nOil prices were closing at $19.76 a barrel.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n3. The barrel of a gun is the tube through which the bullet moves when the gun is fired.\nHe pushed the barrel of the gun into the other man’s open mouth.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n, n N\n\n4. If a vehicle or person is barreling in a particular direction, they are moving very quickly in that direction. (mainly AM)\nThe car was barreling down the street at a crazy speed.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n  = career\n5.\n  see also pork barrel\n6. If you say, for example, that someone moves or buys something lock, stock, and barrel, you are emphasizing that they move or buy every part or item of it.\nThey dug up their New Jersey garden and moved it lock, stock, and barrel back home.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v  emphasis\n\n7. If you say that someone is scraping the barrel, or scraping the bottom of the barrel, you disapprove of the fact that they are using or doing something of extremely poor quality. (INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE: V inflects  disapproval


Words: barrel organ
Meaning:
bar.rel or.gan\n   barrel organ  barrel organs\n  A barrel organ is a large machine that plays music when you turn the handle on the side. Barrel organs used to be played in the street to entertain people.\n  N-COUNT


Words: barren
Meaning:
bar.ren\n   barren\n1. A barren landscape is dry and bare, and has very few plants and no trees.\n...the Tibetan landscape of high barren mountains.\n  ADJ\n  !=fertile\n2. Barren land consists of soil that is so poor that plants cannot grow in it.\nHe also wants to use the water to irrigate barren desert land.\n  ADJ\n  = infertile\n3. If you describe something such as an activity or a period of your life as barren, you mean that you achieve no success during it or that it has no useful results. (WRITTEN)\n...politics that are banal and barren of purpose.\n...the player, who ended a 14-month barren spell by winning the Tokyo event in October...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ of n\n\n4. If you describe a room or a place as barren, you do not like it because it has almost no furniture or other objects in it. (WRITTEN)\nThe room was austere, nearly barren of furniture or decoration...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ of n  disapproval\n\n5. A barren woman or female animal is unable to have babies. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nHe prayed that his barren wife would one day have a child.\n  ADJ\n  = infertile


Words: barricade
Meaning:
bar.ri.cade\n   barricade  barricades  barricading  barricaded\n1. A barricade is a line of vehicles or other objects placed across a road or open space to stop people getting past, for example during street fighting or as a protest.\nLarge areas of the city have been closed off by barricades set up by the demonstrators.\n  N-COUNT\n  = blockade\n2. If you barricade something such as a road or an entrance, you place a barricade or barrier across it, usually to stop someone getting in.\nThe rioters barricaded streets with piles of blazing tyres...\nThe doors had been barricaded.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n3. If you barricade yourself inside a room or building, you place barriers across the door or entrance so that other people cannot get in.\nThe students have barricaded themselves into their dormitory building...\nAbout forty prisoners are still barricaded inside the wrecked buildings.\n  VERB: V pron-refl prep/adv, V-ed


Words: barrier
Meaning:
bar.ri.er\n   barrier  barriers\n1. A barrier is something such as a rule, law, or policy that makes it difficult or impossible for something to happen or be achieved.\nDuties and taxes are the most obvious barrier to free trade.\n  N-COUNT: oft N to/against/between n\n  = obstacle\n2. A barrier is a problem that prevents two people or groups from agreeing, communicating, or working with each other.\nThere is no reason why love shouldn’t cross the age barrier...\nWhen you get involved in sports and athletes, a lot of the racial barriers are broken down.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N, N between pl-n\n\n3. A barrier is something such as a fence or wall that is put in place to prevent people from moving easily from one area to another.\nThe demonstrators broke through heavy police barriers...\nAs each woman reached the barrier one of the men glanced at her papers.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A barrier is an object or layer that physically prevents something from moving from one place to another.\n...a severe storm, which destroyed a natural barrier between the house and the lake...\nThe packaging must provide an effective barrier to prevent contamination of the product.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n5. You can refer to a particular number or amount as a barrier when you think it is significant, because it is difficult or unusual to go above it.\nThey are fearful that unemployment will soon break the barrier of three million...\n  N-SING: the N, with supp\n\n6.\n  see also crash barrier, sound barrier


Words: barrier method
Meaning:
bar.ri.er meth.od\n   barrier method  barrier methods\n  Barrier methods of contraception involve the use of condoms, diaphragms, or other devices that physically prevent the sperm from reaching the egg.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: barring
Meaning:
bar.ring\n   barring\n  You use barring to indicate that the person, thing, or event that you are mentioning is an exception to your statement.\nBarring accidents, I believe they will succeed.\n  PREP


Words: barrio
Meaning:
bar.rio\n   barrio  barrios\n1. A barrio is a mainly Spanish-speaking area in an American city. (AM)\n...the barrios of Santa Cruz.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A barrio is an urban district in a Spanish-speaking country. (mainly AM)\n...the barrios of Mexico City.\n  N-COUNT


Words: barrister
Meaning:
bar.ris.ter\n   barrister  barristers\n  In England and Wales, a barrister is a lawyer who represents clients in the higher courts of law. Compare solicitor.\n  N-COUNT


Words: barroom
Meaning:
bar.room\n   barroom  barrooms   also bar-room\n  A barroom is a room or building in which alcoholic drinks are served over a counter. (AM; in BRIT, usually use bar, pub)\n  N-COUNT


Words: barrow
Meaning:
bar.row\n   barrow  barrows\n1. A barrow is the same as a wheelbarrow.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A barrow is a cart from which fruit or other goods are sold in the street. (BRIT; in AM, use pushcart)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A barrow is a large structure made of earth that people used to build over graves in ancient times.\n  N-COUNT


Words: barrow boy
Meaning:
bar.row boy\n   barrow boy  barrow boys\n  A barrow boy is a man or boy who sells fruit or other goods from a barrow in the street. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bartender
Meaning:
bar.tender\n   bartender  bartenders\n  A bartender is a person who serves drinks behind a bar. (AM; in BRIT, use barman, barmaid)\n  N-COUNT


Words: barter
Meaning:
bar.ter\n   barter  barters  bartering  bartered\n  If you barter goods, you exchange them for other goods, rather than selling them for money.\nThey have been bartering wheat for cotton and timber...\nThe market-place and street were crowded with those who’d come to barter...\nTraders came to barter horses.\n  VERB: V n for n, V, V n\n  = trade\n  Barter is also a noun.\nOverall, barter is a very inefficient means of organizing transactions.\n...a barter economy.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: bas-relief
Meaning:
bas-relief  bas-reliefs\n1. Bas-relief is a technique of sculpture in which shapes are carved so that they stand out from the background.\n...a classic white bas-relief design.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A bas-relief is a sculpture carved on a surface so that it stands out from the background.\n...columns decorated with bas-reliefs.\n  N-COUNT


Words: basal
Meaning:
ba.sal\n   basal\n  Basal means relating to or forming the base of something. (TECHNICAL)\n...the basal layer of the skin.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: basalt
Meaning:
bas.alt\n   basalt  basalts\n  Basalt is a type of black rock that is produced by volcanoes.\n  N-MASS


Words: base
Meaning:
base  bases  basing  based  baser  basest\n1. The base of something is its lowest edge or part.\nThere was a cycle path running along this side of the wall, right at its base...\nLine the base and sides of a 20cm deep round cake tin with paper.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N of n\n  = bottom  !=top\n2. The base of something is the lowest part of it, where it is attached to something else.\nThe surgeon placed catheters through the veins and arteries near the base of the head.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N of n\n\n3. The base of an object such as a box or vase is the lower surface of it that touches the surface it rests on.\nRemove from the heat and plunge the base of the pan into a bowl of very cold water.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss\n  = bottom, underneath\n4. The base of an object that has several sections and that rests on a surface is the lower section of it.\nThe mattress is best on a solid bed base...\nThe clock stands on an oval marble base, enclosed by a glass dome.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft n N\n\n5. A base is a layer of something which will have another layer added to it.\nSpoon the mixture on to the biscuit base and cook in a pre-heated oven...\nOn many modern wooden boats, epoxy coatings will have been used as a base for varnishing.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n6. A position or thing that is a base for something is one from which that thing can be developed or achieved.\nThe family base was crucial to my development.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp\n  = basis, foundation\n7. If you base one thing on another thing, the first thing develops from the second thing.\nHe based his conclusions on the evidence given by the captured prisoners.\n  VERB: V n on/upon n\n\n=>  based\nThree of the new products are based on traditional herbal medicines...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ on/upon n\n\n8. A company’s client base or customer base is the group of regular clients or customers that the company gets most of its income from. (BUSINESS)\nThe company has been expanding its customer base using trade magazine advertising.\n  N-COUNT\n\n9. A military base is a place which part of the armed forces works from.\nGunfire was heard at an army base close to the airport.\n...a massive air base in eastern Saudi Arabia.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n10. Your base is the main place where you work, stay, or live.\nFor most of the spring and early summer her base was her home in Scotland.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N\n\n11. If a place is a base for a certain activity, the activity can be carried out at that place or from that place.\nThe two hotel-restaurants are attractive bases from which to explore southeast Tuscany...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N prep\n\n12. The base of a substance such as paint or food is the main ingredient of it, to which other substances can be added.\nDrain off any excess marinade and use it as a base for a pouring sauce...\nOils may be mixed with a base oil and massaged into the skin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n13. A base is a system of counting and expressing numbers. The decimal system uses base 10, and the binary system uses base 2.\n  N-COUNT: also N num\n\n14. A base in baseball, softball, or rounders is one of the places at each corner of the square on the pitch.\n  N-COUNT


Words: base metal
Meaning:
base met.al\n   base metal  base metals\n  A base metal is a metal such as copper, zinc, tin, or lead that is not a precious metal.\n  N-VAR\n  !=precious metal


Words: base rate
Meaning:
base rate  base rates\n  In Britain, the base rate is the rate of interest that banks use as a basis when they are calculating the rates that they charge on loans. (BUSINESS)\nBank base rates of 7 per cent are too high.\n  N-COUNT


Words: baseball
Meaning:
base.ball\n   baseball  baseballs\n1. In America, baseball is a game played by two teams of nine players. Each player from one team hits a ball with a bat and then tries to run around three bases and get to the home base before the other team can get the ball back.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A baseball is a small hard ball which is used in the game of baseball.\n  N-COUNT


Words: baseboard
Meaning:
base.board\n   baseboard  baseboards\n  A baseboard is a narrow length of wood which goes along the bottom of a wall in a room and makes a border between the walls and the floor. (AM; in BRIT, use skirting board)\n  N-COUNT


Words: based
Meaning:
based\n  If you are based in a particular place, that is the place where you live or do most of your work. See also base.\nBoth firms are based in Kent...\nBased on the edge of Lake Matt, Sunbeam Yachts started boatbuilding in 1870.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n  = located


Words: baseless
Meaning:
base.less\n   baseless\n  If you describe an accusation, rumour, or report as baseless, you mean that it is not true and is not based on facts.\nThe charges against her are baseless.\n...baseless allegations of drug taking.\n  ADJ\n  = unfounded


Words: baseline
Meaning:
base.line\n   baseline  baselines   also base-line\n1. The baseline of a tennis, badminton, or basketball court is one of the lines at each end of the court that mark the limits of play.\nMartinez, when she served, usually stayed on the baseline.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. In baseball, the baseline is the line that a player must not cross when running between bases.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n3. A baseline is a value or starting point on a scale with which other values can be compared.\nYou’ll need such information to use as a baseline for measuring progress.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N for n/-ing


Words: basement
Meaning:
base.ment\n   basement  basements\n  The basement of a building is a floor built partly or completely below ground level.\nThey bought an old schoolhouse to live in and built a workshop in the basement...\n  N-COUNT


Words: bases
Meaning:
Pronounced   for meaning 1. Pronounced   and hyphenated ba.ses for meaning 2.\n1. Bases is the plural of base.\n\n2. Bases is the plural of basis.


Words: bash
Meaning:
bash  bashes  bashing  bashed\n1. A bash is a party or celebration, especially a large one held by an official organization or attended by famous people. (INFORMAL)\nHe threw one of the biggest showbiz bashes of the year as a 36th birthday party for Jerry Hall.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone bashes you, they attack you by hitting or punching you hard. (INFORMAL)\nIf someone tried to bash my best mate they would have to bash me as well...\nI bashed him on the head and dumped him in the cold, cold water...\nTwo women were hurt and the chef was bashed over the head with a bottle.\n  VERB: V n, V n prep/adv, be/get V-ed prep/adv, also be/get V-ed\n\n3. If you bash something, you hit it hard in a rough or careless way. (INFORMAL)\nToo many golfers try to bash the ball out of sand. That spells disaster...\nA stand-in drummer bashes on a single snare and a pair of cymbals.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V prep/adv, also V n\n\n4. If you get a bash on a part of your body, someone or something hits you hard, or you bump into something. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu N on n\n  = knock\n5. To bash someone means to criticize them severely, usually in a public way. (JOURNALISM)\nThe President could continue to bash Democrats as being soft on crime.\n  VERB: V n\n\n6.\n  see also -bashing


Words: bashful
Meaning:
bash.ful\n   bashful\n  Someone who is bashful is shy and easily embarrassed.\nHe seemed bashful and awkward...\n...a bashful young lady.\n  ADJ\n  = shy\n=>  bash.ful.ly\n`No,’ Wang Fu said bashfully.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n=>  bash.ful.ness\nI was overcome with bashfulness when I met her.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: basic
Meaning:
ba.sic\n   basic\n1. You use basic to describe things, activities, and principles that are very important or necessary, and on which others depend.\nOne of the most basic requirements for any form of angling is a sharp hook.\n...the basic skills of reading, writing and communicating.\n...the basic laws of physics...\nAccess to justice is a basic right.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = fundamental\n2. Basic goods and services are very simple ones which every human being needs. You can also refer to people’s basic needs for such goods and services.\n...shortages of even the most basic foodstuffs...\nHospitals lack even basic drugs for surgical operations.\n...the basic needs of food and water.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. If one thing is basic to another, it is absolutely necessary to it, and the second thing cannot exist, succeed, or be imagined without it.\n...an oily liquid, basic to the manufacture of a host of other chemical substances...\nThere are certain ethical principles that are basic to all the great religions.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to n\n  = central\n4. You can use basic to emphasize that you are referring to what you consider to be the most important aspect of a situation, and that you are not concerned with less important details.\nThere are three basic types of tea...\nThe basic design changed little from that patented by Edison more than 100 years ago...\nThe basic point is that sanctions cannot be counted on to produce a sure result.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n  = fundamental\n5. You can use basic to describe something that is very simple in style and has only the most necessary features, without any luxuries.\nWe provide 2-person tents and basic cooking and camping equipment.\n...the extremely basic hotel room.\n  ADJ\n\n6. Basic is used to describe a price or someone’s income when this does not include any additional amounts.\n...an increase of more than twenty per cent on the basic pay of a typical coalface worker...\nThe basic price for a 10-minute call is only .2.49.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n7. The basic rate of income tax is the lowest or most common rate, which applies to people who earn average incomes.\nAll this is to be done without big rises in the basic level of taxation.\n...a basic-rate taxpayer.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: basic training
Meaning:
ba.sic train.ing\n   basic training\n  Basic training is the training that someone receives when they first join the armed forces. (AM)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: basically
Meaning:
ba.si.cal.ly\n   basically\n1. You use basically for emphasis when you are stating an opinion, or when you are making an important statement about something.\nThis gun is designed for one purpose.it’s basically to kill people...\nBasically I think he would be someone who complemented me in terms of character.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group  emphasis\n\n2. You use basically to show that you are describing a situation in a simple, general way, and that you are not concerned with less important details.\nBasically you’ve got two choices...\nIt’s basically a vegan diet...\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV before v


Words: basics
Meaning:
ba.sics\n   basics\n1. The basics of something are its simplest, most important elements, ideas, or principles, in contrast to more complicated or detailed ones.\nThey will concentrate on teaching the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic...\nA strong community cannot be built until the basics are in place...\nLet’s get down to basics and stop horsing around.\n  N-PLURAL: usu the N, oft N of n\n  = fundamentals\n2. Basics are things such as simple food, clothes, or equipment that people need in order to live or to deal with a particular situation.\n...supplies of basics such as bread and milk.\n...items that are the basics of a stylish wardrobe.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n3. If you talk about getting back to basics, you are suggesting that people have become too concerned with complicated details or new theories, and that they should concentrate on simple, important ideas or activities.\n...a new `back-to-basics’ drive to raise standards of literacy in Britain’s schools.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v, PHR n


Words: basil
Meaning:
bas.il\n   basil\n  Basil is a strong-smelling and strong-tasting herb that is used in cooking, especially with tomatoes.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: basilica
Meaning:
ba.sili.ca\n   basilica  basilicas\n  A basilica is a church which is rectangular in shape and has a rounded end.\n  N-COUNT


Words: basin
Meaning:
ba.sin\n   basin  basins\n1. A basin is a large or deep bowl that you use for holding liquids, or for mixing or storing food.\nPlace the eggs and sugar in a large basin.\n...a pudding basin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  A basin of something such as water is an amount of it that is contained in a basin.\nWe were given a basin of water to wash our hands in.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n2. A basin is the same as a washbasin.\n...a cast-iron bath with a matching basin and wc.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. The basin of a large river is the area of land around it from which streams run down into it.\n...the Amazon basin.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft in names\n\n4. In geography, a basin is a particular region of the world where the earth’s surface is lower than in other places. (TECHNICAL)\n...countries around the Pacific Basin.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft in names\n\n5. A basin is a partially enclosed area of deep water where boats or ships are kept.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N


Words: basis
Meaning:
ba.sis\n   basis  bases\n1. If something is done on a particular basis, it is done according to that method, system, or principle.\nWe’re going to be meeting there on a regular basis...\nThey want all groups to be treated on an equal basis...\nI’ve always worked on the basis that if I don’t know anything technical I shan’t be any worse off.\n  N-SING: with supp, usu on N\n\n2. If you say that you are acting on the basis of something, you are giving that as the reason for your action.\nMcGregor must remain confined, on the basis of the medical reports we have received...\n  N-SING: on N, oft N of n, N that\n\n3. The basis of something is its starting point or an important part of it from which it can be further developed.\nBoth factions have broadly agreed that the UN plan is a possible basis for negotiation.\n...the sub-atomic particles that form the basis of nearly all matter on earth.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N for/of n\n  = foundation\n4. The basis for something is a fact or argument that you can use to prove or justify it.\n...Japan’s attempt to secure the legal basis to send troops overseas...\nThis is a common fallacy which has no basis in fact.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: basis point
Meaning:
ba.sis point\n   basis point  basis points\n  In finance, a basis point is one hundredth of a per cent (01%). (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: bask
Meaning:
bask  basks  basking  basked\n1. If you bask in the sunshine, you lie somewhere sunny and enjoy the heat.\nAll through the hot, still days of their holiday Amy basked in the sun...\nCrocodiles bask on the small sandy beaches.\n  VERB: V in n, V\n\n2. If you bask in someone’s approval, favour, or admiration, you greatly enjoy their positive reaction towards you.\nHe has spent a month basking in the adulation of the fans back in Jamaica...\n  VERB: V in n


Words: basket
Meaning:
bas.ket\n   basket  baskets\n1. A basket is a stiff container that is used for carrying or storing objects. Baskets are made from thin strips of materials such as straw, plastic, or wire woven together.\n...big wicker picnic baskets filled with sandwiches.\n...a laundry basket.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  A basket of things is a number of things contained in a basket.\n...a small basket of fruit and snacks.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n2. In economics, a basket of currencies or goods is the average or total value of a number of different currencies or goods. (BUSINESS)\nThe pound’s value against a basket of currencies hit a new low of 76.9.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, N of n\n\n3. In basketball, the basket is a net hanging from a ring through which players try to throw the ball in order to score points.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4.\nto put all your eggs in one basket: see egg\n  see also bread basket, hanging basket, wastepaper basket


Words: basket case
Meaning:
bas.ket case\n   basket case  basket cases\n1. If someone describes a country or organization as a basket case, they mean that its economy or finances are in a seriously bad state. (INFORMAL)\nThe country is an economic basket case with chronic unemployment and rampant crime.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe someone as a basket case, you think that they are insane. (INFORMAL)\nYou’re going to think I’m a basket case when I tell you this.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = nutcase


Words: basketball
Meaning:
basket.ball\n   basketball  basketballs\n1. Basketball is a game in which two teams of five players each try to score goals by throwing a large ball through a circular net fixed to a metal ring at each end of the court.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A basketball is a large ball which is used in the game of basketball.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bass
Meaning:
bass basses\nPronounced   for meanings 1 to 4, and   for meaning 5. The plural of the noun in meaning 5 is bass.\n1. A bass is a man with a very deep singing voice.\n...the great Russian bass Chaliapin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bass drum, guitar, or other musical instrument is one that produces a very deep sound.\n...bass guitarist Dee Murray.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. In popular music, a bass is a bass guitar or a double bass.\n...Dave Ranson on bass and Kenneth Blevins on drums...\n  N-VAR\n\n4. On a stereo system or radio, the bass is the ability to reproduce the lower musical notes. The bass is also the knob which controls this.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n5. Bass are edible fish that are found in rivers and the sea. There are several types of bass.\nThey unloaded their catch of cod and bass.\n  N-VAR\n\n  Bass is a piece of this fish eaten as food.\n...a large fresh fillet of sea bass.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft n N


Words: basset hound
Meaning:
bas.set hound\n   basset hound  basset hounds\n  A basset hound is a dog with short strong legs, a long body, and long ears. It is kept as a pet or used for hunting.\n  N-COUNT\n  = basset


Words: bassist
Meaning:
bass.ist\n   bassist  bassists\n  A bassist is someone who plays the bass guitar or the double bass.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bassoon
Meaning:
bas.soon\n   bassoon  bassoons\n  A bassoon is a large musical instrument that is shaped like a tube and played by blowing into a curved metal pipe.\n  N-VAR: oft the N


Words: bassoonist
Meaning:
bas.soon.ist\n   bassoonist  bassoonists\n  A bassoonist is someone who plays the bassoon.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bastard
Meaning:
bas.tard\n   bastard  bastards\n1. Bastard is an insulting word which some people use about a person, especially a man, who has behaved very badly. (INFORMAL, VERY RUDE)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n2. A bastard is a person whose parents were not married to each other at the time that he or she was born. This use could cause offence. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: bastardized
Meaning:
bas.tard.ized\n   bastardized\nin BRIT, also use bastardised\n  If you refer to something as a bastardized form of something else, you mean that the first thing is similar to or copied from the second thing, but is of much poorer quality. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: baste
Meaning:
baste  bastes  basting  basted\n  If you baste meat, you pour hot fat and the juices from the meat itself over it while it is cooking.\nPam was in the middle of basting the turkey...\nBake for 15-20 minutes, basting occasionally.\n  VERB: V n, V


Words: bastion
Meaning:
bas.ti.on\n   bastion  bastions\n  If a system or organization is described as a bastion of a particular way of life, it is seen as being important and effective in defending that way of life. Bastion can be used both when you think that this way of life should be ended and when you think it should be defended. (FORMAL)\n...a town which had been a bastion of white prejudice...\nThe army is still one of the last male bastions.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu N of n\n  = stronghold


Words: bat
Meaning:
bat  bats  batting  batted\n1. A bat is a specially shaped piece of wood that is used for hitting the ball in baseball, softball, cricket, rounders, or table tennis.\n...a baseball bat.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. When you bat, you have a turn at hitting the ball with a bat in baseball, softball, cricket, or rounders.\nAustralia, put in to bat, made a cautious start.\n  VERB: V\n\n=>  bat.ting\n...his batting average...\nHe’s likely to open the batting.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n, the N\n\n3. A bat is a small flying animal that looks like a mouse with wings made of skin. Bats are active at night.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4.\n  see also old bat\n5. When something surprising or shocking happens, if someone doesn’t bat an eyelid in British English, or doesn’t bat an eye in American English, they remain calm and do not show any reaction.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6. If someone does something off their own bat, they do it without anyone else suggesting it. (BRIT)\nWhatever she did she did off her own bat. Whatever she did was nothing to do with me.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n7. If something happens right off the bat, it happens immediately. (AM)\nHe learned right off the bat that you can’t count on anything in this business.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v


Words: batch
Meaning:
batch  batches\n  A batch of things or people is a group of things or people of the same kind, especially a group that is dealt with at the same time or is sent to a particular place at the same time.\n...the current batch of trainee priests...\nShe brought a large batch of newspaper cuttings...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: bated
Meaning:
bat.ed\n   bated\n  If you wait for something with bated breath, you wait anxiously to find out what will happen. (FORMAL)\nWe listened with bated breath to Grandma’s stories of her travels.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v


Words: bath
Meaning:
bath  baths bathing  bathed\nWhen the form baths is the plural of the noun it is pronounced   ; When it is used in the present tense of the verb, it is pronounced\n1. A bath is a container, usually a long rectangular one, which you fill with water and sit in while you wash your body. (BRIT; in AM, use bathtub)\nIn those days, only quite wealthy families had baths of their own.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. When you have or take a bath, or when you are in the bath, you sit or lie in a bath filled with water in order to wash your body.\n...if you have a bath every morning...\nTake a shower instead of a bath.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you bath someone, especially a child, you wash them in a bath. (BRIT)\nDon’t feel you have to bath your child every day.\n  VERB: V n\n  = bathe\n  Bath is also a noun. (in AM, use bathe)\nThe midwife gave him a warm bath.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. When you bath, you have a bath. (BRIT; in AM, use bathe)\nThe three children all bath in the same bath water.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n  = bathe\n5. A bath or a baths is a public building containing a swimming pool, and sometimes other facilities that people can use to have a wash or a bath.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. A bath is a container filled with a particular liquid, such as a dye or an acid, in which particular objects are placed, usually as part of a manufacturing or chemical process.\n...a developing photograph placed in a bath of fixer.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n7.\n  see also bloodbath, bubble bath, swimming bath, Turkish bath


Words: bath towel
Meaning:
bath tow.el\n   bath towel  bath towels\n  A bath towel is a very large towel used for drying your body after you have had a bath.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bath water
Meaning:
bath wa.ter\n   bath water   also bathwater\n  Your bath water is the water in which you sit or lie when you have a bath.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\nto throw the baby out with the bath water: see baby


Words: bathe
Meaning:
bathe  bathes  bathing  bathed\n1. If you bathe in a sea, river, or lake, you swim, play, or wash yourself in it. Birds and animals can also bathe. (mainly BRIT FORMAL)\nThe police have warned the city’s inhabitants not to bathe in the polluted river.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, also V\n\n  Bathe is also a noun.\nFifty soldiers were taking an early morning bathe in a nearby lake.\n  N-SING: usu a N\n\n=>  bath.ing\nNude bathing is not allowed.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. When you bathe, you have a bath. (AM; also BRIT FORMAL)\nAt least 60% of us now bathe or shower once a day.\n  VERB: V\n  = bath\n3. If you bathe someone, especially a child, you wash them in a bath. (AM; also BRIT FORMAL)\nBack home, Shirley plays with, feeds and bathes the baby.\n  VERB: V n\n  = bath\n4. If you bathe a part of your body or a wound, you wash it gently or soak it in a liquid.\nBathe the infected area in a salt solution...\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If a place is bathed in light, it is covered with light, especially a gentle, pleasant light.\nThe arena was bathed in warm sunshine...\nThe lamp behind him seems to bathe him in warmth.\n  VERB: be V-ed in n, V n in n, also V n\n\n6.\n  see also sunbathe


Words: bathed
Meaning:
bathed\n1. If someone is bathed in sweat, they are sweating a great deal.\nChantal was writhing in pain and bathed in perspiration.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ in n\n\n2. If someone is bathed in a particular emotion such as love, they feel it constantly in a pleasant way. (LITERARY)\n...a physical sensation of being bathed in love.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ in n


Words: bather
Meaning:
bath.er\n   bather  bathers\n  A bather is a person who is swimming in the sea, or in a river or lake. (mainly BRIT FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = swimmer


Words: bathhouse
Meaning:
bath.house\n   bathhouse  bathhouses   also bath house\n  A bathhouse is a public or private building containing baths and often other facilities such as a sauna.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bathing costume
Meaning:
bath.ing cos.tume\n   bathing costume  bathing costumes\n  A bathing costume is a piece of clothing that is worn for swimming, especially by women and girls. (BRIT OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT\n  = swimsuit


Words: bathing suit
Meaning:
bath.ing suit\n   bathing suit  bathing suits\n  A bathing suit is a piece of clothing which people wear when they go swimming.\n  N-COUNT\n  = swimsuit


Words: bathing trunks
Meaning:
bath.ing trunks\n   bathing trunks\n  Bathing trunks are shorts that a man wears when he goes swimming.\n  N-PLURAL\n  = swimming trunks


Words: bathmat
Meaning:
bath.mat\n   bathmat  bathmats   also bath mat\n  A bathmat is a mat which you stand on while you dry yourself after getting out of the bath.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bathos
Meaning:
ba.thos\n   bathos\n  In literary criticism, bathos is a sudden change in speech or writing from a serious or important subject to a ridiculous or very ordinary one. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bathrobe
Meaning:
bath.robe\n   bathrobe  bathrobes\n1. A bathrobe is a loose piece of clothing made of the same material as towels. You wear it before or after you have a bath or a swim.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bathrobe is a dressing gown.\n  N-COUNT\n  = dressing gown


Words: bathroom
Meaning:
bath.room\n   bathroom  bathrooms\n1. A bathroom is a room in a house that contains a bath or shower, a washbasin, and sometimes a toilet.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bathroom is a room in a house or public building that contains a toilet. (AM; in BRIT, usually use toilet)\nShe had gone in to use the bathroom.\n  N-SING: usu the N\n  = rest room\n3. People say that they are going to the bathroom when they want to say that they are going to use the toilet.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  politeness


Words: bathtub
Meaning:
bath.tub\n   bathtub  bathtubs\n  A bathtub is a long, usually rectangular container which you fill with water and sit in to wash your body. (AM; in BRIT, use bath)\n  N-COUNT


Words: batik
Meaning:
ba.tik\n   batik   batiks\n1. Batik is a process for printing designs on cloth. Wax is put on those areas of the cloth that you do not want to be coloured by dye.\n...batik bedspreads.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A batik is a cloth which has been printed with a batik design.\n...batik from Bali.\n  N-VAR


Words: batman
Meaning:
bat.man\n   batman  batmen\n  In the British armed forces, an officer’s batman is his personal servant.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft poss N


Words: baton
Meaning:
ba.ton\n   baton  batons\n1. A baton is a short heavy stick which is sometimes used as a weapon by the police. (BRIT; in AM, use billy, billy club)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A baton is a light, thin stick used by a conductor to conduct an orchestra or a choir.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. In athletics or track events, a baton is a short stick that is passed from one runner to another in a relay race.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A baton is a long stick with a knob on one end that is sometimes carried by a person marching in a parade. The baton is spun round, thrown into the air and caught.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If someone passes the baton to another person, they pass responsibility for something to that person. If someone picks up the baton, they take over responsibility for something.\nDoes this mean that the baton of leadership is going to be passed to other nations?\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: baton charge
Meaning:
ba.ton charge\n   baton charge  baton charges  baton charging  baton charged   also baton-charge\n  A baton charge is an attacking forward movement made by a large group of policemen carrying batons. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Baton-charge is also a verb. (JOURNALISM)\nPolice in riot gear baton-charged the crowd.\n  VERB: V n


Words: batsman
Meaning:
bats.man\n   batsman  batsmen\n  The batsman in a game of cricket is the player who is batting.\nThe batsman rose on his toes and played the rising ball down into the ground...\nHe was the greatest batsman of his generation.\n  N-COUNT


Words: battalion
Meaning:
bat.tal.ion\n   battalion  battalions\n1. A battalion is a large group of soldiers that consists of three or more companies.\nAnthony was ordered to return to his battalion...\nHe joined the second battalion of the Grenadier Guards.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A battalion of people is a large group of them, especially a well-organized, efficient group that has a particular task to do.\nThere were battalions of highly paid publicists to see that such news didn’t make the press.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n  = horde


Words: batten
Meaning:
bat.ten\n   batten  battens  battening  battened\n1. A batten is a long strip of wood that is fixed to something to strengthen it or to hold it firm.\n...a batten to support the base timbers.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If something is battened in place, it is made secure by having battens fixed across it or being closed firmly.\nThe roof was never securely battened down.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed adv/prep\n\n3.\nto batten down the hatches: see hatch


Words: batter
Meaning:
bat.ter\n   batter  batters  battering  battered\n1. If someone is battered, they are regularly hit and badly hurt by a member of their family or by their partner.\n...evidence that the child was being battered.\n...boys who witness fathers battering their mothers.\n...battered wives.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n, V-ed\n\n=>  bat.ter.ing\nLeaving the relationship does not mean that the battering will stop.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. To batter someone means to hit them many times, using fists or a heavy object.\nHe battered her around the head...\nHe was battered unconscious.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, be V-ed adj, also V n\n\n=>  bat.tered\nHer battered body was discovered in a field.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If a place is battered by wind, rain, or storms, it is seriously damaged or affected by very bad weather.\nThe country has been battered by winds of between fifty and seventy miles an hour.\n...a storm that’s been battering the Northeast coastline.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V n\n  = pound\n4. If you batter something, you hit it many times, using your fists or a heavy object.\nThey were battering the door, they were breaking in...\nBatter the steaks flat.\n  VERB: V n, V n adj\n\n5. Batter is a mixture of flour, eggs, and milk that is used in cooking.\n...pancake batter.\n...fish in batter.\n  N-VAR\n\n6. In sports such as baseball and softball, a batter is a person who hits the ball with a wooden bat.\n...batters and pitchers.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7.\n  see also battered, battering


Words: battered
Meaning:
bat.tered\n   battered\n  Something that is battered is old and in poor condition because it has been used a lot.\nHe drove up in a battered old car.\n...a battered leather suitcase.\n  ADJ


Words: battering
Meaning:
bat.ter.ing\n   battering  batterings\n  If something takes a battering, it suffers very badly as a result of a particular event or action.\nSterling took a battering yesterday as worries grew about the state of Britain’s economy.\n  N-COUNT\n  = beating


Words: battering ram
Meaning:
bat.ter.ing ram\n   battering ram  battering rams   also battering-ram\n  A battering ram is a long heavy piece of wood that is used to knock down the locked doors of buildings.\nThey got a battering ram to smash down the door.\n  N-COUNT


Words: battery
Meaning:
bat.tery\n   battery  batteries\n1. Batteries are small devices that provide the power for electrical items such as radios and children’s toys.\nThe shavers come complete with batteries.\n...a battery-operated cassette player.\n...rechargeable batteries.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A car battery is a rectangular box containing acid that is found in a car engine. It provides the electricity needed to start the car.\n...a car with a flat battery.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A battery of equipment such as guns, lights, or computers is a large set of it kept together in one place.\nThey stopped beside a battery of abandoned guns.\n...batteries of spotlights set up on rooftops.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n4. A battery of people or things is a very large number of them.\n...a battery of journalists and television cameras...\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n5. A battery of tests is a set of tests that is used to assess a number of different aspects of something, such as your health.\nWe give a battery of tests to each patient.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n\n\n6. Battery farming is a system of breeding chickens and hens in which large numbers of them are kept in small cages, and used for their meat and eggs. (BRIT)\n...battery hens being raised in dark, cramped conditions.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n7.\nto recharge your batteries: see recharge\n  see also assault and battery


Words: battle
Meaning:
bat.tle\n   battle  battles  battling  battled\n1. A battle is a violent fight between groups of people, especially one between military forces during a war.\n...the victory of King William III at the Battle of the Boyne.\n...after a gun battle between police and drug traffickers.\n...men who die in battle.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. A battle is a conflict in which different people or groups compete in order to achieve success or control.\n...a renewed political battle over Britain’s attitude to Europe.\n...the eternal battle between good and evil in the world.\n...a macho battle for supremacy...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N prep\n  = struggle\n3. You can use battle to refer to someone’s efforts to achieve something in spite of very difficult circumstances.\n...the battle against crime...\nShe has fought a constant battle with her weight...\nGreg lost his brave battle against cancer two years ago.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N against n\n  = fight\n4. To battle with an opposing group means to take part in a fight or contest against them. In American English, you can also say that one group or person is battling another.\nThousands of people battled with police and several were reportedly wounded...\nThe sides must battle again for a quarter-final place on December 16...\nThey’re also battling the government to win compensation.\n  V-RECIP: V with/against n, pl-n V, V n, also pl-n V to-inf\n\n5. To battle means to try hard to do something in spite of very difficult circumstances. In British English, you battle against something or with something. In American English, you battle something.\nDoctors battled throughout the night to save her life.\n...a lone yachtsman returning from his months of battling with the elements...\nIn Wyoming, firefighters are still battling the two blazes.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V with/against/through n, V n\n  = fight\n=>  bat.tler      battlers\nIf anyone can do it, he can. He’s a battler and has a strong character.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6.\n  see also pitched battle, running battle\n7. If one person or group does battle with another, they take part in a battle or contest against them. You can also say that two people or groups do battle.\n...the notorious Montonero guerrilla group who did battle with the army during the dirty war...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR with/against n, pl-n PHR\n\n8. If you say that something is half the battle, you mean that it is the most important step towards achieving something.\nChoosing the right type of paint for the job is half the battle.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n9. If you are fighting a losing battle, you are trying to achieve something but are not going to be successful.\nThe crew fought a losing battle to try to restart the engines.\n...on a day when the sun is fighting a losing battle against the lowering clouds.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR with/against n, PHR to-inf\n\n10. If one group or person battles it out with another, they take part in a fight or contest against each other until one of them wins or a definite result is reached. You can also say that two groups or two people battle it out.\nIn the Cup Final, Leeds battled it out with the old enemy, Manchester United...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR with n, pl-n PHR\n\n11. If you say that someone has lost the battle, but won the war, you mean that although they have been defeated in a small conflict they have won a larger, more important one of which it was a part. If you say that someone has won the battle but lost the war, you mean that they have won the small conflict but lost the larger one.\nThe strikers may have won the battle, but they lost the war.\n  PHRASE: Vs and battle inflect


Words: battle cruiser
Meaning:
bat.tle cruis.er\n   battle cruiser  battle cruisers   also battlecruiser\n  A battle cruiser is a large fast warship that is lighter than a battleship and moves more easily.\n  N-COUNT


Words: battle cry
Meaning:
bat.tle cry\n   battle cry  battle cries   also battle-cry\n1. A battle cry is a phrase that is used to encourage people to support a particular cause or campaign.\nTheir battle-cry will be: `Sign this petition before they sign away your country.’\n  N-COUNT\n  = rallying cry\n2. A battle cry is a shout that soldiers give as they go into battle.\n  N-COUNT


Words: battle-axe
Meaning:
battle-axe  battle-axes\n\n  The spellings battleaxe, and in American English battle-ax are also used.\n\n1. If you call a middle-aged or older woman a battle-axe, you mean she is very difficult and unpleasant because of her fierce and determined attitude. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = dragon\n2. A battle-axe is a large axe that was used as a weapon.\n  N-COUNT


Words: battlefield
Meaning:
battle.field\n   battlefield  battlefields\n1. A battlefield is a place where a battle is fought.\n...the battlefields of the Somme.\n  N-COUNT\n  = battleground\n2. You can refer to an issue or field of activity over which people disagree or compete as a battlefield.\n...the domestic battlefield of family life.\n  N-COUNT\n  = battleground


Words: battleground
Meaning:
battle.ground\n   battleground  battlegrounds\n1. A battleground is the same as a battlefield.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can refer to an issue or field of activity over which people disagree or compete as a battleground.\n...the battleground of education...\nChildren’s literature is an ideological battleground.\n  N-COUNT\n  = battlefield


Words: battlements
Meaning:
bat.tle.ments\n   battlements\n  The battlements of a castle or fortress consist of a wall built round the top, with gaps through which guns or arrows can be fired.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: battleship
Meaning:
battle.ship\n   battleship  battleships\n  A battleship is a very large, heavily armed warship.\n  N-COUNT


Words: batty
Meaning:
bat.ty\n   batty  battier  battiest\n  If you say that someone is batty, you mean that they are rather eccentric or slightly crazy. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nLaura’s going a bit batty.\n...some batty uncle of theirs.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = barmy


Words: bauble
Meaning:
bau.ble\n   bauble  baubles\n  A bauble is a small, cheap ornament or piece of jewellery.\n...Christmas trees decorated with coloured baubles.\n  N-COUNT\n  = trinket


Words: bauxite
Meaning:
baux.ite\n   bauxite\n  Bauxite is a clay-like substance from which aluminium is obtained.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bawdy
Meaning:
bawdy  bawdier  bawdiest\n  A bawdy story or joke contains humorous references to sex. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  ADJ\n  = lewd


Words: bawl
Meaning:
bawl  bawls  bawling  bawled\n1. If you bawl, you shout in a very loud voice, for example because you are angry or you want people to hear you.\nWhen I came back to the hotel Laura and Peter were shouting and bawling at each other...\nThen a voice bawled: `Lay off! I’ll kill you, you little rascal!’...\nHe tried to direct the video like a fashion show, bawling instructions to the girls.\n  VERB: V at n, V with quote, V n\n  = yell\n  Bawl out means the same as bawl.\nSomeone in the audience bawled out `Not him again!’\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P with quote, also V P n (not pron), V n P, V P to n\n\n2. If you say that a child is bawling, you are annoyed because it is crying loudly.\nOne of the toddlers was bawling, and the other had a runny nose.\n...a bawling baby.\n  VERB: V, V-ing, also V with quote


Words: bay
Meaning:
bay  bays  baying  bayed\n1. A bay is a part of a coast where the land curves inwards.\n...a short ferry ride across the bay.\n...the Bay of Bengal.\n...the San Francisco Bay area.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names\n\n2. A bay is a partly enclosed area, inside or outside a building, that is used for a particular purpose.\nThe animals are herded into a bay, then butchered...\nThe car reversed into the loading bay.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n3. A bay is an area of a room which extends beyond the main walls of a house, especially an area with a large window at the front of a house.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A bay horse is reddish-brown in colour.\n  ADJ\n\n5. If a number of people are baying for something, they are demanding something angrily, usually that someone should be punished.\nThe referee ignored voices baying for a penalty.\n...the baying crowd.\n  VERB: usu cont, V for n, V-ing\n  = clamour\n6. If a dog or wolf bays, it makes loud, long cries.\nA dog suddenly howled, baying at the moon.\n  VERB: V at n, also V\n\n7.\n  see also sick bay\n8. If you keep something or someone at bay, or hold them at bay, you prevent them from reaching, attacking, or affecting you.\nEating oranges keeps colds at bay...\nPrisoners armed with baseball bats used the hostages to hold police at bay.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: bay leaf
Meaning:
bay leaf  bay leaves\n  A bay leaf is a leaf of an evergreen tree that can be dried and used as a herb in cooking.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bay window
Meaning:
bay win.dow\n   bay window  bay windows\n  A bay window is a window that sticks out from the outside wall of a house.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bayonet
Meaning:
bayo.net\n   bayonet  bayonets  bayoneting  bayoneted\n1. A bayonet is a long, sharp blade that can be fixed to the end of a rifle and used as a weapon.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. To bayonet someone means to push a bayonet into them.\nThe soldiers were ordered by their inhuman officers to bayonet every man they could find.\n  VERB: V n


Words: bayou
Meaning:
bayou  bayous\n  A bayou is a slow-moving, marshy area of water in the southern United States, especially Louisiana.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bazaar
Meaning:
ba.zaar\n   bazaar  bazaars\n1. In areas such as the Middle East and India, a bazaar is a place where there are many small shops and stalls.\nKamal was a vendor in Egypt’s open-air bazaar.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bazaar is a sale to raise money for charity.\n...a church bazaar.\n  N-COUNT\n  = fete


Words: bazooka
Meaning:
ba.zoo.ka\n   bazooka  bazookas\n  A bazooka is a long, tube-shaped gun that is held on the shoulder and fires rockets.\n  N-COUNT


Words: BBC
Meaning:
BBC\n  The BBC is a British organization which broadcasts programmes on radio and television. BBC is an abbreviation for `British Broadcasting Corporation’.\nThe concert will be broadcast live by the BBC.\n...the BBC correspondent in Tunis.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: BC
Meaning:
BC\n  You use BC in dates to indicate a number of years or centuries before the year in which Jesus Christ is believed to have been born. Compare AD.\nThe brooch dates back to the fourth century BC.


Words: be
Meaning:
AUXILIARY VERB USES\n   be  WEAK   STRONG am  WEAK   STRONG are  WEAK   STRONG is  being  was  WEAK   STRONG were  WEAK   STRONG been  WEAK   STRONG\nIn spoken English, forms of be are often shortened, for example `I am’ is shortened to `I’m’ and `was not’ is shortened to `wasn’t’.\n1. You use be with a present participle to form the continuous tenses of verbs.\nThis is happening in every school throughout the country...\nShe didn’t always think carefully about what she was doing...\n  AUX: AUX -ing, AUX -ing\n\nbe going to: see going\n2. You use be with a past participle to form the passive voice.\nForensic experts were called in...\nHer husband was killed in a car crash...\nThe cost of electricity from coal-fired stations is expected to fall...\nSimilar action is being taken by the US government.\n  AUX: AUX -ed, AUX -ed, AUX -ed, AUX -ed\n\n3. You use be with an infinitive to indicate that something is planned to happen, that it will definitely happen, or that it must happen.\nThe talks are to begin tomorrow...\nIt was to be Johnson’s first meeting with the board in nearly a month...\nYou are to answer to Brian, to take your orders from him.\n  AUX: AUX to-inf, AUX to-inf, AUX to-inf\n\nbe about to: see about\n4. You use be with an infinitive to say or ask what should happen or be done in a particular situation, how it should happen, or who should do it.\nWhat am I to do without him?...\nWho is to say which of them had more power?...\n  AUX: AUX to-inf, AUX to-inf\n\n5. You use was and were with an infinitive to talk about something that happened later than the time you are discussing, and was not planned or certain at that time.\nThen he received a phone call that was to change his life...\nA few hours later he was to prove it.\n  AUX: AUX to-inf, AUX to-inf\n\n6. You can say that something is to be seen, heard, or found in a particular place to mean that people can see it, hear it, or find it in that place.\nLittle traffic was to be seen on the streets...\nThey are to be found all over the world.\n  AUX: AUX -ed, AUX -ed\n\nOTHER VERB USES\n   be  WEAK   STRONG am  WEAK   STRONG are  WEAK   STRONG is  being  was  WEAK   STRONG were  WEAK   STRONG been  WEAK   STRONG\nIn spoken English, forms of be are often shortened, for example `I am’ is shortened to `I’m’ and `was not’ is shortened to `wasn’t’.\n1. You use be to introduce more information about the subject, such as its identity, nature, qualities, or position.\nShe’s my mother...\nHe is a very attractive man...\nMy grandfather was a butcher...\nThe fact that you were willing to pay in the end is all that matters...\nThe sky was black...\nIt is 1,267 feet high...\nCheney was in Madrid...\nHis house is next door...\n`Is it safe?’.`Well of course it is.’...\nHe’s still alive isn’t he?\n  V-LINK: V n, V n, V n, V n, V adj, V adj, V prep/adv, V prep/adv, V, V\n\n2. You use be, with `it’ as the subject, in clauses where you are describing something or giving your judgment of a situation.\nIt was too chilly for swimming...\nSometimes it is necessary to say no...\nIt is likely that investors will face losses...\nIt’s nice having friends to chat to...\nIt’s a good thing I brought lots of handkerchiefs...\nIt’s no good just having meetings...\nIt’s a good idea to avoid refined food...\nIt’s up to us to prove it.\n  V-LINK: it V adj, it V adj to-inf, it V adj that, it V adj -ing, it V n that, it V n -ing, it V n to-inf, it V prep to-inf\n\n3. You use be with the impersonal pronoun `there’ in expressions like there is and there are to say that something exists or happens.\nClearly there is a problem here...\nThere are very few cars on this street...\nThere was nothing new in the letter...\n  V-LINK: there V n, there V n, there V n\n\n4. You use be as a link between a subject and a clause and in certain other clause structures, as shown below.\nIt was me she didn’t like, not what I represented...\nWhat the media should not do is to exploit people’s natural fears...\nOur greatest problem is convincing them...\nThe question was whether protection could be improved...\nAll she knew was that I’d had a broken marriage...\nLocal residents said it was as if there had been a nuclear explosion.\n  V-LINK: V n, V to-inf, V -ing, V wh, V that, V as if\n\n5. You use be in expressions like the thing is and the point is to introduce a clause in which you make a statement or give your opinion. (SPOKEN)\nThe fact is, the players gave everything they had...\nThe plan is good; the problem is it doesn’t go far enough.\n  V-LINK: V cl, V cl\n\n6. You use be in expressions like to be fair, to be honest, or to be serious to introduce an additional statement or opinion, and to indicate that you are trying to be fair, honest, or serious.\nShe’s always noticed. But then, to be honest, Ghislaine likes being noticed...\nIt enabled students to devote more time to their studies, or to be more accurate, more time to relaxation.\n  V-LINK: V adj, V adj\n\n7. The form `be’ is used occasionally instead of the normal forms of the present tense, especially after `whether’. (FORMAL)\nThe chemical agent, whether it be mustard gas or nerve gas, can be absorbed by the skin.\n  V-LINK: be n\n\n8. If something is, it exists. (mainly FORMAL or LITERARY)\n  VERB\n\n9. To be yourself means to behave in the way that is right and natural for you and your personality.\nShe’d learnt to be herself and to stand up for her convictions.\n  V-LINK: V pron-refl\n\n10. If you talk about what would happen if it wasn’t for someone or something, you mean that they are the only thing that is preventing it from happening.\nI could happily move back into a flat if it wasn’t for the fact that I’d miss my garden...\nIf it hadn’t been for her your father would be alive today.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n11. You say `Be that as it may’ when you want to move onto another subject or go further with the discussion, without deciding whether what has just been said is right or wrong.\n`Is he still just as fat?’.`I wouldn’t know,’ continued her mother, ignoring the interruption, `and be that as it may, he has made a fortune.’\n(next)


Words: be-
Meaning:
be-\n  Be- can be added to a noun followed by an `-ed’ suffix to form an adjective that indicates that a person is covered with or wearing the thing named.\n...besuited men and bejewelled ladies.\n...a bespectacled librarian.\n  PREFIX


Words: be-all and end-all
Meaning:
be-all and end-all\n  If something is the be-all and end-all to you, it is the only important thing in your life, or the only important feature of a particular activity.\nFor some people, competing is the be-all and end-all of their running.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, usu PHR of n


Words: beach
Meaning:
beach  beaches  beaching  beached\n1. A beach is an area of sand or stones beside the sea.\n...a beautiful sandy beach...\nI just want to lie on the beach in the sun.\n  N-COUNT\n  = seashore\n2. If something such as a boat beaches, or if it is beached, it is pulled or forced out of the water and onto land.\nWe beached the canoe, running it right up the bank...\nThe boat beached on a mud flat...\n  VERB: V n, V


Words: beach ball
Meaning:
beach ball  beach balls\n  A beach ball is a large, light ball filled with air, which people play with, especially on the beach.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beach bum
Meaning:
beach bum  beach bums\n  If you refer to someone as a beach bum, you mean that they spend a lot of time enjoying themselves on the beach or in the sea.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beachcomber
Meaning:
beach.comber\n   beachcomber  beachcombers   also beach-comber\n  A beachcomber is someone who spends their time wandering along beaches looking for things they can use.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beachfront
Meaning:
beach.front\n   beachfront\n  A beachfront house, cafe, shop, or hotel is situated on or by a beach.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: beachhead
Meaning:
beach.head\n   beachhead  beachheads   also beach-head\n  A beachhead is an area of land next to the sea or a river where an attacking force has taken control and can prepare to advance further inland.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beacon
Meaning:
bea.con\n   beacon  beacons\n1. A beacon is a light or a fire, usually on a hill or tower, which acts as a signal or a warning.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone acts as a beacon to other people, they inspire or encourage them.\nOur Parliament has been a beacon of hope to the peoples of Europe...\nGeneral Rudnicki was a moral beacon for many exiled Poles.\n  N-COUNT: usu N to/of/for n


Words: bead
Meaning:
bead  beads\n1. Beads are small pieces of coloured glass, wood, or plastic with a hole through the middle. Beads are often put together on a piece of string or wire to make jewellery.\n...a string of beads.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. A bead of liquid or moisture is a small drop of it.\n...beads of blood...\nHe wiped away the beads of sweat on his forehead.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: beaded
Meaning:
bead.ed\n   beaded\n1. A beaded dress, cushion, or other object is decorated with beads.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If something is beaded with a liquid, it is covered in small drops of that liquid.\nThe man’s bald head was beaded with sweat...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with n


Words: beading
Meaning:
bead.ing\n   beading\n1. Beading is a narrow strip of wood that is used for decorating or edging furniture and doors.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Beading is an arrangement of beads used for decorating clothes.\n...a black velvet bodice with jet black beading.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: beady
Meaning:
beady\n1. Beady eyes are small, round, and bright.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If someone keeps a beady eye on a person or organization, they watch them carefully and suspiciously.\nThe chairman keeps a beady eye on things.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: beagle
Meaning:
bea.gle\n   beagle  beagles\n  A beagle is a short-haired black and brown dog with long ears and short legs. It is kept as a pet or sometimes used for hunting.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beak
Meaning:
beak  beaks\n  A bird’s beak is the hard curved or pointed part of its mouth.\n...a black bird with a yellow beak.\n  N-COUNT\n  = bill


Words: beaker
Meaning:
beak.er\n   beaker  beakers\n1. A beaker is a plastic cup used for drinking, usually one with no handle. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A beaker is a large cup or glass. (AM)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A beaker is a glass or plastic jar which is used in chemistry.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beam
Meaning:
beam  beams  beaming  beamed\n1. If you say that someone is beaming, you mean that they have a big smile on their face because they are happy, pleased, or proud about something. (WRITTEN)\nFrances beamed at her friend with undisguised admiration...\n`Welcome back,’ she beamed.\n...the beaming face of a 41-year-old man on the brink of achieving his dreams.\n  VERB: V at/with n, V with quote, V-ing\n\n2. A beam is a line of energy, radiation, or particles sent in a particular direction.\n...high-energy laser beams.\n...a beam of neutrons.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N, N of n\n\n3. If something beams radio signals or television pictures or they are beamed somewhere, they are sent there by means of electronic equipment.\nThe interview was beamed live across America...\nThe live satellite broadcast was beamed into homes across America.\n...a ship which is due to begin beaming radio broadcasts to China.\n  VERB: be V-ed prep/adv, V prep/adv, V n prep/adv\n\n4. A beam of light is a line of light that shines from an object such as a lamp.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n, n N\n\n5. If something such as the sun or a lamp beams down, it sends light to a place and shines on it.\nA sharp white spot-light beamed down on a small stage...\nAll you see of the outside world is the sunlight beaming through the cracks in the roof.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V adv/prep\n\n6. A beam is a long thick bar of wood, metal, or concrete, especially one used to support the roof of a building.\nThe ceilings are supported by oak beams.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7.\n  see also off-beam


Words: bean
Meaning:
bean  beans\n1. Beans such as green beans, French beans, or broad beans are the seeds of a climbing plant or the long thin cases which contain those seeds.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu adj N\n\n2. Beans such as soya beans and kidney beans are the dried seeds of a bean plant.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu n N\n\n3. Beans such as coffee beans or cocoa beans are the seeds of plants that are used to produce coffee, cocoa, and chocolate.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu n N\n\n4. If someone is full of beans, they are very lively and have a lot of energy and enthusiasm.\nJem was full of beans after a long sleep.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n5. If you spill the beans, you tell someone something that people have been trying to keep secret.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: bean bag
Meaning:
bean bag  bean bags   also beanbag\n  A bean bag is a large round cushion filled with tiny pieces of plastic or rubber. It takes the shape of your body when you sit on it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bean counter
Meaning:
bean coun.ter\n   bean counter  bean counters   also bean-counter\n  You can describe people such as accountants and business managers as bean counters if you disapprove of them because you think they are only interested in money.\n...bean counters who tend to focus on controlling expenses.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: bean sprout
Meaning:
bean sprout  bean sprouts   also beansprout\n  Bean sprouts are small, long, thin shoots grown from beans. They are frequently used in Chinese cookery.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beanfeast
Meaning:
bean.feast\n   beanfeast  beanfeasts\n  A beanfeast is a party or other social event. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: beanpole
Meaning:
bean.pole\n   beanpole  beanpoles\n  If you call someone a beanpole, you are criticizing them because you think that they are extremely tall and thin. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: bear
Meaning:
VERB USES\n   bear  bears  bearing  bore  borne\n\nPlease look at category 18 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If you bear something somewhere, you carry it there or take it there. (LITERARY)\nThey bore the oblong hardwood box into the kitchen and put it on the table.\n  VERB: V n adv/prep\n  = carry\n=>  -bearing\n...food-bearing lorries.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n2. If you bear something such as a weapon, you hold it or carry it with you. (FORMAL)\n...the constitutional right to bear arms.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  -bearing\n...rifle-bearing soldiers.\n...hundreds of flag-bearing marchers.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n3. If one thing bears the weight of something else, it supports the weight of that thing.\nThe ice was not thick enough to bear the weight of marching men.\n  VERB: V n\n  = support\n=>  -bearing\n...the load-bearing joints of the body.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n4. If something bears a particular mark or characteristic, it has that mark or characteristic.\nThe houses bear the marks of bullet holes.\n...note paper bearing the Presidential seal...\nThe room bore all the signs of a violent struggle.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V n\n\n5. If you bear an unpleasant experience, you accept it because you are unable to do anything about it.\nThey will have to bear the misery of living in constant fear of war...\n  VERB: V n\n  = endure\n6. If you can’t bear someone or something, you dislike them very much.\nI can’t bear people who make judgements and label me...\nHe can’t bear to talk about it, even to me.\n  VERB: with neg, V n/-ing, V to-inf\n\n7. If someone bears the cost of something, they pay for it.\nPatients should not have to bear the costs of their own treatment.\n  VERB: V n\n\n8. If you bear the responsibility for something, you accept responsibility for it.\nIf a woman makes a decision to have a child alone, she should bear that responsibility alone.\n  VERB: V n\n  = accept\n9. If one thing bears no resemblance or no relationship to another thing, they are not at all similar.\nTheir daily menus bore no resemblance whatsoever to what they were actually fed...\nFor many software packages, the price bears little relation to cost.\n  VERB: usu with brd-neg, V n, V n\n  = have\n10. When a plant or tree bears flowers, fruit, or leaves, it produces them.\nAs the plants grow and start to bear fruit they will need a lot of water.\n  VERB: V n\n  = produce\n=>  -bearing\n...a strong, fruit-bearing apple tree.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n11. If something such as a bank account or an investment bears interest, interest is paid on it. (BUSINESS)\nThe eight-year bond will bear annual interest of 10.5%.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  -bearing\n...interest-bearing current accounts.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n12. When a woman bears a child, she gives birth to him or her. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nEmma bore a son called Karl...\nShe bore him a daughter, Suzanna.\n  VERB: V n, V n n\n\n13. If you bear yourself in a particular way, you move or behave in that way. (LITERARY)\nThere was elegance and simple dignity in the way he bore himself.\n  VERB: V pron-refl adv/prep\n  = carry\n14. If you bear left or bear right when you are driving or walking along, you turn and continue in that direction.\nGo left onto the A107 and bear left into Seven Sisters Road.\n  VERB: V adv\n  = veer\n15.\n  see also bore, borne\n16. If you bring something to bear on a situation, you use it to deal with that situation.\nBritish scientists have brought computer science to bear on this problem.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n17. If you bring pressure or influence to bear on someone, you use it to try and persuade them to do something.\nHis companions brought pressure to bear on him, urging him to stop wasting money.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n18.\nto bear the brunt of: see brunt\nto bear fruit: see fruit\nto grin and bear it: see grin\nto bear in mind: see mind\nto bear witness to: see witness\n\nNOUN USES\n   bear  bears\n1. A bear is a large, strong wild animal with thick fur and sharp claws.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also polar bear, teddy bear\n2. On the stock market, bears are people who sell shares in expectation of a drop in price, in order to make a profit by buying them back again after a short time. Compare bull. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: bear down
Meaning:
bear down\n1. If someone or something bears down on you, they move quickly towards you in a threatening way.\nA group of half a dozen men entered the pub and bore down on the bar...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P on n, also V P\n  = advance\n2. To bear down on something means to push or press downwards with steady pressure.\nThe roof support structure had collapsed and the entire weight was bearing down on the ceiling.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P on n, also V P


Words: bear market
Meaning:
bear mar.ket\n   bear market  bear markets\n  A bear market is a situation on the stock market when people are selling a lot of shares because they expect that the shares will decrease in value and that they will be able to make a profit by buying them again after a short time. Compare bull market. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT\n  !=bull market


Words: bear out
Meaning:
bear out\n  If someone or something bears a person out or bears out what that person is saying, they support what that person is saying.\nRecent studies have borne out claims that certain perfumes can bring about profound psychological changes.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n  = confirm  !=refute


Words: bear with
Meaning:
bear with\n  If you ask someone to bear with you, you are asking them to be patient.\nIf you’ll bear with me, Frank, just let me try to explain.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: bearable
Meaning:
bear.able\n   bearable\n  If something is bearable, you feel that you can accept it or deal with it.\nA cool breeze made the heat pleasantly bearable.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  = tolerable


Words: beard
Meaning:
beard  beards\n  A man’s beard is the hair that grows on his chin and cheeks.\nHe’s decided to grow a beard.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bearded
Meaning:
beard.ed\n   bearded\n  A bearded man has a beard.\n...a bearded 40-year-old sociology professor.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: bearer
Meaning:
bear.er\n   bearer  bearers\n1. The bearer of something such as a message is the person who brings it to you.\nI hate to be the bearer of bad news.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. A bearer of a particular thing is a person who carries it, especially in a ceremony. (FORMAL)\n...Britain’s flag bearer at the Olympic Games opening ceremony...\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n3. The bearer of something such as a document, a right, or an official position is the person who possesses it or holds it. (FORMAL)\n...the traditional bourgeois notion of the citizen as a bearer of rights...\nSpanish identity documents state the bearer’s profession.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n, n N\n  = holder\n4.\n  see also pallbearer, standard bearer


Words: bearing
Meaning:
bear.ing\n   bearing  bearings\n1. If something has a bearing on a situation or event, it is relevant to it.\nExperts generally agree that diet has an important bearing on your general health...\nMy father’s achievements really don’t have any bearing on what I do.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = influence\n2. Someone’s bearing is the way in which they move or stand. (LITERARY)\nShe later wrote warmly of his bearing and behaviour.\n  N-SING: usu poss N\n\n3. If you take a bearing with a compass, you use it to work out the direction in which a particular place lies or in which something is moving.\n  N-COUNT\n  = reading\n4. If you get your bearings or find your bearings, you find out where you are or what you should do next. If you lose your bearings, you do not know where you are or what you should do next.\nA sightseeing tour of the city is included to help you get your bearings...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n5. Bearings are small metal balls that are placed between moving parts of a machine in order to make them move smoothly and easily over each other.\nAn oil seal was replaced, along with both front wheel bearings.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n  see also ball bearing


Words: bearish
Meaning:
bear.ish\n   bearish\n  On the stock market, if there is a bearish mood, prices are expected to fall. Compare bullish. (BUSINESS)\nDealers said investors remain bearish...\n  ADJ


Words: bearskin
Meaning:
bear.skin\n   bearskin  bearskins\n1. A bearskin is a tall fur hat that is worn by some British soldiers on ceremonial occasions.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bearskin is the skin and fur of a bear.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beast
Meaning:
beast  beasts\n  You can refer to an animal as a beast, especially if it is a large, dangerous, or unusual one. (LITERARY)\n...the threats our ancestors faced from wild beasts.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beast of burden
Meaning:
beast of bur.den\n   beast of burden  beasts of burden\n  A beast of burden is an animal such as an ox or a donkey that is used for carrying or pulling things.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beastly
Meaning:
beast.ly\n   beastly\n1. If you describe something as beastly, you mean that it is very unpleasant. (INFORMAL, OLD-FASHIONED)\n  ADJ\n  = horrible, horrid\n2. If you describe someone as beastly, you mean that they are behaving unkindly. (INFORMAL, OLD-FASHIONED)\n  ADJ\n  = horrible, horrid


Words: beat
Meaning:
beat  beats  beating  beaten\n\n  The form beat is used in the present tense and is the past tense.\n\n1. If you beat someone or something, you hit them very hard.\nMy wife tried to stop them and they beat her...\nThey were beaten to death with baseball bats.\n  VERB: V n, V n to n\n\n2. To beat on, at, or against something means to hit it hard, usually several times or continuously for a period of time.\nThere was dead silence but for a fly beating against the glass...\nNina managed to free herself and began beating at the flames with a pillow...\nThe rain was beating on the windowpanes.\n  VERB: V against n, V at n, V on n, also V n\n  = pound\n  Beat is also a noun.\n...the rhythmic beat of the surf.\n  N-SING: usu the N of n\n\n=>  beat.ing\n...the silence broken only by the beating of the rain.\n  N-SING: usu the N of n\n\n3. When your heart or pulse beats, it continually makes regular rhythmic movements.\nI felt my heart beating faster.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Beat is also a noun.\nHe could hear the beat of his heart...\nMost people’s pulse rate is more than 70 beats per minute.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n=>  beat.ing\nI could hear the beating of my heart.\n  N-SING: usu the N of n\n\n4. If you beat a drum or similar instrument, you hit it in order to make a sound. You can also say that a drum beats.\nWhen you beat the drum, you feel good.\n...drums beating and pipes playing.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n  Beat is also a noun.\n...the rhythmical beat of the drum.\n  N-SING: usu the N of n\n\n5. The beat of a piece of music is the main rhythm that it has.\n...the thumping beat of rock music.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, the N\n\n6. In music, a beat is a unit of measurement. The number of beats in a bar of a piece of music is indicated by two numbers at the beginning of the piece.\nIt’s got four beats to a bar.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n  see also upbeat, downbeat\n7. If you beat eggs, cream, or butter, you mix them thoroughly using a fork or beater.\nBeat the eggs and sugar until they start to thicken.\n  VERB: V n\n\n8. When a bird or insect beats its wings or when its wings beat, its wings move up and down.\nBeating their wings they flew off...\nIts wings beat slowly.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n9. If you beat someone in a competition or election, you defeat them.\nIn yesterday’s games, Switzerland beat the United States two-one...\nShe was easily beaten into third place.\n  VERB: V n, V n into n\n\n10. If someone beats a record or achievement, they do better than it.\nHe was as eager as his Captain to beat the record.\n  VERB: V n\n\n11. If you beat something that you are fighting against, for example an organization, a problem, or a disease, you defeat it.\nIt became clear that the Union was not going to beat the government...\n  VERB: V n\n  = conquer\n12. If an attack or an attempt is beaten off or is beaten back, it is stopped, often temporarily.\nThe rescuers were beaten back by strong winds and currents...\nSouth Africa’s ruling National Party has beaten off a right-wing challenge.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed adv, V adv n\n\n13. If you say that one thing beats another, you mean that it is better than it. (INFORMAL)\nBeing boss of a software firm beats selling insurance...\n  VERB: no cont, V n\n\n14. If you say you can’t beat a particular thing you mean that it is the best thing of its kind.\nYou can’t beat soap and water for cleansing.\n  VERB: no cont, V n\n\n15. To beat a time limit or an event means to achieve something before that time or event.\nThey were trying to beat the midnight deadline...\n  VERB: V n\n\n16. A police officer’s or journalist’s beat is the area for which he or she is responsible.\n  N-COUNT\n\n17. You use beat in expressions such as `It beats me’ or `What beats me is’ to indicate that you cannot understand or explain something. (INFORMAL, SPOKEN)\n`What am I doing wrong, anyway?’.`Beats me, Lewis.’...\n  PHRASE\n\n18.\n  see also beaten, beaten-up, beating, beat-up\n19. If you intend to do something but someone beats you to it, they do it before you do.\n(next)


Words: beat .1
Meaning:
Don’t be too long about it or you’ll find someone has beaten you to it.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n20. A police officer on the beat is on duty, walking around the area for which he or she is responsible.\nThe officer on the beat picks up information; hears cries for help; makes people feel safe.\n  PHRASE: usu n PHR, v-link PHR\n\n21. If you beat time to a piece of music, you move your hand or foot up and down in time with the music. A conductor beats time to show the choir or orchestra how fast they should sing or play the music.\nHe beats time with hands and feet.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = keep time\n22.\nto beat someone black and blue: see black\nto beat about the bush: see bush\nto beat or knock the living daylights out of someone: see daylights\nto beat the drum for someone or something: see drum\nto beat someone at their own game: see game\nto beat a retreat: see retreat\nto beat, kick or knock the shit out of someone: see shit


Words: beat down
Meaning:
beat down\n1. When the sun beats down, it is very hot and bright.\n  PHRASAL VERB\n\n2. When the rain beats down, it rains very hard.\nEven in the winter with the rain beating down, it’s nice and cosy in there.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = pour down\n3. If you beat down a person who is selling you something, you force them to accept a lower price for it than they wanted to get.\nA fair employer, when arranging for the pay of a carpenter, does not try to beat him down...\nBeat down the seller to the price that suits you.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n  = knock down


Words: beat out
Meaning:
beat out\n1. If you beat out sounds on a drum or similar instrument, you make the sounds by hitting the instrument.\nDrums and cymbals beat out a solemn rhythm.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n  = tap out\n2. If you beat out a fire, you cause it to go out by hitting it, usually with an object such as a blanket.\nHis brother beat out the flames with a blanket...\nShe managed to beat the fire out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n3. If you beat out someone in a competition, you defeat them. (mainly AM)\nIndianapolis beat out nearly 100 other cities as the site for a huge United Airlines maintenance center...\nIf we are certain a rival will beat us out, we are wide open to jealousy.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: beat out of
Meaning:
beat out of\n  If someone beats another person out of something, they get that thing by deceiving the other person or behaving dishonestly.\nIf he could beat his uncle out of a dollar he’d do it.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P P n


Words: beat up
Meaning:
beat up\n1. If someone beats a person up, they hit or kick the person many times.\nThen they actually beat her up as well...\nThe government supporters are beating up anyone they suspect of favouring the demonstrators.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If you beat yourself up about something, you worry about it a lot or blame yourself for it. (INFORMAL)\nTell them you don’t want to do it any more. Don’t beat yourself up about it...\nI don’t beat myself up. I don’t deal with things I can’t handle.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V pron-refl P prep, V pron-refl P\n\n=>  beating-up      beatings-up\nThere had been no violence, no beatings-up until then.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beat up on
Meaning:
beat up on\n1. If someone beats up on a person or beats on them, they hit or kick the person many times. (AM)\nHe beat up on my brother’s kid one time.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n, also V P n\n\n2. If someone beats up on another person, they threaten them or treat them unkindly. (AM INFORMAL)\nShe had to beat up on every customer just to get the bills paid.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n


Words: beat-up
Meaning:
beat-up\n  A beat-up car or other object is old and in bad condition. (INFORMAL)\n...a beat-up old Fiat 131.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = battered


Words: beatable
Meaning:
beat.able\n   beatable\n  Someone who is beatable can be beaten.\nAll teams are beatable, but it’s going to be very, very difficult.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ


Words: beaten
Meaning:
beat.en\n   beaten\n1. Beaten earth has been pressed down, often by people’s feet, until it is hard.\nBefore you is a well-worn path of beaten earth.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = trampled\n2. A place that is off the beaten track is in an area where not many people live or go.\nTiny secluded beaches can be found off the beaten track.\n  PHRASE


Words: beaten-up
Meaning:
beaten-up\n  A beaten-up car or other object is old and in bad condition.\nHer sandals were old and somewhat beaten-up, but very comfortable.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = battered


Words: beater
Meaning:
beat.er\n   beater  beaters\n1. A beater is a tool or part of a machine which is used for beating things like eggs and cream.\nWhisk the batter with a wire whisk or hand beater until it is smooth and light.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n  = whisk\n2.\n  see also world beater


Words: beatific
Meaning:
bea.tif.ic\n   beatific\n  A beatific expression shows or expresses great happiness and calmness. (LITERARY)\n...a beatific smile.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = blissful


Words: beatify
Meaning:
be.ati.fy\n   beatify  beatifies  beatifying  beatified\n  When the Catholic church beatifies someone who is dead, it declares officially that they were a holy person, usually as the first step towards making them a saint.\nIn May, Pope John Paul is to beatify Gianna Beretta.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  be.ati.fi.ca.tion\nThousands attended the beatification of Juan Diego.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: beating
Meaning:
beat.ing\n   beating  beatings\n1. If someone is given a beating, they are hit hard many times, especially with something such as a stick.\n...the savage beating of a black motorist by white police officers...\nThe team secured pictures of prisoners showing signs of severe beatings.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If something such as a business, a political party, or a team takes a beating, it is defeated by a large amount in a competition or election.\nOur firm has taken a terrible beating in recent years.\n  N-SING: a N\n\n3. If you say that something will take some beating, you mean that it is very good and it is unlikely that anything better will be done or made. (INFORMAL)\nFor sheer scale and grandeur, Leeds Castle in Kent takes some beating.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: beatnik
Meaning:
beat.nik\n   beatnik  beatniks\n  Beatniks were young people in the late 1950’s who rejected traditional ways of living, dressing, and behaving. People sometimes use the word beatnik to refer to anyone who lives in an unconventional way.\n...a beatnik art student.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beau
Meaning:
beau  beaux  or beaus\n  A woman’s beau is her boyfriend or lover. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n  = suitor


Words: beaut
Meaning:
beaut  beauts\n  You describe someone or something as a beaut when you think they are very good. (mainly AM or AUSTRALIAN INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: beautician
Meaning:
beau.ti.cian\n   beautician  beauticians\n  A beautician is a person whose job is giving people beauty treatments such as doing their nails, treating their skin, and putting on their make-up.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beautiful
Meaning:
beau.ti.ful\n   beautiful\n1. A beautiful person is very attractive to look at.\nShe was a very beautiful woman...\nTo me he is the most beautiful child in the world.\n  ADJ\n  !=ugly\n2. If you describe something as beautiful, you mean that it is very attractive or pleasing.\nNew England is beautiful...\nIt was a beautiful morning...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  beau.ti.ful.ly\nThe children behaved beautifully.\n...a beautifully clear, sunny day.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v\n\n3. You can describe something that someone does as beautiful when they do it very skilfully.\nThat’s a beautiful shot!\n  ADJ\n\n=>  beau.ti.ful.ly\nArsenal played beautifully.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed


Words: beautify
Meaning:
beau.ti.fy\n   beautify  beautifies  beautifying  beautified\n  If you beautify something, you make it look more beautiful. (FORMAL)\nClaire worked to beautify the garden.\n  VERB: V n\n  = smarten


Words: beauty
Meaning:
beau.ty\n   beauty  beauties\n1. Beauty is the state or quality of being beautiful.\n...an area of outstanding natural beauty...\nEveryone admired her elegance and her beauty.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A beauty is a beautiful woman. (JOURNALISM)\nShe is known as a great beauty.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. You can say that something is a beauty when you think it is very good. (INFORMAL)\nThe pass was a real beauty, but the shot was poor.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. The beauties of something are its attractive qualities or features. (LITERARY)\nHe was beginning to enjoy the beauties of nature.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, with supp\n\n5. Beauty is used to describe people, products, and activities that are concerned with making women look beautiful.\nAdditional beauty treatments can be booked in advance.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n6. If you say that a particular feature is the beauty of something, you mean that this feature is what makes the thing so good.\nThere would be no effect on animals.that’s the beauty of such water-based materials.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N of n\n  = advantage


Words: beauty contest
Meaning:
beau.ty con.test\n   beauty contest  beauty contests\n  A beauty contest is a competition in which young women are judged to decide which one is the most beautiful.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beauty pageant
Meaning:
beau.ty pag.eant\n   beauty pageant  beauty pageants\n  A beauty pageant is the same as a beauty contest. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: beauty parlour
Meaning:
beau.ty par.lour\n   beauty parlour  beauty parlours\nin AM, use beauty parlor\n  A beauty parlour is a place where women can go to have beauty treatments, for example to have their hair, nails or make-up done.\n  N-COUNT\n  = beauty salon


Words: beauty queen
Meaning:
beau.ty queen\n   beauty queen  beauty queens\n  A beauty queen is a woman who has won a beauty contest.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beauty salon
Meaning:
beau.ty sa.lon\n   beauty salon  beauty salons\n  A beauty salon is the same as a beauty parlour.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beauty shop
Meaning:
beau.ty shop\n   beauty shop  beauty shops\n  A beauty shop is the same as a beauty parlour. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: beauty spot
Meaning:
beau.ty spot\n   beauty spot  beauty spots\n1. A beauty spot is a place in the country that is popular because of its beautiful scenery.\nThe Valley of Vinales is a lush and fertile valley and one of Cuba’s finest beauty spots.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A beauty spot is a small, dark spot on the skin which is supposed to add to a woman’s beauty.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beaver
Meaning:
bea.ver\n   beaver  beavers  beavering  beavered\n1. A beaver is a furry animal with a big flat tail and large teeth. Beavers use their teeth to cut wood and build dams in rivers.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Beaver is the fur of a beaver.\n...a coat with a huge beaver collar.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: beaver away
Meaning:
beaver away\n  If you are beavering away at something, you are working very hard at it.\nThey had a team of architects beavering away at a scheme for the rehabilitation of District 6...\nThey are beavering away to get everything ready for us.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P at/on n, V P


Words: bebop
Meaning:
be.bop\n   bebop\n  Bebop is a form of jazz music with complex harmonies and rhythms. The abbreviation bop is also used.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: becalmed
Meaning:
be.calmed\n   becalmed\n1. If a sailing ship is becalmed, it is unable to move because there is no wind.\nWe were becalmed off Dungeness for several hours.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n2. If something such as the economy, a company, or a series of talks is becalmed, it is not progressing at all, although it should be. (LITERARY)\n...the becalmed peace talks.\n  ADJ\n  = stagnant


Words: because
Meaning:
be.cause\n   because\n1. You use because when stating the reason for something.\nHe is called Mitch, because his name is Mitchell...\nBecause it is an area of outstanding natural beauty, you can’t build on it...\n`Why didn’t you tell me, Archie?’.`Because you might have casually mentioned it to somebody else.’\n  CONJ\n\n2. You use because when stating the explanation for a statement you have just made.\nMaybe they just didn’t want to ask too many questions, because they rented us a room without even asking to see our papers...\nThe President has played a shrewd diplomatic game because from the outset he called for direct talks with the United States...\n  CONJ\n\n3. If an event or situation occurs because of something, that thing is the reason or cause.\nMany families break up because of a lack of money...\nBecause of the law in Ireland, we had to work out a way of getting her over to Britain.\n  PREP-PHRASE\n\n4. You use just because when you want to say that a particular situation should not necessarily make you come to a particular conclusion. (INFORMAL, SPOKEN)\nJust because something has always been done a certain way does not make it right.\n  PHRASE


Words: beck
Meaning:
beck\n  If one person is at another’s beck and call, they have to be constantly available and ready to do whatever is asked, and this often seems unfair or undesirable.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: beckon
Meaning:
beck.on\n   beckon  beckons  beckoning  beckoned\n1. If you beckon to someone, you signal to them to come to you.\nHe beckoned to the waiter...\nI beckoned her over...\nHughes beckoned him to sit down on a sofa.\n  VERB: V to n, V n adv/prep, V n to-inf, also V\n\n2. If something beckons, it is so attractive to someone that they feel they must become involved in it.\nAll the attractions of the peninsula beckon...\nThe bright lights of Hollywood beckon many.\n  VERB: V, V n, also V to n\n\n3. If something beckons for someone, it is very likely to happen to them.\nThe big time beckons for him...\nOld age beckons.\n  VERB: V for n, V


Words: become
Meaning:
be.come\n   become  becomes  becoming  became\n\n  The form become is used in the present tense and is the past participle.\n\n1. If someone or something becomes a particular thing, they start to change and develop into that thing, or start to develop the characteristics mentioned.\nI first became interested in Islam while I was doing my nursing training...\nAs she reached the age of thirty she became convinced she would remain single all her life...\nAfter leaving school, he became a professional footballer...\n  V-LINK: V adj, V -ed, V n\n\n2. If something becomes someone, it makes them look attractive or it seems right for them.\nDon’t be crude tonight, Bernard, it doesn’t become you.\n  VERB: no passive, no cont, V n\n  = suit\n3. If you wonder what has become of someone or something, you wonder where they are and what has happened to them.\nShe thought constantly about her family; she might never know what had become of them...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: becoming
Meaning:
be.com.ing\n   becoming\n1. A piece of clothing, a colour, or a hairstyle that is becoming makes the person who is wearing it look attractive. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nSofter fabrics are much more becoming than stiffer ones.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  = fetching\n=>  be.com.ing.ly\nHer dress was of blue silk, quite light, and becomingly open at the neck.\n  ADV\n\n2. Behaviour that is becoming is appropriate and proper in the circumstances.\nThis behaviour is not any more becoming among our politicians than it is among our voters.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  = appropriate


Words: BEd
Meaning:
BEd  BEds\nin AM, use B.Ed.\n  A BEd is a degree which usually takes four years to complete and which qualifies someone to teach in a school. BEd is an abbreviation for `Bachelor of Education.’ Compare PGCE.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bed
Meaning:
bed  beds\n1. A bed is a piece of furniture that you lie on when you sleep.\nShe went into her bedroom and lay down on the bed...\nWe finally went to bed at about 4am...\nBy the time we got back from dinner, Nona was already in bed...\nWhen she had gone Sam and Robina put the children to bed.\n  N-COUNT: also prep N\n\n2. If a place such as a hospital or a hotel has a particular number of beds, it is able to hold that number of patients or guests.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A bed in a garden or park is an area of ground that has been specially prepared so that plants can be grown in it.\n...beds of strawberries and rhubarb.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N, N of n\n\n4. A bed of shellfish or plants is an area in the sea or in a lake where a particular type of shellfish or plant is found in large quantities.\nThe whole lake was rimmed with thick beds of reeds.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n5. The sea bed or a river bed is the ground at the bottom of the sea or of a river.\nFor three weeks a big operation went on to recover the wreckage from the sea bed.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp\n\n6. A bed of rock is a layer of rock that is found within a larger area of rock.\nBetween the white limestone and the greyish pink limestone is a thin bed of clay.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n7. If a recipe or a menu says that something is served on a bed of a food such as rice or vegetables, it means it is served on a layer of that food.\nHeat the curry thoroughly and serve it on a bed of rice.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, N of n\n\n8.\n  see also -bedded, bedding\n9. To go to bed with someone means to have sex with them.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n10. If you say that someone has made their bed and must lie in it, you mean that since they have chosen to do a particular thing, they must now accept the unpleasant results of their action.\n  PHRASE\n\n11. When you make the bed, you neatly arrange the sheets and covers of a bed so that it is ready to sleep in.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n12.\nbed of roses: see rose


Words: bed and breakfast
Meaning:
bed and break.fast\n   bed and breakfast  bed and breakfasts   also bed-and-breakfast\n1. Bed and breakfast is a system of accommodation in a hotel or guest house, in which you pay for a room for the night and for breakfast the following morning. The abbreviation B&B is also used. (mainly BRIT)\nBed and breakfast costs from .30 per person per night.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A bed and breakfast is a guest house that provides bed and breakfast accommodation. The abbreviation B&B is also used. (mainly BRIT)\nAccommodation can be arranged at local bed and breakfasts.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bed linen
Meaning:
bed lin.en\n   bed linen   also bed-linen\n  Bed linen is sheets and pillowcases.\n...crisp white cotton bed linen.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bedazzled
Meaning:
be.daz.zled\n   bedazzled\n  If you are bedazzled by someone or something, you are so amazed and impressed by them that you feel confused.\nMany people are bedazzled by fame.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ by n


Words: bedbug
Meaning:
bed.bug\n   bedbug  bedbugs\n  A bedbug is a small insect with a round body and no wings which lives in dirty houses and feeds by biting people and sucking their blood when they are in bed.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bedchamber
Meaning:
bed.chamber\n   bedchamber  bedchambers   also bed-chamber\n  A bedchamber is a bedroom. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bedclothes
Meaning:
bed.clothes\n   bedclothes\n  Bedclothes are the sheets and covers which you put over yourself when you get into bed.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: bedding plant
Meaning:
bed.ding plant\n   bedding plant  bedding plants\n  A bedding plant is a plant which lasts for one year. It is put in a flower bed before it flowers, and is then removed when it has finished flowering.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bedeck
Meaning:
be.deck\n   bedeck  bedecks  bedecking  bedecked\n  If flags or other ornaments bedeck a place, a lot of them have been hung up to decorate it. (LITERARY)\n...flags bedecking the balcony.\n  VERB: V n


Words: bedecked
Meaning:
be.decked\n   bedecked\n  If a place is bedecked with flags or other ornaments, these things have been hung up to decorate it. (LITERARY)\nThe palace was bedecked with flags.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with/in n, adv ADJ\n\n  Bedecked is also a combining form.\n...a flower-bedecked stage.\n  COMB in ADJ


Words: bedevil
Meaning:
be.dev.il\n   bedevil  bedevils  bedevilling  bedevilled\nin AM, use bedeviling, bedeviled\n  If you are bedevilled by something unpleasant, it causes you a lot of problems over a period of time. (FORMAL)\nHis career was bedevilled by injury.\n...a problem that has bedevilled service industries for decades.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n  = beset


Words: bedfellow
Meaning:
bed.fellow\n   bedfellow  bedfellows\n  You refer to two things or people as bedfellows when they have become associated or related in some way.\nSex and death are strange bedfellows.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: bedhead
Meaning:
bed.head\n   bedhead  bedheads   also bed-head\n  A bedhead is a board which is fixed to the end of a bed behind your head. (BRIT; in AM, use headboard)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bedlam
Meaning:
bed.lam\n   bedlam\n  Bedlam means a great deal of noise and disorder. People often say `It was bedlam’ to mean `There was bedlam’.\nThe crowd went absolutely mad. It was bedlam...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = chaos


Words: Bedouin
Meaning:
Bedou.in\n   Bedouin  Bedouins  or Bedouin\n1. A Bedouin is a member of a particular Arab tribe.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Bedouin means relating to the Bedouin people.\n...Bedouin carpets.\n  ADJ


Words: bedpan
Meaning:
bed.pan\n   bedpan  bedpans   also bed-pan\n  A bedpan is a shallow bowl shaped like a toilet seat, which is used instead of a toilet by people who are too ill to get out of bed.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bedpost
Meaning:
bed.post\n   bedpost  bedposts   also bed-post\n  A bedpost is one of the four vertical supports at the corners of a bed with an old-fashioned wooden or iron frame.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bedraggled
Meaning:
be.drag.gled\n   bedraggled\n  Someone or something that is bedraggled looks untidy because they have got wet or dirty.\nHe looked weary and bedraggled.\n...a bedraggled group of journalists.\n  ADJ\n  = scruffy


Words: bedridden
Meaning:
bed.rid.den\n   bedridden\n  Someone who is bedridden is so ill or disabled that they cannot get out of bed.\nHe had to spend two years bedridden with an injury.\n...bedridden patients.\n  ADJ


Words: bedrock
Meaning:
bed.rock\n   bedrock\n1. The bedrock of something is the principles, ideas, or facts on which it is based.\nMutual trust is the bedrock of a relationship...\n...the bedrock principles of British democratic socialism.\n  N-SING\n  = foundation\n2. Bedrock is the solid rock in the ground which supports all the soil above it.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bedroll
Meaning:
bed.roll\n   bedroll  bedrolls   also bed-roll\n  A bedroll is a rolled-up sleeping bag or other form of bedding, which you can carry with you.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bedroom
Meaning:
bed.room\n   bedroom  bedrooms\n  A bedroom is a room used for sleeping in.\n...the spare bedroom.\n...a two-bedroom apartment.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bedside
Meaning:
bed.side\n   bedside\n1. Your bedside is the area beside your bed.\nShe put a cup of tea down on the bedside table...\nHe drew a chair up to the bedside and sat down.\n  N-SING: usu N n\n\n2. If you talk about being at someone’s bedside, you are talking about being near them when they are ill in bed.\nShe kept vigil at the bedside of her critically ill son...\n  N-SING: usu with poss


Words: bedside manner
Meaning:
bed.side man.ner\n   bedside manner\n  A doctor’s bedside manner is the way in which they talk to their patients.\n  N-SING


Words: bedsit
Meaning:
bed.sit\n   bedsit  bedsits\n  A bedsit is a room you rent which you use for both living in and sleeping in. (BRIT)\nHe was living alone in a dingy bedsit in London.\n  N-COUNT\n  = bedsitter


Words: bedsitter
Meaning:
bed.sitter\n   bedsitter  bedsitters   also bed-sitter\n  A bedsitter is the same as a bedsit. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bedsores
Meaning:
bed.sores\n   bedsores\n  Bedsores are sore places on a person’s skin, caused by having to lie in bed for a long time without changing position.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: bedspread
Meaning:
bed.spread\n   bedspread  bedspreads\n  A bedspread is a decorative cover which is put over a bed, on top of the sheets and blankets.\n  N-COUNT\n  = coverlet


Words: bedstead
Meaning:
bed.stead\n   bedstead  bedsteads\n  A bedstead is the metal or wooden frame of an old-fashioned bed.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bedtime
Meaning:
bed.time\n   bedtime\n  Your bedtime is the time when you usually go to bed.\nIt was eight-thirty, Trevor’s bedtime.\n...bedtime stories.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bedwetting
Meaning:
bed.wet.ting\n   bedwetting   also bed-wetting\n  Bedwetting means urinating in bed, usually by small children.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bee
Meaning:
bee  bees\n1. A bee is an insect with a yellow-and-black striped body that makes a buzzing noise as it flies. Bees make honey, and can sting.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you have a bee in your bonnet about something, you are so enthusiastic or worried about it that you keep mentioning it or thinking about it.\nHe’s got a bee in his bonnet about factory farming.\n  PHRASE: V and bee inflect, oft PHR about n\n\n3. A bee is a social event where people get together for a competition or to do something such as sew. (AM)\nThat year I won first prize in the spelling bee...\n  N-COUNT: usu n N


Words: Beeb
Meaning:
Beeb\n  The BBC is sometimes called the Beeb. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nHe joined the Beeb at 19.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: beech
Meaning:
beech  beeches\n  A beech or a beech tree is a tree with a smooth grey trunk.\n...the branch of a huge beech.\n  N-VAR\n\n  Beech is the wood of this tree.\nThe worktop is made of solid beech.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: beef
Meaning:
beef  beefs  beefing  beefed\n  Beef is the meat of a cow, bull, or ox.\n...roast beef.\n...beef stew.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also corned beef


Words: beef up
Meaning:
beef up\n  If you beef up something, you increase, strengthen, or improve it.\nBoth sides are still beefing up their military strength.\n...a beefed up police presence.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V-ed P, also V n P


Words: beefburger
Meaning:
beef.bur.ger\n   beefburger  beefburgers   also beef burger\n  A beefburger is the same as a hamburger. (BRIT)\n... beefburgers and chips.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beefcake
Meaning:
beef.cake\n   beefcake  beefcakes\n  Attractive men with large muscles can be referred to as beefcake. (INFORMAL)\n...beefcake photos.\n  N-VAR: oft N n\n  = hunk


Words: Beefeater
Meaning:
Beef.eater\n   Beefeater  Beefeaters\n  Beefeaters are guards at the Tower of London. They wear a uniform made in the style of the sixteenth century. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: beefy
Meaning:
beefy  beefier  beefiest\n  Someone, especially a man, who is beefy has a big body and large muscles.\n...a beefy red-faced Englishman.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = brawny


Words: beehive
Meaning:
bee.hive\n   beehive  beehives\n  A beehive is a structure in which bees are kept, which is designed so that the beekeeper can collect the honey that they produce.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beekeeper
Meaning:
bee.keeper\n   beekeeper  beekeepers\n  A beekeeper is a person who owns and takes care of bees.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beekeeping
Meaning:
bee.keeping\n   beekeeping\n  Beekeeping is the practice of owning and taking care of bees.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: beeline
Meaning:
bee.line\n   beeline   also bee-line\n  If you make a beeline for a place, you go to it as quickly and directly as possible. (INFORMAL)\nShe made a beeline for the car.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n


Words: been
Meaning:
been  WEAK   STRONG\n1. Been is the past participle of be.\n\n2. If you have been to a place, you have gone to it or visited it.\nHe’s already been to Tunisia, and is to go on to Morocco and Mauritania...\nI’ve been there before.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv


Words: beep
Meaning:
beep  beeps  beeping  beeped\n1. A beep is a short, loud sound like that made by a car horn or a telephone answering machine.\n  N-COUNT; SOUND\n\n2. If something such as a horn beeps, or you beep it, it makes a short, harsh sound.\nA cellular telephone beeped...\nHe beeped the horn.\n  VERB: V, V n


Words: beeper
Meaning:
beep.er\n   beeper  beepers\n  A beeper is a portable device that makes a beeping noise, usually to tell you to phone someone or to remind you to do something.\nHis beeper sounded and he picked up the telephone.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beer
Meaning:
beer  beers\n  Beer is a bitter alcoholic drink made from grain.\nHe sat in the kitchen drinking beer...\nWe have quite a good range of beers.\n  N-MASS\n\n  A glass of beer can be referred to as a beer.\nWould you like a beer?\n  N-COUNT


Words: beer belly
Meaning:
beer bel.ly\n   beer belly  beer bellies\n  If a man has a beer belly, he has a fat stomach because of drinking too much beer.\nHe was short and fat, with a large beer belly.\n  N-COUNT\n  = paunch


Words: beermat
Meaning:
beer.mat\n   beermat  beermats   also beer mat\n  A beermat is a cardboard mat for resting your glass of beer on in a bar or pub.\n  N-COUNT


Words: beery
Meaning:
beery\n  If a person, especially a man, is described as beery, they have drunk a lot of beer.\n...jolly, beery farmers.\n...beery roars of applause.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: beeswax
Meaning:
bees.wax\n   beeswax\n  Beeswax is wax that is made by bees and used especially for making candles and furniture polish.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: beet
Meaning:
beet  beets\n1. Beet is a crop with a thick round root. It is often used to feed animals, especially cows.\n...fields of sweet corn and beet.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also sugar beet\n2. Beets are dark red roots that are eaten as a vegetable. They are often preserved in vinegar. (AM; in BRIT, use beetroot)\n  N-VAR: usu pl


Words: beetroot
Meaning:
beet.root\n   beetroot  beetroots\n  Beetroot is a dark red root that is eaten as a vegetable. It is often preserved in vinegar. (BRIT; in AM, use beet)\n  N-VAR


Words: befall
Meaning:
be.fall\n   befall  befalls  befalling  befell  befallen\n  If something bad or unlucky befalls you, it happens to you. (LITERARY)\n...the disaster that befell the island of Flores.\n  VERB: V n


Words: befit
Meaning:
be.fit\n   befit  befits  befitting  befitted\n  If something befits a person or thing, it is suitable or appropriate for them. (FORMAL)\nThey offered him a post befitting his seniority and experience...\n  VERB: V n\n  = become


Words: before
Meaning:
be.fore\n   before\nIn addition to the uses shown below, before is used in the phrasal verbs `go before’ and `lay before’.\n1. If something happens before a particular date, time, or event, it happens earlier than that date, time, or event.\nAnnie was born a few weeks before Christmas...\nBefore World War II, women were not recruited as intelligence officers...\nMy husband rarely comes to bed before 2 or 3am.\n  PREP\n  !=after\n  Before is also a conjunction.\nStock prices climbed close to the peak they’d registered before the stock market crashed.\n  CONJ\n\n2. If you do one thing before doing something else, you do it earlier than the other thing.\nHe spent his early life in Sri Lanka before moving to England...\nBefore leaving, he went into his office to fill in the daily time sheet.\n  PREP: PREP -ing\n  !=after\n  Before is also a conjunction.\nHe took a cold shower and then towelled off before he put on fresh clothes.\n  CONJ\n\n3. You use before when you are talking about time. For example, if something happened the day before a particular date or event, it happened during the previous day.\nThe war had ended only a month or so before.\n  ADV: n ADV\n\n  Before is also a preposition.\nIt’s interesting that he sent me the book twenty days before the deadline for my book.\n  PREP: n PREP n\n\n  Before is also a conjunction.\nKelman had a book published in the US more than a decade before a British publisher would touch him.\n  CONJ\n\n4. If you do something before someone else can do something, you do it when they have not yet done it.\nBefore Gallacher could catch up with the ball, Nadlovu had beaten him to it.\n  CONJ\n\n5. If someone has done something before, they have done it on a previous occasion. If someone has not done something before, they have never done it.\nI had met Professor Lown before...\nShe had never been to Italy before.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n6. If there is a period of time or if several things are done before something happens, it takes that amount of time or effort for this thing to happen.\nIt was some time before the door opened in response to his ring.\n  CONJ\n  = until\n7. If a particular situation has to happen before something else happens, this situation must happen or exist in order for the other thing to happen.\nThere was additional work to be done before all the troops would be ready.\n  CONJ\n\n8. If someone is before something, they are in front of it. (FORMAL)\nThey drove through a tall iron gate and stopped before a large white villa.\n  PREP\n\n9. If you tell someone that one place is a certain distance before another, you mean that they will come to the first place first.\nThe turn is about two kilometres before the roundabout.\n  PREP\n\n10. If you appear or come before an official person or group, you go there and answer questions.\nThe Governor will appear before the committee next Tuesday.\n  PREP\n\n11. If something happens before a particular person or group, it is seen by or happens while this person or this group is present.\nThe game followed a colourful opening ceremony before a crowd of seventy-four thousand.\n  PREP\n\n12. If you have something such as a journey, a task, or a stage of your life before you, you must do it or live through it in the future.\nEveryone in the room knew it was the single hardest task before them...\n  PREP: PREP pron\n  = ahead of\n13. When you want to say that one person or thing is more important than another, you can say that they come before the other person or thing.\nHer husband, her children, and the Church came before her needs.\n  PREP: v PREP n\n\n14.\nbefore long: see long


Words: beforehand
Meaning:
before.hand\n   beforehand\n  If you do something beforehand, you do it earlier than a particular event.\nHow could she tell beforehand that I was going to go out?...\n  ADV: usu ADV after v, also ADV with cl


Words: befriend
Meaning:
be.friend\n   befriend  befriends  befriending  befriended\n  If you befriend someone, especially someone who is lonely or far from home, you make friends with them.\nThe film’s about an elderly woman and a young nurse who befriends her...\n  VERB: V n


Words: befuddle
Meaning:
be.fud.dle\n   befuddle  befuddles  befuddling  befuddled\n  If something befuddles you, it confuses your mind or thoughts.\n...problems that are befuddling them.\n  VERB: V n\n  = confuse\n=>  be.fud.dled\n...his befuddled manner.\n...befuddled with drink.\n  ADJ


Words: beg
Meaning:
beg  begs  begging  begged\n1. If you beg someone to do something, you ask them very anxiously or eagerly to do it.\nI begged him to come back to England with me...\nI begged to be allowed to leave...\nWe are not going to beg for help any more...\nThey dropped to their knees and begged forgiveness.\n  VERB: V n to-inf, V to-inf-passive, V for n, V n, also V n with quote\n\n2. If someone who is poor is begging, they are asking people to give them food or money.\nI was surrounded by people begging for food...\nThere are thousands like him in Los Angeles, begging on the streets and sleeping rough...\nShe was living alone, begging food from neighbors.\n  VERB: oft cont, V for n, V, V n\n\n3. You say `I beg to differ’ when you are politely emphasizing that you disagree with someone.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  politeness\n\n4. If you say that something is going begging, you mean that it is available but no one is using it or accepting it.\nThere is other housing going begging in town.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n5. If you say that something begs a particular question, you mean that it makes people want to ask that question; some people consider that this use is incorrect.\nHopewell’s success begs the question: why aren’t more companies doing the same?\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n6. If you say that something begs a particular question, you mean that it assumes that the question has already been answered and so does not deal with it. (WRITTEN)\nThe research begs a number of questions.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n7.\nI beg your pardon: see pardon


Words: beget
Meaning:
be.get\n   beget  begets  begetting  begot  begotten\n1. To beget something means to cause it to happen or be created. (FORMAL)\nPoverty begets debt...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. When a man begets a child, he becomes the father of that child. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  VERB\n  = father


Words: begetter
Meaning:
be.get.ter\n   begetter  begetters\n  The begetter of something has caused this thing to come into existence. (FORMAL)\nElvis Presley was the true begetter of modern youth culture.\n  N-COUNT: with poss


Words: beggar
Meaning:
beg.gar\n   beggar  beggars  beggaring  beggared\n1. A beggar is someone who lives by asking people for money or food.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If something beggars a person, country, or organization, it makes them very poor.\nHe warned that lifting copyright restrictions could beggar the industry.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If something beggars belief, it is impossible to believe it. If something beggars description, it is impossible to describe it.\nThe statistics beggar belief...\nHis courage beggars description.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: begging bowl
Meaning:
beg.ging bowl\n   begging bowl  begging bowls\n  If a country or organization approaches other countries or organizations with a begging bowl, it asks them for money. (mainly BRIT)\nHe said earlier that he is not holding out a begging bowl.\n  N-COUNT


Words: begging letter
Meaning:
beg.ging let.ter\n   begging letter  begging letters\n  A begging letter is a letter from a person or organization in which they ask you to send some money for a particular purpose. (mainly BRIT)\nI wrote hundreds of begging letters to charities and businesses.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: begin
Meaning:
be.gin\n   begin  begins  beginning  began  begun\n1. To begin to do something means to start doing it.\nHe stood up and began to move around the room...\nThe weight loss began to look more serious...\nSnow began falling again.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V to-inf, V -ing\n  = start  !=stop\n2. When something begins or when you begin it, it takes place from a particular time onwards.\nThe problems began last November...\nHe has just begun his fourth year in hiding...\nThe US is prepared to begin talks immediately.\n  VERB: V, V n, V n\n  = start, commence  !=end\n3. If you begin with something, or begin by doing something, this is the first thing you do.\nCould I begin with a few formalities?\n...a businessman who began by selling golf shirts from the boot of his car...\nHe began his career as a sound editor.\n  VERB: V with n, V by -ing, V n prep\n  = start  !=end\n4. You use begin to mention the first thing that someone says.\n`Professor Theron,’ he began, `I’m very pleased to see you’...\nHe didn’t know how to begin.\n  VERB: no cont, V with quote, V\n  !=conclude\n5. If one thing began as another, it first existed in the form of the second thing.\nWhat began as a local festival has blossomed into an international event.\n  VERB: no cont, V as n\n  = start\n6. If you say that a thing or place begins somewhere, you are talking about one of its limits or edges.\nThe fate line begins close to the wrist...\n  VERB: no cont, V prep/adv\n  !=end\n7. If a word begins with a particular letter, that is the first letter of that word.\nThe first word begins with an F.\n  VERB: no cont, V with n\n  = start  !=end\n8. If you say that you cannot begin to imagine, understand, or explain something, you are emphasizing that it is almost impossible to explain, understand, or imagine.\nYou can’t begin to imagine how much that saddens me.\n  VERB: no cont, with brd-neg, V to-inf  emphasis\n\n9. You use to begin with when you are talking about the first stage of a situation, event, or process.\nIt was great to begin with but now it’s difficult.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n10. You use to begin with to introduce the first of several things that you want to say.\n`What do scientists you’ve spoken with think about that?’.`Well, to begin with, they doubt it’s going to work.’\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n  = firstly\n11.\nto begin life: see life


Words: beginner
Meaning:
be.gin.ner\n   beginner  beginners\n  A beginner is someone who has just started learning to do something and cannot do it very well yet.\nThe course is suitable for beginners and advanced students...\n  N-COUNT


Words: beginning
Meaning:
be.gin.ning\n   beginning  beginnings\n1. The beginning of an event or process is the first part of it.\nThis was also the beginning of her recording career...\nThink of this as a new beginning.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  = start  !=end\n2. The beginnings of something are the signs or events which form the first part of it.\nThe discussions were the beginnings of a dialogue with Moscow.\n  N-PLURAL: usu the N, oft N of n\n\n3. The beginning of a period of time is the time at which it starts.\nThe wedding will be at the beginning of March.\n  N-SING: the N\n  !=end\n4. The beginning of a piece of written material is the first words or sentences of it.\n...the question which was raised at the beginning of this chapter.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n\n  !=end\n5. If you talk about the beginnings of a person, company, or group, you are referring to their backgrounds or origins.\nHis views come from his own humble beginnings.\n  N-PLURAL: usu with supp


Words: begonia
Meaning:
be.gonia\n   begonia  begonias\n  A begonia is a garden plant which has large brightly coloured leaves.\n  N-COUNT


Words: begrudge
Meaning:
be.grudge\n   begrudge  begrudges  begrudging  begrudged\n1. If you do not begrudge someone something, you do not feel angry, upset, or jealous that they have got it.\nI certainly don’t begrudge him the Nobel Prize.\n  VERB: usu with brd-neg, V n n\n\n2. If you do not begrudge something such as time or money, you do not mind giving it up.\nI do not begrudge the money I have lost.\n  VERB: usu with brd-neg, V n, also V -ing


Words: begrudgingly
Meaning:
be.grudg.ing.ly\n   begrudgingly\n  If you do something begrudgingly, you do it unwillingly.\nHe agreed to her suggestion begrudgingly.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  = grudgingly


Words: beguile
Meaning:
be.guile\n   beguile  beguiles  beguiling  beguiled\n1. If something beguiles you, you are charmed and attracted by it.\nI was beguiled by the romance and exotic atmosphere of the souks in Marrakech.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If someone beguiles you into doing something, they trick you into doing it.\nHe used his newspapers to beguile the readers into buying shares in his company.\n  VERB: V n into -ing


Words: beguiling
Meaning:
be.guil.ing\n   beguiling\n  Something that is beguiling is charming and attractive. (WRITTEN)\nMombasa is a town with a beguiling Arabic flavour.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  be.guil.ing.ly\nHe was beguilingly boyish and attractive.\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v


Words: behalf
Meaning:
be.half\n   behalf\n1. If you do something on someone’s behalf, you do it for that person as their representative. The form in someone’s behalf is also used, mainly in American English.\nShe made an emotional public appeal on her son’s behalf...\nSecret Service officer Robin Thompson spoke on behalf of his colleagues.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n2. If you feel, for example, embarrassed or angry on someone’s behalf, you feel embarrassed or angry for them.\n`What do you mean?’ I asked, offended on Liddie’s behalf.\n  PHRASE


Words: behave
Meaning:
be.have\n   behave  behaves  behaving  behaved\n1. The way that you behave is the way that you do and say things, and the things that you do and say.\nI couldn’t believe these people were behaving in this way...\nHe’d behaved badly.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv\n  = act\n2. If you behave or behave yourself, you act in the way that people think is correct and proper.\nYou have to behave...\nThey were expected to behave themselves.\n  VERB: V, V pron-refl\n\n3. In science, the way that something behaves is the things that it does.\nUnder certain conditions, electrons can behave like waves rather than particles.\n  VERB: V prep/adv


Words: behaviour
Meaning:
be.hav.iour\n   behaviour  behaviours\nin AM, use behavior\n1. People’s or animals’ behaviour is the way that they behave. You can refer to a typical and repeated way of behaving as a behaviour.\nMake sure that good behaviour is rewarded.\n...human sexual behaviour...\nThese eating patterns are a learned behavior.\n  N-VAR: with supp\n  = conduct\n2. In science, the behaviour of something is the way that it behaves.\nIt will be many years before anyone can predict a hurricane’s behavior with much accuracy.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl, with poss\n\n3. If someone is on their best behaviour, they are trying very hard to behave well.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: behavioural
Meaning:
be.hav.iour.al\n   behavioural\nin AM, use behavioral\n  Behavioural means relating to the behaviour of a person or animal, or to the study of their behaviour.\n...emotional and behavioural problems.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: behaviourism
Meaning:
be.hav.iour.ism\n   behaviourism\nin AM, use behaviorism\n  Behaviourism is the belief held by some psychologists that the only valid method of studying the psychology of people or animals is to observe how they behave.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  be.hav.iour.ist      behaviourists\nAnimal behaviourists have been studying these monkeys for decades.\n  N-COUNT


Words: behead
Meaning:
be.head\n   behead  beheads  beheading  beheaded\n  If someone is beheaded, their head is cut off, usually because they have been found guilty of a crime.\nCharles I was beheaded by the Cromwellians.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n  = decapitate


Words: behemoth
Meaning:
be.he.moth\n   behemoth  behemoths\n  If you refer to something as a behemoth, you mean that it is extremely large, and often that it is is unpleasant, inefficient, or difficult to manage. (JOURNALISM or LITERARY)\nThe city is a sprawling behemoth with no heart.\n...his behemoth 1,047 page book.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = monster


Words: behest
Meaning:
be.hest\n   behest  behests\n  If something is done at someone’s behest, it is done because they have ordered or requested it. (FORMAL)\nIn 1970, at his new wife’s behest, they moved to Southampton...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: behind
Meaning:
NOUN USE\nbe.hind  NOUN USE\n   behind  behinds\n  Your behind is the part of your body that you sit on.\n  N-COUNT\n  = bottom\n\nPREPOSITION AND ADVERB USES\nbe.hind  PREPOSITION AND ADVERB USES\n   behind\nIn addition to the uses shown below, behind is also used in a few phrasal verbs, such as `fall behind’ and `lie behind’.\n\nPlease look at category 14 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If something is behind a thing or person, it is on the other side of them from you, or nearer their back rather than their front.\nI put one of the cushions behind his head...\nThey were parked behind the truck...\n  PREP\n\n  Behind is also an adverb.\nRising into the hills behind are 800 acres of parkland...\nShe was attacked from behind.\n  ADV: usu n ADV, from ADV\n\n2. If you are walking or travelling behind someone or something, you are following them.\nKeith wandered along behind him...\nMyra and Sam and the children were driving behind them.\n  PREP\n\n  Behind is also an adverb.\nThe troopers followed behind, every muscle tensed for the sudden gunfire.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n3. If someone is behind a desk, counter, or bar, they are on the other side of it from where you are.\nThe colonel was sitting behind a cheap wooden desk...\nHe could just about see the little man behind the counter.\n  PREP\n\n4. When you shut a door or gate behind you, you shut it after you have gone through it.\nI walked out and closed the door behind me...\nHe slammed the gate shut behind him.\n  PREP: PREP pron\n\n5. The people, reason, or events behind a situation are the causes of it or are responsible for it.\nIt is still not clear who was behind the killing...\nHe is embarrassed about the motives behind his decision.\n  PREP\n\n6. If something or someone is behind you, they support you and help you.\nHe had the state’s judicial power behind him.\n  PREP: PREP pron\n\n7. If you refer to what is behind someone’s outside appearance, you are referring to a characteristic which you cannot immediately see or is not obvious, but which you think is there.\nWhat lay behind his anger was really the hurt he felt at Grace’s refusal...\n  PREP\n\n8. If you are behind someone, you are less successful than them, or have done less or advanced less.\nFood production has already fallen behind the population growth.\n  PREP\n  !=ahead of\n  Behind is also an adverb.\nThe rapid development of technology means that she is now far behind, and will need retraining...\n  ADV: be ADV, ADV after v\n\n9. If an experience is behind you, it happened in your past and will not happen again, or no longer affects you.\nMaureen put the nightmare behind her...\n  PREP: PREP pron\n\n10. If you have a particular achievement behind you, you have managed to reach this achievement, and other people consider it to be important or valuable.\nHe has 20 years of loyal service to Barclays Bank behind him...\n  PREP: have/with n PREP pron\n\n11. If something is behind schedule, it is not as far advanced as people had planned. If someone is behind schedule, they are not progressing as quickly at something as they had planned.\nThe work is 22 weeks behind schedule...\n  PREP: oft n PREP n\n  !=ahead of\n12. If you stay behind, you remain in a place after other people have gone.\nAbout 1,200 personnel will remain behind to take care of the air base.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n13. If you leave something or someone behind, you do not take them with you when you go.\nThe rebels fled into the mountains, leaving behind their weapons and supplies...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n14.\nto do something behind someone’s back: see back\nbehind bars: see bar\nbehind the scenes: see scene\nbehind the times: see time


Words: behold
Meaning:
be.hold\n   behold  beholds  beholding  beheld\n1. If you behold someone or something, you see them. (LITERARY)\nShe looked into his eyes and beheld madness...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2.\nlo and behold: see lo


Words: beholden
Meaning:
be.hold.en\n   beholden\n  If you are beholden to someone, you are in debt to them in some way or you feel that you have a duty to them because they have helped you.\nWe feel really beholden to them for what they’ve done.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to n


Words: beholder
Meaning:
be.hold.er\n   beholder  beholders\n1. If you say that something such as beauty or art is in the eye of the beholder, you mean that it is a matter of personal opinion.\nBeauty is in the eye of the beholder.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n2. The beholder of something is the person who is looking at it. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: behove
Meaning:
be.hove\n   behove  behoves  behoved\nin AM, use behoove\n  If it behoves you to do something, it is right, necessary, or useful for you to do it. (FORMAL)\nIt behoves us to think of these dangers.\n  VERB: it V n to-inf


Words: beige
Meaning:
beige\n  Something that is beige is pale brown in colour.\n...a pair of beige shorts.\n...muted shades of white and beige.\n  COLOUR


Words: being
Meaning:
be.ing\n   being  beings\n1. Being is the present participle of be.\n\n2. Being is used in non-finite clauses where you are giving the reason for something.\nIt being a Sunday, the old men had the day off...\nOf course, being young, I did not worry.\n  V-LINK: V n, V adj, also V prep\n\n3. You can refer to any real or imaginary creature as a being.\n...beings from outer space.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also human being\n4. Being is existence. Something that is in being or comes into being exists.\nAbraham Maslow described psychology as `the science of being.’...\nThe Kingdom of Italy formally came into being on 17 March 1861.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = existence\n5. You can use being as to introduce a reason for what you are saying. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL, SPOKEN)\nI used to go everywhere with my mother being as I was the youngest.\n  PHRASE\n\n6.\nother things being equal: see equal\nfor the time being: see time\n  see also well-being


Words: bejewelled
Meaning:
be.jew.elled\n   bejewelled\nin AM, use bejeweled\n  A bejewelled person or object is wearing a lot of jewellery or is decorated with jewels.\n...bejewelled women.\n...a bejewelled golden tiara.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: belabour
Meaning:
be.la.bour\n   belabour  belabours  belabouring  belaboured\nin AM, use belabor\n1. If you belabour someone or something, you hit them hard and repeatedly. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  VERB\n  = pummel\n2. If you say that someone belabours the point, you mean that they keep on talking about it, perhaps in an annoying or boring way.\nI won’t belabour the point, for this is a familiar story.\n  VERB: V n\n  = labour


Words: belated
Meaning:
be.lat.ed\n   belated\n  A belated action happens later than it should have done. (FORMAL)\n...the government’s belated attempts to alleviate the plight of the poor.\n...a belated birthday present.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  be.lat.ed.ly\nThe leaders realized belatedly that the coup would be disastrous for everyone.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: belch
Meaning:
belch  belches  belching  belched\n1. If someone belches, they make a sudden noise in their throat because air has risen up from their stomach.\nGarland covered his mouth with his hand and belched discreetly.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Belch is also a noun.\nHe drank and stifled a belch.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If a machine or chimney belches something such as smoke or fire or if smoke or fire belches from it, large amounts of smoke or fire come from it.\nTired old trucks were struggling up the road below us, belching black smoke...\nSuddenly, clouds of steam started to belch from the engine.\n  VERB: V n, V from/out of n\n  = emit\n  Belch out means the same as belch.\nThe power-generation plant belched out five tonnes of ash an hour.\n...the vast quantities of smoke belching out from the volcano.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P


Words: beleaguered
Meaning:
be.lea.guered\n   beleaguered\n1. A beleaguered person, organization, or project is experiencing a lot of difficulties, opposition, or criticism. (FORMAL)\nThere have been seven coup attempts against the beleaguered government.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A beleaguered place or army is surrounded by its enemies. (FORMAL)\nThe rebels continue their push towards the beleaguered capital.\n  ADJ\n  = besieged


Words: belfry
Meaning:
bel.fry\n   belfry  belfries\n  The belfry of a church is the top part of its tower, where the bells are.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Belgian
Meaning:
Bel.gian\n   Belgian  Belgians\n  Belgian means belonging or relating to Belgium or to its people.\n  ADJ\n\n  A Belgian is a person who comes from Belgium.\n  N-COUNT


Words: belie
Meaning:
be.lie\n   belie  belies  belying  belied\n1. If one thing belies another, it hides the true situation and so creates a false idea or image of someone or something.\nHer looks belie her 50 years.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If one thing belies another, it proves that the other thing is not true or genuine.\nThe facts of the situation belie his testimony.\n  VERB: V n\n  = disprove


Words: belief
Meaning:
be.lief\n   belief  beliefs\n1. Belief is a feeling of certainty that something exists, is true, or is good.\nOne billion people throughout the world are Muslims, united by belief in one god.\n...a belief in personal liberty.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N in n\n\n2. Your religious or political beliefs are your views on religious or political matters.\nHe refuses to compete on Sundays because of his religious beliefs.\n  N-PLURAL: usu supp N\n\n3. If it is your belief that something is the case, it is your strong opinion that it is the case.\nIt is our belief that improvements in health care will lead to a stronger, more prosperous economy.\n  N-SING: usu N that\n\n4. You use beyond belief to emphasize that something is true to a very great degree or that it happened to a very great degree.\nWe are devastated, shocked beyond belief...\n  PHRASE: adj PHR, PHR after v  emphasis\n\n5. You use contrary to popular belief to introduce a statement that is the opposite to what is thought to be true by most ordinary people.\nContrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that what you look like makes much difference to your life.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n6. If you do one thing in the belief that another thing is true or will happen, you do it because you think, usually wrongly, that it is true or will happen.\nCivilians had broken into the building, apparently in the belief that it contained food.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR cl


Words: belief system
Meaning:
be.lief sys.tem\n   belief system  belief systems\n  The belief system of a person or society is the set of beliefs that they have about what is right and wrong and what is true and false.\n...the belief systems of various ethnic groups.\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss


Words: believable
Meaning:
be.liev.able\n   believable\n  Something that is believable makes you think that it could be true or real.\nThis book is full of believable, interesting characters.\n  ADJ\n  = credible  !=unbelievable


Words: believe
Meaning:
be.lieve\n   believe  believes  believing  believed\n1. If you believe that something is true, you think that it is true, but you are not sure. (FORMAL)\nExperts believe that the coming drought will be extensive...\nI believe you have something of mine...\nThe main problem, I believe, lies elsewhere...\nWe believe them to be hidden here in this apartment...\n`You’ve never heard of him?’.`I don’t believe so.’\n  VERB: V that, V that, V that, V n to-inf, V soot, also V n adj\n  = think\n2. If you believe someone or if you believe what they say or write, you accept that they are telling the truth.\nHe did not sound as if he believed her...\nDon’t believe what you read in the papers.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n3. If you believe in fairies, ghosts, or miracles, you are sure that they exist or happen. If you believe in a god, you are sure of the existence of that god.\nI don’t believe in ghosts...\nDo you believe in magic?\n  VERB: V in n, V in n, also V\n\n4. If you believe in a way of life or an idea, you are in favour of it because you think it is good or right.\nHe believed in marital fidelity.\n  VERB: V in n\n\n5. If you believe in someone or what they are doing, you have confidence in them and think that they will be successful.\nIf you believe in yourself you can succeed.\n  VERB: V in n\n\n6. Believe is used in expressions such as I can’t believe how or it’s hard to believe that in order to express surprise, for example because something bad has happened or something very difficult has been achieved.\nMany officers I spoke to found it hard to believe what was happening around them...\n  VERB: with brd-neg, V wh, also V that  feelings\n\n7. You can use believe it or not to emphasize that what you have just said is surprising.\nThat’s normal, believe it or not.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis\n\n8. If you say would you believe it, you are emphasizing your surprise about something.\nAnd would you believe it, he’s younger than me!\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis\n\n9. You can use believe you me to emphasize that what you are saying is true.\nIt’s absolutely amazing, believe you me.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis


Words: believer
Meaning:
be.liev.er\n   believer  believers\n1. If you are a great believer in something, you think that it is good, right, or useful.\nMum was a great believer in herbal medicines.\n  N-COUNT: N in n, usu adj N\n\n2. A believer is someone who is sure that God exists or that their religion is true.\nI made no secret of the fact that I was not a believer.\n  N-COUNT


Words: belittle
Meaning:
be.lit.tle\n   belittle  belittles  belittling  belittled\n  If you belittle someone or something, you say or imply that they are unimportant or not very good.\nWe mustn’t belittle her outstanding achievement...\n  VERB: V n\n  = downplay


Words: bell
Meaning:
bell  bells\n1. A bell is a device that makes a ringing sound and is used to give a signal or to attract people’s attention.\nI’ve been ringing the door bell, there’s no answer.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bell is a hollow metal object shaped like a cup which has a piece hanging inside it that hits the sides and makes a sound.\nMy brother, Neville, was born on a Sunday, when all the church bells were ringing.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If something is as clear as a bell, it is very clear indeed.\nThere are 80 of these pictures and they’re all as clear as a bell.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n4. If you say that something rings a bell, you mean that it reminds you of something, but you cannot remember exactly what it is. (INFORMAL)\nThe description of one of the lads is definitely familiar. It rings a bell.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: bell pepper
Meaning:
bell pep.per\n   bell pepper  bell peppers\n  A bell pepper is a hollow green, red, or yellow vegetable with seeds. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use pepper)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bell ringer
Meaning:
bell ring.er\n   bell ringer  bell ringers   also bell-ringer\n  A bell ringer is someone who rings church bells or hand bells, especially as a hobby.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bell-bottoms
Meaning:
bell-bottoms\n  Bell-bottoms are trousers that are very wide at the bottom of the leg, near your feet.\nFlares, loons and bell-bottoms are back...\n...bell-bottom trousers.\n  N-PLURAL: oft N n\n  The form bell-bottom is used as a modifier.


Words: bellboy
Meaning:
bell.boy\n   bellboy  bellboys\n  A bellboy is a man or boy who works in a hotel, carrying bags or bringing things to the guests’ rooms.\n  N-COUNT\n  = bellhop


Words: belle
Meaning:
belle  belles\n  A belle is a beautiful woman, especially the most beautiful woman at a party or in a group. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT\n  = beauty


Words: bellicose
Meaning:
bel.li.cose\n   bellicose\n  You use bellicose to refer to aggressive actions or behaviour that are likely to start an argument or a fight. (LITERARY)\nHe expressed alarm about the government’s increasingly bellicose statements.\n  ADJ\n  = belligerent


Words: belligerent
Meaning:
bel.lig.er.ent\n   belligerent\n  A belligerent person is hostile and aggressive.\nHe was almost back to his belligerent mood of twelve months ago.\n  ADJ\n  = aggressive\n=>  bel.lig.er.ent.ly\n`Why not?’ he asked belligerently.\n  ADV\n\n=>  bel.lig.er.ence\nHe could be accused of passion, but never belligerence.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = aggression


Words: bellow
Meaning:
bel.low\n   bellow  bellows  bellowing  bellowed\n1. If someone bellows, they shout angrily in a loud, deep voice.\n`I didn’t ask to be born!’ she bellowed...\nShe prayed she wouldn’t come in and find them there, bellowing at each other...\nHe bellowed information into the mouthpiece of his portable telephone.\n  VERB: V with quote, V at n, V n prep, also V\n\n  Bellow is also a noun.\nI was distraught and let out a bellow of tearful rage.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. When a large animal such as a bull or an elephant bellows, it makes a loud and deep noise.\nA heifer bellowed in her stall.\n  VERB: V\n\n3. A bellows is or bellows are a device used for blowing air into a fire in order to make it burn more fiercely.\n  N-COUNT: also a pair of N


Words: bellwether
Meaning:
bell.wether\n   bellwether  bellwethers\n  If you describe something as a bellwether, you mean that it is an indication of the way a situation is changing. (mainly AM JOURNALISM)\nFor decades the company was the bellwether of the British economy...\nIBM is considered the bellwether stock on Wall Street.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N n


Words: belly
Meaning:
bel.ly\n   belly  bellies\n1. The belly of a person or animal is their stomach or abdomen. In British English, this is an informal or literary use.\nShe laid her hands on her swollen belly...\nYou’ll eat so much your belly’ll be like a barrel.\n  N-COUNT: with poss\n  = stomach, tummy\n  see also beer belly, pot belly\n2. If a company goes belly up, it does not have enough money to pay its debts. (INFORMAL)\nI really can’t afford to see this company go belly up.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = go bust


Words: belly button
Meaning:
bel.ly but.ton\n   belly button  belly buttons\n  Your belly button is the small round thing in the centre of your stomach. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = navel


Words: belly dancer
Meaning:
bel.ly danc.er\n   belly dancer  belly dancers   also belly-dancer\n  A belly dancer is a woman who performs a Middle Eastern dance in which she moves her hips and abdomen about.\n  N-COUNT


Words: belly laugh
Meaning:
bel.ly laugh\n   belly laugh  belly laughs   also belly-laugh\n  A belly laugh is a very loud, deep laugh.\nEach gag was rewarded with a generous belly-laugh.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bellyache
Meaning:
belly.ache\n   bellyache  bellyaches  bellyaching  bellyached   also belly-ache\n1. Bellyache is a pain inside your abdomen, especially in your stomach. (INFORMAL)\n  N-VAR\n  = stomach-ache\n2. If you say that someone is bellyaching, you mean they complain loudly and frequently about something and you think this is unreasonable or unjustified. (INFORMAL)\n...belly-aching about recession.\n  VERB: usu cont, V about n, also V\n  = complain


Words: belong
Meaning:
be.long\n   belong  belongs  belonging  belonged\n1. If something belongs to you, you own it.\nThe house had belonged to her family for three or four generations.\n  VERB: no cont, V to n\n\n2. You say that something belongs to a particular person when you are guessing, discovering, or explaining that it was produced by or is part of that person.\nThe handwriting belongs to a male...\n  VERB: no cont, V to n\n\n3. If someone belongs to a particular group, they are a member of that group.\nI used to belong to a youth club.\n  VERB: no cont, V to n\n\n4. If something or someone belongs in or to a particular category, type, or group, they are of that category, type, or group.\nThe judges could not decide which category it belonged in...\n  VERB: no cont, V in/to n\n\n5. If something belongs to a particular time, it comes from that time.\nThe pictures belong to an era when there was a preoccupation with high society.\n  VERB: no cont, V to n\n\n6. If you say that something belongs to someone, you mean that person has the right to it.\n...but the last word belonged to Rosanne.\n  VERB: no cont, V to n\n\n7. If you say that a time belongs to a particular system or way of doing something, you mean that that time is or will be characterized by it.\nThe future belongs to democracy.\n  VERB: no cont, V to n\n\n8. If a baby or child belongs to a particular adult, that adult is his or her parent or the person who is looking after him or her.\nHe deduced that the two children belonged to the couple.\n  VERB: no cont, V to n\n\n9. When lovers say that they belong together, they are expressing their closeness or commitment to each other.\nI really think that we belong together...\nHe belongs with me.\n  V-RECIP: no cont, V together, V with n\n\n10. If a person or thing belongs in a particular place or situation, that is where they should be.\nYou don’t belong here...\nI’m so glad to see you back where you belong...\nThey need to feel they belong.\n  VERB: no cont, V adv/prep, V adv/prep, V\n\n=>  be.long.ing\n...a man utterly without a sense of belonging.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: belongings
Meaning:
be.long.ings\n   belongings\n  Your belongings are the things that you own, especially things that are small enough to be carried.\nI collected my belongings and left...\n  N-PLURAL: usu poss N


Words: beloved
Meaning:
be.lov.ed\n   beloved\nWhen the adjective is not followed by a noun it is pronounced   and is hyphenated be.loved.\n1. A beloved person, thing, or place is one that you feel great affection for.\nHe lost his beloved wife last year...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n, also v-link ADJ of/by n\n\n2. Your beloved is the person that you love. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nHe takes his beloved into his arms.\n  N-SING: usu poss N


Words: below
Meaning:
be.low\n   below\n1. If something is below something else, it is in a lower position.\nHe appeared from the apartment directly below Leonard’s...\nThe path runs below a long brick wall...\nThe sun had already sunk below the horizon...\n  PREP\n  !=above\n  Below is also an adverb.\n...a view to the street below...\nSpread out below was a great crowd.\n  ADV: n ADV, ADV after v\n\n2. If something is below ground or below the ground, it is in the ground.\nThey have designed a system which pumps up water from 70m below ground...\n  PHRASE\n\n3. You use below in a piece of writing to refer to something that is mentioned later.\nPlease write to me at the address below...\n  ADV: n ADV, ADV after v\n\n4. If something is below a particular amount, rate, or level, it is less than that amount, rate, or level.\nNight temperatures can drop below 15 degrees Celsius...\nRainfall has been below average.\n  PREP\n  !=above\n  Below is also an adverb.\n...temperatures at zero or below.\n  ADV\n\n5. If someone is below you in an organization, they are lower in rank.\nSuch people often experience less stress than those in the ranks immediately below them.\n  PREP\n  !=above\n6.\nbelow par: see par


Words: below stairs
Meaning:
be.low stairs\n   below stairs   also below-stairs\n  People sometimes use below stairs to refer to the servants in a rich household and the things that are connected with them.\n...a glimpse of life below stairs at Buckingham Palace.\n  ADV: n ADV, ADV after v\n\n  Below-stairs is also an adjective.\n...the below-stairs world of a 1920s country house.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: below-the-line promotion
Meaning:
below-the-line pro.mo.tion\n   below-the-line promotion below-the-line promotions\n  Below-the-line promotion is the use of promotional methods that can be controlled by the company selling the goods or service, such as in-store offers and direct selling. Compare above-the-line promotion. (BUSINESS)\nThe advertising campaign will be supported by a PR and below-the-line promotion...\n  N-VAR


Words: belt
Meaning:
belt  belts  belting  belted\n1. A belt is a strip of leather or cloth that you fasten round your waist.\nHe wore a belt with a large brass buckle.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also safety belt, seat belt\n2. A belt in a machine is a circular strip of rubber that is used to drive moving parts or to move objects along.\nThe turning disc is connected by a drive belt to an electric motor.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also conveyor belt, fan belt\n3. A belt of land or sea is a long, narrow area of it that has some special feature.\nMiners in Zambia’s northern copper belt have gone on strike...\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n  = strip\n  see also Bible Belt, commuter belt, green belt\n4. If someone belts you, they hit you very hard. (INFORMAL)\n`Is it right she belted old George in the gut?’ she asked.\n  VERB: V n\n  = thump\n  Belt is also a noun.\nFather would give you a belt over the head with the scrubbing brush.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If you belt somewhere, you move or travel there very fast. (INFORMAL)\nWe belted down Iveagh Parade to where the motor was.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n  = dash\n6.\n  see also belted\n7. Something that is below the belt is cruel and unfair.\nDo you think it’s a bit below the belt what they’re doing?\n...this kind of below-the-belt discrimination.\n  PHRASE\n\n8. If you have to tighten your belt, you have to spend less money and manage without things because you have less money than you used to have.\nClearly, if you are spending more than your income, you’ll need to tighten your belt.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n9. If you have something under your belt, you have already achieved it or done it.\nClare is now a full-time author with six books, including four novels, under her belt.\n  PHRASE: have/with n PHR


Words: belt out
Meaning:
belt out\n  If you belt out a song, you sing or play it very loudly. (INFORMAL)\nHe held a three-hour family Karaoke session in his hotel, belting out Sinatra and Beatles hits.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, also V n P


Words: belt-tightening
Meaning:
belt-tightening\n  If you need to do some belt-tightening, you must spend less money and manage without things because you have less money than you used to have.\nThis will cause further belt-tightening in the public services.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: belted
Meaning:
belt.ed\n   belted\n  If someone’s jacket or coat, for example, is belted, it has a belt fastened round it.\nShe wore a brown suede jacket, belted at the waist.\n  ADJ


Words: beltway
Meaning:
belt.way\n   beltway  beltways\n  A beltway is a road that goes around a city or town, to keep traffic away from the centre. (AM; in BRIT, use ring road)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bemoan
Meaning:
be.moan\n   bemoan  bemoans  bemoaning  bemoaned\n  If you bemoan something, you express sorrow or dissatisfaction about it. (FORMAL)\nUniversities and other research establishments bemoan their lack of funds.\n  VERB: V n\n  = lament


Words: bemuse
Meaning:
be.muse\n   bemuse  bemuses  bemusing  bemused\n  If something bemuses you, it puzzles or confuses you.\nThe sheer quantity of detail would bemuse even the most clear-headed author.\n  VERB: V n\n  = bewilder


Words: bemused
Meaning:
be.mused\n   bemused\n  If you are bemused, you are puzzled or confused.\nHe was rather bemused by children...\nMr. Sebastian was looking at the boys with a bemused expression.\n  ADJ\n  = bewildered\n=>  be.mus.ed.ly\nHe was staring bemusedly at the picture of himself.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: bemusement
Meaning:
be.muse.ment\n   bemusement\n  Bemusement is the feeling that you have when you are puzzled or confused by something.\nA look of bemusement spread across their faces.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bench
Meaning:
bench  benches\n1. A bench is a long seat of wood or metal that two or more people can sit on.\nHe sat down on a park bench.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bench is a long, narrow table in a factory or laboratory.\n...the laboratory bench.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. In parliament, different groups sit on different benches. For example, the government sits on the government benches. (BRIT)\n...the opposition benches.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n  see also backbench, backbencher, backbenches, front bench\n4. In a court of law, the bench is the judge or magistrates.\nThe chairman of the bench adjourned the case until October 27.\n  N-SING-COLL: the N


Words: benchmark
Meaning:
bench.mark\n   benchmark  benchmarks   also bench mark\n  A benchmark is something whose quality or quantity is known and which can therefore be used as a standard with which other things can be compared.\nThe truck industry is a benchmark for the economy.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N for n\n  = yardstick


Words: benchmarking
Meaning:
bench.mark.ing\n   benchmarking\n  In business, benchmarking is a process in which a company compares its products and methods with those of the most successful companies in its field, in order to try to improve its own performance. (BUSINESS)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bend
Meaning:
bend  bends  bending  bent\n1. When you bend, you move the top part of your body downwards and forwards. Plants and trees also bend.\nI bent over and kissed her cheek...\nShe bent and picked up a plastic bucket...\nShe was bent over the sink washing the dishes.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V, V-ed\n\n2. When you bend your head, you move your head forwards and downwards.\nRick appeared, bending his head a little to clear the top of the door.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. When you bend a part of your body such as your arm or leg, or when it bends, you change its position so that it is no longer straight.\nThese cruel devices are designed to stop prisoners bending their legs...\nAs you walk faster, you will find the arms bend naturally and more quickly.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  bent\nKeep your knees slightly bent.\n  ADJ\n\n4. If you bend something that is flat or straight, you use force to make it curved or to put an angle in it.\nBend the bar into a horseshoe...\nShe’d cut a jagged hole in the tin, bending a knife in the process.\n  VERB: V n prep, V n, also V n with adv\n  !=straighten\n=>  bent\n...a length of bent wire.\n  ADJ\n\n5. When a road, beam of light, or other long thin thing bends, or when something bends it, it changes direction to form a curve or angle.\nThe road bent slightly to the right...\nGlass bends light of different colours by different amounts.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n6. A bend in a road, pipe, or other long thin object is a curve or angle in it.\nThe crash occurred on a sharp bend.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. If someone bends to your wishes, they believe or do something different, usually when they do not want to.\nCongress has to bend to his will...\nDo you think she’s likely to bend on her attitude to Europe?\n  VERB: V to n, V\n\n8. If you bend rules or laws, you interpret them in a way that allows you to do something they would not normally allow you to do.\nA minority of officers were prepared to bend the rules.\n  VERB: V n\n\n9. If you bend the truth or bend the facts, you say something that is not exactly true.\nSometimes we bend the truth a little in order to spare them the pain of the real facts.\n  VERB: V n\n\n10.\n  see also bent, hairpin bend\n11. If you say that someone is bending over backwards to be helpful or kind, you are emphasizing that they are trying very hard to be helpful or kind.\nPeople are bending over backwards to please customers.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR to-inf  emphasis\n\n12. If you say that someone or something drives you round the bend, you mean that you dislike them and they annoy or upset you very much. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nAnd can you make that tea before your fidgeting drives me completely round the bend.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  feelings


Words: bended
Meaning:
bend.ed\n   bended\n  If you ask someone for something on bended knee, you ask them very seriously for it. (FORMAL)\nWe beg the Government on bended knees not to cut this budget.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v


Words: bender
Meaning:
bend.er\n   bender  benders\n  If someone goes on a bender, they drink a very large amount of alcohol. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu on N


Words: bendy
Meaning:
bendy  bendier  bendiest\n  A bendy object bends easily into a curved or angled shape.\n...a bendy toy whose limbs bend in every direction.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = flexible


Words: beneath
Meaning:
be.neath\n   beneath\n1. Something that is beneath another thing is under the other thing.\nShe could see the muscles of his shoulders beneath his T-shirt...\nShe found pleasure in sitting beneath the trees...\n...the frozen grass crunching beneath his feet.\n  PREP\n  = under  !=above\n  Beneath is also an adverb.\nOn a shelf beneath he spotted a photo album.\n  ADV: n ADV, ADV after v\n  = below  !=above\n2. If you talk about what is beneath the surface of something, you are talking about the aspects of it which are hidden or not obvious.\n...emotional strains beneath the surface...\nBeneath the festive mood there is an underlying apprehension.\n  PREP\n  = under\n3. If you say that someone or something is beneath you, you feel that they are not good enough for you or not suitable for you.\nThey decided she was marrying beneath her...\nMany find themselves having to take jobs far beneath them.\n  PREP


Words: Benedictine
Meaning:
Ben.edic.tine\n   Benedictine  Benedictines\n  A Benedictine is a monk or nun who is a member of a Christian religious community that follows the rule of St. Benedict.\n...the famous Benedictine abbey of St Mary.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: benediction
Meaning:
ben.edic.tion\n   benediction  benedictions\n1. A benediction is a kind of Christian prayer. (FORMAL)\nThe minister pronounced the benediction...\nThe Pope’s hands were raised in benediction.\n  N-VAR\n  = blessing\n2. You can refer to something that makes people feel protected and at peace as a benediction.\nShe could only raise her hand in a gesture of benediction...\n  N-VAR


Words: benefactor
Meaning:
ben.efac.tor\n   benefactor  benefactors\n  A benefactor is a person who helps a person or organization by giving them money.\nIn his old age he became a benefactor of the arts.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = patron, sponsor


Words: beneficent
Meaning:
be.nefi.cent\n   beneficent\n  A beneficent person or thing helps people or results in something good. (FORMAL)\n...optimism about the beneficent effects of new technology.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: beneficial
Meaning:
ben.efi.cial\n   beneficial\n  Something that is beneficial helps people or improves their lives.\n...vitamins which are beneficial to our health...\nUsing computers has a beneficial effect on children’s learning.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n


Words: beneficiary
Meaning:
bene.fi.ciary\n   beneficiary  beneficiaries\n1. Someone who is a beneficiary of something is helped by it.\nThe main beneficiaries of pension equality so far have been men.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = recipient\n2. The beneficiaries of a will are legally entitled to receive money or property from someone when that person dies.\n  N-COUNT


Words: benefit
Meaning:
ben.efit\n   benefit  benefits  benefiting  or benefitting benefited  or benefitted\n1. The benefit of something is the help that you get from it or the advantage that results from it.\nEach family farms individually and reaps the benefit of its labor...\nI’m a great believer in the benefits of this form of therapy...\nFor maximum benefit, use your treatment every day.\n  N-VAR: oft N of n\n  = advantage, profit\n2. If something is to your benefit or is of benefit to you, it helps you or improves your life.\nThis could now work to Albania’s benefit...\nI hope what I have written will be of benefit to someone else who may feel the same way.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft with poss, of N to n\n  = advantage\n3. If you benefit from something or if it benefits you, it helps you or improves your life.\nBoth sides have benefited from the talks.\n...a variety of government programs benefiting children.\n  VERB: V from n, V n, also V\n  = profit\n4. If you have the benefit of some information, knowledge, or equipment, you are able to use it so that you can achieve something.\nSteve didn’t have the benefit of a formal college education...\n  N-UNCOUNT: N of n\n  = advantage\n5. Benefit is money that is given by the government to people who are poor, ill, or unemployed.\n...the removal of benefit from school-leavers...\n  N-VAR: oft on N\n\n6. A benefit, or a benefit concert or dinner, is an event that is held in order to raise money for a particular charity or person.\nI am organising a benefit gig in Bristol to raise these funds.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n\n7.\n  see also fringe benefit, unemployment benefit\n8. If you give someone the benefit of the doubt, you treat them as if they are telling the truth or as if they have behaved properly, even though you are not sure that this is the case.\nAt first I gave him the benefit of the doubt...\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v\n\n9. If you say that someone is doing something for the benefit of a particular person, you mean that they are doing it for that person.\nYou need people working for the benefit of the community...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: Benelux
Meaning:
Bene.lux\n   Benelux\n  The Benelux countries are Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: benevolent
Meaning:
be.nevo.lent\n   benevolent\n1. If you describe a person in authority as benevolent, you mean that they are kind and fair.\nThe company has proved to be a most benevolent employer...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  be.nevo.lent.ly\nThorne nodded his understanding, smiling benevolently.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n=>  be.nevo.lence\nA bit of benevolence from people in power is not what we need.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Benevolent is used in the names of some organizations that give money and help to people who need it. (BRIT)\n...the Army Benevolent Fund.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: Bengali
Meaning:
Ben.ga.li\n   Bengali  Bengalis\n1. Bengali means belonging or relating to Bengal, or to its people or language.\nShe married a Bengali doctor.\n  ADJ\n\n  A Bengali is a person who comes from Bangladesh or West Bengal.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Bengali is the language that is spoken by people who live in Bangladesh and by many people in West Bengal.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: benighted
Meaning:
be.night.ed\n   benighted\n  If you describe people or the place where they live as benighted, you think they are unfortunate or do not know anything. (LITERARY)\nFamine hit that benighted country once more.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval


Words: benign
Meaning:
be.nign\n   benign\n1. You use benign to describe someone who is kind, gentle, and harmless.\nThey are normally a more benign audience...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = charitable\n=>  be.nign.ly\nI just smiled benignly and stood back.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v\n\n2. A benign substance or process does not have any harmful effects.\nWe’re taking relatively benign medicines and we’re turning them into poisons.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. A benign tumour will not cause death or serious harm. (MEDICAL)\nIt wasn’t cancer, only a benign tumour.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=malignant\n4. Benign conditions are pleasant or make it easy for something to happen.\nThey enjoyed an especially benign climate...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: bent
Meaning:
bent\n1. Bent is the past tense and past participle of bend.\n\n2. If an object is bent, it is damaged and no longer has its correct shape.\nThe trees were all bent and twisted from the wind.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If a person is bent, their body has become curved because of old age or disease. (WRITTEN)\n...a bent, frail, old man.\n  ADJ\n\n4. If someone is bent on doing something, especially something harmful, they are determined to do it.\nHe’s bent on suicide.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ on/upon n/-ing  disapproval\n\n5. If you have a bent for something, you have a natural ability to do it or a natural interest in it.\nHis bent for natural history directed him towards his first job.\n  N-SING: with supp, oft N for n\n  = flair\n6. If someone is of a particular bent, they hold a particular set of beliefs.\n...economists of a socialist bent.\n  N-SING: adj N\n  = persuasion\n7. If you say that someone in a position of responsibility is bent, you mean that they are dishonest or do illegal things. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...this bent accountant.\n  ADJ\n\n8. If someone is bent double, the top part of their body is leaning forward towards their legs, usually because they are in great pain or because they are laughing a lot. In American English, you can also say that someone is bent over double.\nHe left the courtroom on the first day bent double with stomach pain.\n  PHRASE: oft PHR with/in n


Words: benzene
Meaning:
ben.zene\n   benzene\n  Benzene is a clear, colourless liquid which is used to make plastics.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bequeath
Meaning:
be.queath\n   bequeath  bequeaths  bequeathing  bequeathed\n1. If you bequeath your money or property to someone, you legally state that they should have it when you die. (FORMAL)\nHe bequeathed all his silver to his children.\n  VERB: V n to n\n  = leave\n2. If you bequeath an idea or system, you leave it for other people to use or develop. (FORMAL)\nHe bequeaths his successor an economy that is doing quite well...\nIt is true that colonialism did not bequeath much to Africa.\n  VERB: V n n, V n to n, also V n


Words: bequest
Meaning:
be.quest\n   bequest  bequests\n  A bequest is money or property which you legally leave to someone when you die.\nThe church here was left a bequest to hire doctors who would work amongst the poor.\n  N-COUNT


Words: berate
Meaning:
be.rate\n   berate  berates  berating  berated\n  If you berate someone, you speak to them angrily about something they have done wrong. (FORMAL)\nMarion berated Joe for the noise he made.\n  VERB: V n for n, also V n\n  = chide, rebuke


Words: Berber
Meaning:
Ber.ber\n   Berber  Berbers\n  Berber means belonging or relating to a particular Muslim people in North Africa, or to their language or customs.\n  ADJ\n\n  A Berber is a person from the Berber community.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bereaved
Meaning:
be.reaved\n   bereaved\n  A bereaved person is one who has a relative or close friend who has recently died.\nMr Dinkins visited the bereaved family to offer comfort.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  The bereaved are people who are bereaved.\nHe wanted to show his sympathy for the bereaved.\n  N-PLURAL: the N


Words: bereavement
Meaning:
be.reave.ment\n   bereavement  bereavements\n  Bereavement is the sorrow you feel or the state you are in when a relative or close friend dies.\n...those who have suffered a bereavement.\n  N-VAR\n  = loss


Words: bereft
Meaning:
be.reft\n   bereft\n  If a person or thing is bereft of something, they no longer have it. (FORMAL)\nThe place seemed to be utterly bereft of human life.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ of n\n  = devoid


Words: beret
Meaning:
be.ret\n   beret  berets\n  A beret is a circular, flat hat that is made of soft material and has no brim.\n  N-COUNT


Words: berk
Meaning:
berk  berks\n  If you call someone a berk, you think they are stupid or irritating. (BRIT INFORMAL, OFFENSIVE)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: berry
Meaning:
ber.ry\n   berry  berries\n  Berries are small, round fruit that grow on a bush or a tree. Some berries are edible, for example blackberries and raspberries.\n  N-COUNT


Words: berserk
Meaning:
ber.serk\n   berserk\n1. Berserk means crazy and out of control.\nHe tossed back his head in a howl of berserk laughter.\n  ADJ\n  = mad\n2. If someone or something goes berserk, they lose control of themselves and become very angry or violent.\nWhen I saw him I went berserk.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = go mad


Words: berth
Meaning:
berth  berths  berthing  berthed\n1. If you give someone or something a wide berth, you avoid them because you think they are unpleasant, or dangerous, or simply because you do not like them.\nShe gives showbiz parties a wide berth.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n2. A berth is a bed on a boat, train, or caravan.\nGoldring booked a berth on the first boat he could.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A berth is a space in a harbour where a ship stays for a period of time.\n  N-COUNT\n  = mooring\n4. When a ship berths, it sails into harbour and stops at the quay.\nAs the ship berthed in New York, McClintock was with the first immigration officers aboard.\n  VERB: V\n\n=>  berthed\nThere the Gripsholm was berthed next to another ship.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ prep


Words: beseech
Meaning:
be.seech\n   beseech  beseeches  beseeching  beseeched\n  If you beseech someone to do something, you ask them very eagerly and anxiously. (LITERARY)\nShe beseeched him to cut his drinking and his smoking...\n`Please stay and read to me, mummy’ he beseeched.\n  VERB: V n to-inf, V with quote, also V n, V n for n\n  = beg


Words: beseeching
Meaning:
be.seech.ing\n   beseeching\n  A beseeching expression, gesture, or tone of voice suggests that the person who has or makes it very much wants someone to do something. (WRITTEN)\nShe looked up at him with beseeching eyes.\n  ADJ\n  = imploring\n=>  be.seech.ing.ly\nHugh looked at his father beseechingly.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: beset
Meaning:
be.set\n   beset  besets  besetting\n  If someone or something is beset by problems or fears, they have many problems or fears which affect them severely.\nThe country is beset by severe economic problems.\n...the problems now besetting the country.\n  VERB: be V-ed by/with n, V n\n  The form beset is used in the present tense and is the past tense and past participle.


Words: beside
Meaning:
be.side\n   beside\n1. Something that is beside something else is at the side of it or next to it.\nOn the table beside an empty plate was a pile of books...\nI moved from behind my desk to sit beside her.\n  PREP\n\n  see also besides\n2. If you are beside yourself with anger or excitement, you are extremely angry or excited.\nCathy was beside herself with excitement.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR with n\n\nbeside the point: see point


Words: besides
Meaning:
be.sides\n   besides\n1. Besides something or beside something means in addition to it.\nI think she has many good qualities besides being very beautiful...\nThere was only one person besides Ford who knew Julia Jameson.\n  PREP: oft PREP -ing\n\n  Besides is also an adverb.\nYou get to sample lots of baked things and take home masses of cookies besides.\n  ADV: cl ADV\n\n2. Besides is used to emphasize an additional point that you are making, especially one that you consider to be important.\nThe house was too expensive and too big. Besides, I’d grown fond of our little rented house.\n  ADV: ADV with cl, not last in cl


Words: besiege
Meaning:
be.siege\n   besiege  besieges  besieging  besieged\n1. If you are besieged by people, many people want something from you and continually bother you.\nShe was besieged by the press and the public.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n2. If soldiers besiege a place, they surround it and wait for the people in it to stop fighting or resisting.\nThe main part of the army moved to Sevastopol to besiege the town...\nThe Afghan air force was using helicopters to supply the besieged town.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: besmirch
Meaning:
be.smirch\n   besmirch  besmirches  besmirching  besmirched\n  If you besmirch someone or their reputation, you say that they are a bad person or that they have done something wrong, usually when this is not true. (LITERARY)\nHe has accused local people of trying to besmirch his reputation.\n  VERB: V n\n  = sully


Words: besotted
Meaning:
be.sot.ted\n   besotted\n  If you are besotted with someone or something, you like them so much that you seem foolish or silly.\nHe became so besotted with her that even his children were forgotten.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ with n\n  = infatuated


Words: bespeak
Meaning:
be.speak\n   bespeak  bespeaks  bespeaking  bespoke  bespoken\n  If someone’s action or behaviour bespeaks a particular quality, feeling, or experience, it shows that quality, feeling, or experience. (LITERARY, OLD-FASHIONED)\n  VERB\n  = indicate


Words: bespectacled
Meaning:
be.spec.ta.cled\n   bespectacled\n  Someone who is bespectacled is wearing glasses. (WRITTEN)\nMr Merrick was a slim, quiet, bespectacled man.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: bespoke
Meaning:
be.spoke\n   bespoke\n1. A bespoke craftsman such as a tailor makes and sells things that are specially made for the customer who ordered them. (BRIT FORMAL)\n...suits made by a bespoke tailor.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Bespoke things such as clothes have been specially made for the customer who ordered them. (BRIT FORMAL)\nIn the basement fifteen employees are busy making bespoke coats.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: best
Meaning:
best\n1. Best is the superlative of good.\nIf you want further information the best thing to do is have a word with the driver as you get on the bus...\nIt’s not the best place to live if you wish to develop your knowledge and love of mountains.\n\n2. Best is the superlative of well.\nJames Fox is best known as the author of White Mischief.\n\n3. The best is used to refer to things of the highest quality or standard.\nWe offer only the best to our clients...\nHe’ll have the best of care.\n  N-SING: the N\n  !=worst\n4. Someone’s best is the greatest effort or highest achievement or standard that they are capable of.\nMiss Blockey was at her best when she played the piano...\nOne needs to be a first-class driver to get the best out of that sort of machinery.\n  N-SING: oft poss N\n\n5. If you say that something is the best that can be done or hoped for, you think it is the most pleasant, successful, or useful thing that can be done or hoped for.\nA draw seems the best they can hope for...\nThe best we can do is try to stay cool and muddle through.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n6. If you like something best or like it the best, you prefer it.\nThe thing I liked best about the show was the music...\nMother liked it best when Daniel got money...\nWhat was the role you loved the best?\n  ADV: ADV after v, oft the ADV\n  = most\n7. Best is used to form the superlative of compound adjectives beginning with `good’ and `well’. For example, the superlative of `well-known’ is `best-known’.\n\n8.\n  see also second best, Sunday best\n9. You can say `All the best’ when you are saying goodbye to someone, or at the end of a letter.\nWish him all the best, and tell him we miss him.\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n10. You use best of all to indicate that what you are about to mention is the thing that you prefer or that has most advantages out of all the things you have mentioned.\nIt was comfortable and cheap: best of all, most of the rent was being paid by two American friends.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group\n\n11. If someone does something as best they can, they do it as well as they can, although it is very difficult.\nThe older people were left to carry on as best they could.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR after v\n\n12. You use at best to indicate that even if you describe something as favourably as possible or if it performs as well as it possibly can, it is still not very good.\nThis policy, they say, is at best confused and at worst non-existent...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group\n\n13. If you do your best or try your best to do something, you try as hard as you can to do it, or do it as well as you can.\nI’ll do my best to find out...\nIt wasn’t her fault, she was trying her best to help...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR to-inf\n\n14. If you say that something is for the best, you mean it is the most desirable or helpful thing that could have happened or could be done, considering all the circumstances.\nWhatever the circumstances, parents are supposed to know what to do for the best.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n15. If two people are the best of friends, they are close friends, especially when they have had a disagreement or fight in the past.\nMagda is now married to George Callerby and we are the best of friends.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n16. If you say that a particular person knows best, you mean that they have a lot of experience and should therefore be trusted to make decisions for other people.\nHe was convinced that doctors and dentists knew best.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n17. If you make the best of something, you accept an unsatisfactory situation cheerfully and try to manage as well as you can. In British English, you can also say that you make the best of a bad job.\nShe instilled in the children the virtues of good hard work, and making the best of what you have.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n18.\nto the best of your ability: see ability\nto hope for the best: see hope\nto the best of your knowledge: see knowledge\nbest of luck: see luck\nthe best part: see part\nat the best of times: see time\n(next)


Words: best seller
Meaning:
best sell.er\n   best seller  best sellers   also bestseller\n  A best seller is a book of which a great number of copies has been sold.\n  N-COUNT\n  = blockbuster


Words: best-selling
Meaning:
best-selling   also bestselling\n1. A best-selling product such as a book is very popular and a large quantity of it has been sold.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A best-selling author is an author who has sold a very large number of copies of his or her book.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: bestial
Meaning:
bes.tial\n   bestial\n  If you describe behaviour or a situation as bestial, you mean that it is very unpleasant or disgusting.\n...the bestial conditions into which the city has sunk.\n  ADJ\n  = brutish


Words: bestiality
Meaning:
bes.ti.al.ity\n   bestiality\n1. Bestiality is disgusting behaviour. (FORMAL)\nIt is shocking that humans can behave with such bestiality towards others.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Bestiality is sexual activity in which a person has sex with an animal.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bestow
Meaning:
be.stow\n   bestow  bestows  bestowing  bestowed\n  To bestow something on someone means to give or present it to them. (FORMAL)\nThe Queen has bestowed a knighthood on him.\n  VERB: V n on/upon n\n  = confer


Words: bestride
Meaning:
be.stride\n   bestride  bestrides  bestriding  bestrode  bestridden\n  To bestride something means to be the most powerful and important person or thing in it. (LITERARY)\nAmerica’s media companies bestride the globe.\n  VERB: V n


Words: bet
Meaning:
bet  bets  betting\n\n  The form bet is used in the present tense and is the past tense and past participle.\n\n1. If you bet on the result of a horse race, football game, or other event, you give someone a sum of money which they give you back with extra money if the result is what you predicted, or which they keep if it is not.\nJockeys are forbidden to bet on the outcome of races...\nI bet .10 on a horse called Premonition...\nHe bet them 500 pounds they would lose.\n  VERB: V on n, V amount on n, V n amount that\n\n  Bet is also a noun.\nDo you always have a bet on the Grand National?\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  bet.ting\n...his thousand-pound fine for illegal betting.\n...betting shops.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A bet is a sum of money which you give to someone when you bet.\nYou can put a bet on almost anything these days.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If someone is betting that something will happen, they are hoping or expecting that it will happen. (JOURNALISM)\nThe party is betting that the presidential race will turn into a battle for younger voters...\nPeople were betting on a further easing of credit conditions.\n  VERB: only cont, V that, V on n\n\n4.\n  see also betting\n5. You use expressions such as `I bet’, `I’ll bet’, and `you can bet’ to indicate that you are sure something is true. (INFORMAL)\nI bet you were good at games when you were at school...\nI’ll bet they’ll taste out of this world...\n  PHRASE\n\n6. If you tell someone that something is a good bet, you are suggesting that it is the thing or course of action that they should choose. (INFORMAL)\nYour best bet is to choose a guest house.\n  PHRASE\n\n7. If you say that it is a good bet or a safe bet that something is true or will happen, you are saying that it is extremely likely to be true or to happen. (INFORMAL)\nIt is a safe bet that the current owners will not sell.\n  PHRASE: usu it v-link PHR that\n\n8. If you hedge your bets, you follow two courses of action to avoid making a decision between two things because you cannot decide which one is right.\nNASA is hedging its bets and adopting both strategies.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = play safe\n9. You use I bet or I’ll bet in reply to a statement to show that you agree with it or that you expected it to be true, usually when you are annoyed or amused by it. (INFORMAL, SPOKEN)\n`I’d like to ask you something,’ I said. `I bet you would,’ she grinned.\n  PHRASE: oft PHR that  feelings\n\n10. You can use my bet is or it’s my bet to give your personal opinion about something, when you are fairly sure that you are right. (INFORMAL)\nMy bet is that next year will be different...\nIt’s my bet that he’s the guy behind this killing.\n  PHRASE\n\n11. If you say don’t bet on something or I wouldn’t bet on something, you mean that you do not think that something is true or will happen. (INFORMAL, SPOKEN)\n`We’ll never get a table in there’.`Don’t bet on it.’\n  PHRASE\n\n12. If you reply `Do you want to bet?’ or `Want a bet?’ to someone, you mean you are certain that what they have said is wrong. (INFORMAL, SPOKEN)\n`Money can’t buy happiness’.`Want to bet?’\n  CONVENTION\n\n13. You use `You bet’ or `you bet your life’ to say yes in an emphatic way or to emphasize a reply or statement. (INFORMAL, SPOKEN)\n`It’s settled, then?’.`You bet.’...\n`Are you afraid of snakes?’.`You bet your life I’m afraid of snakes.’\n  PHRASE  emphasis


Words: beta blocker
Meaning:
beta block.er\n   beta blocker  beta blockers\n  A beta blocker is a drug which is used to treat people who have high blood pressure or heart problems.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bete noire
Meaning:
bete noire\nin AM and sometimes in BRIT, use bete noire\n  If you refer to someone or something as your bete noire, you mean that you have a particular dislike for them or that they annoy you a great deal.\nOur real bete noire is the car boot sale.\n  N-SING: oft with poss\n  = bugbear


Words: betide
Meaning:
be.tide\n   betide\n  If you say woe betide anyone who does a particular thing, you mean that something unpleasant will happen to them if they do it. (FORMAL)\nWoe betide anyone who got in his way.\n  PHRASE: PHR n


Words: betoken
Meaning:
be.to.ken\n   betoken  betokens  betokening  betokened\n  If something betokens something else, it is a sign of this thing. (FORMAL)\nThe president alone betokened the national identity.\n  VERB: V n\n  = indicate, signal


Words: betray
Meaning:
be.tray\n   betray  betrays  betraying  betrayed\n1. If you betray someone who loves or trusts you, your actions hurt and disappoint them.\nWhen I tell someone I will not betray his confidence I keep my word...\nThe President betrayed them when he went back on his promise not to raise taxes.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n=>  be.tray.er      betrayers\nShe was her friend and now calls her a betrayer.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone betrays their country or their friends, they give information to an enemy, putting their country’s security or their friends’ safety at risk.\nThey offered me money if I would betray my associates...\nThe group were informers, and they betrayed the plan to the Germans.\n  VERB: V n, V n to n\n\n=>  be.tray.er\n`Traitor!’ she screamed. `Betrayer of England!’\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you betray an ideal or your principles, you say or do something which goes against those beliefs.\nWe betray the ideals of our country when we support capital punishment.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  be.tray.er\nBabearth regarded the middle classes as the betrayers of the Revolution.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you betray a feeling or quality, you show it without intending to.\nShe studied his face, but it betrayed nothing...\n  VERB: V n\n  !=conceal


Words: betrayal
Meaning:
be.tray.al\n   betrayal  betrayals\n  A betrayal is an action which betrays someone or something, or the fact of being betrayed.\nShe felt that what she had done was a betrayal of Patrick...\n  N-VAR: oft N of n


Words: betrothal
Meaning:
be.troth.al\n   betrothal  betrothals\n  A betrothal is an agreement to be married. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-VAR


Words: betrothed
Meaning:
be.trothed\n   betrothed\n  If you are betrothed to someone, you have agreed to marry them. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ to n\n\n  Your betrothed is the person you are betrothed to.\n  N-SING: usu poss N


Words: better
Meaning:
bet.ter\n   better  betters  bettering  bettered\n1. Better is the comparative of good.\n\n2. Better is the comparative of well.\n\n3. If you like one thing better than another, you like it more.\nI like your interpretation better than the one I was taught...\nThey liked it better when it rained.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n4. If you are better after an illness or injury, you have recovered from it. If you feel better, you no longer feel so ill.\nHe is much better now, he’s fine...\nThe doctors were saying there wasn’t much hope of me getting better.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n\n5. You use had better or ’d better when you are advising, warning, or threatening someone, or expressing an opinion about what should happen.\nIt’s half past two. I think we had better go home...\nYou’d better run if you’re going to get your ticket...\n  PHRASE\n\n  In spoken English, people sometimes use better without `had’ or `be’ before it. It has the same meaning.\nBetter not say too much aloud.\n\n6. If you say that you expect or deserve better, you mean that you expect or deserve a higher standard of achievement, behaviour, or treatment from people than they have shown you.\nOur long-suffering mining communities deserve better than this.\n  PRON\n\n7. If someone betters a high achievement or standard, they achieve something higher.\nHe recorded a time of 4 minutes 23, bettering the old record of 4-24...\n  VERB: V n\n\n8. If you better your situation, you improve your social status or the quality of your life. If you better yourself, you improve your social status.\nHe had dedicated his life to bettering the lot of the oppressed people of South Africa...\nOur parents chose to come here with the hope of bettering themselves.\n  VERB: V n, V pron-refl\n\n9. Better is used to form the comparative of compound adjectives beginning with `good’ and `well.’ For example, the comparative of `well-off’ is `better-off.’\n\n10. You can say that someone is better doing one thing than another, or it is better doing one thing than another, to advise someone about what they should do.\nWouldn’t it be better putting a time-limit on the task?...\nSubjects like this are better left alone.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR -ing, PHR -ed\n\n11. If something changes for the better, it improves.\nHe dreams of changing the world for the better.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n12. If a feeling such as jealousy, curiosity, or anger gets the better of you, it becomes too strong for you to hide or control.\nShe didn’t allow her emotions to get the better of her.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n13. If you get the better of someone, you defeat them in a contest, fight, or argument.\nHe is used to tough defenders, and he usually gets the better of them.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n14. If someone knows better than to do something, they are old enough or experienced enough to know it is the wrong thing to do.\nShe knew better than to argue with Adeline...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR than to-inf\n\n15. If you know better than someone, you have more information, knowledge, or experience than them.\nHe thought he knew better than I did, though he was much less experienced...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR than n\n\n16. If you say that someone would be better off doing something, you are advising them to do it or expressing the opinion that it would benefit them to do it.\nIf you’ve got bags you’re better off taking a taxi...\n  PHRASE: PHR -ing/prep/adv\n\n17. If you go one better, you do something better than it has been done before or obtain something better than someone else has.\nNow General Electric have gone one better than nature and made a diamond purer than the best quality natural diamonds.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR than n\n\n18. You say `That’s better’ in order to express your approval of what someone has said or done, or to praise or encourage them.\n`I came to ask your advice.no, to ask for your help.’.`That’s better. And how can I help you?’\n  CONVENTION\n\n(next)


Words: better .1
Meaning:
19. You can say `so much the better’ or `all the better’ to indicate that it is desirable that a particular thing is used, done, or available.\nUse strong white flour, and if you can get hold of durum wheat flour, then so much the better...\n  PHRASE\n\n20. You can use expressions like `The bigger the better’ or `The sooner the better’ to say that you would prefer it if something is big or happens soon.\nThe Irish love a party, the bigger the better...\n  PHRASE\n\n21. If you intend to do something and then think better of it, you decide not to do it because you realize it would not be sensible.\nAlberg opened his mouth, as if to protest. But he thought better of it.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n22. If you say that something has happened or been done for better or worse, you mean that you are not sure whether the consequences will be good or bad, but they will have to be accepted because the action cannot be changed.\nI married you for better or worse, knowing all about these problems.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl\n\n23.\nagainst your better judgment: see judgment\nto be better than nothing: see nothing\nthe better part: see part


Words: betterment
Meaning:
bet.ter.ment\n   betterment\n  The betterment of something is the act or process of improving its standard or status. (FORMAL)\nHis research is for the betterment of mankind.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n  = improvement


Words: betting
Meaning:
bet.ting\n   betting\n  If you say the betting is that something will happen or is true, you are suggesting that it is very likely to happen or to be true.\nThe betting is that the experience will make Japan more competitive still.\n  PHRASE: PHR that


Words: betting shop
Meaning:
bet.ting shop\n   betting shop  betting shops\n  A betting shop is a place where people can go to bet on something such as a horse race. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n  = bookie’s


Words: between
Meaning:
be.tween\n   between\nIn addition to the uses shown below, between is used in a few phrasal verbs, such as `come between’.\n1. If something is between two things or is in between them, it has one of the things on one side of it and the other thing on the other side.\nShe left the table to stand between the two men...\nCharlie crossed between the traffic to the far side of the street.\n  PREP: usu PREP pl-n\n\n2. If people or things travel between two places, they travel regularly from one place to the other and back again.\nI spent a lot of time in the early Eighties travelling between London and Bradford.\n  PREP: PREP pl-n\n\n3. A relationship, discussion, or difference between two people, groups, or things is one that involves them both or relates to them both.\nI think the relationship between patients and doctors has got a lot less personal...\nThere has always been a difference between community radio and commercial radio.\n  PREP: PREP pl-n\n\n4. If something stands between you and what you want, it prevents you from having it.\nHis sense of duty often stood between him and the enjoyment of life.\n  PREP: PREP n and n\n\n5. If something is between two amounts or ages, it is greater or older than the first one and smaller or younger than the second one.\nAmsterdam is fun.a third of its population is aged between 18 and 30.\n  PREP: PREP num and num\n\n6. If something happens between or in between two times or events, it happens after the first time or event and before the second one.\nThe canal was built between 1793 and 1797...\n  PREP: PREP pl-n, PREP num and num\n\n  Between is also an adverb.\n...a journey by jetfoil, coach and two aircraft, with a four-hour wait in Bangkok in between.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group\n\n7. If you must choose between two or more things, you must choose just one of them.\nStudents will be able to choose between English, French and Russian as their first foreign language.\n  PREP: PREP pl-n\n\n8. If people or places have a particular amount of something between them, this is the total amount that they have.\nThe three sites employ 12,500 people between them...\n  PREP: PREP pron\n\n9. When something is divided or shared between people, they each have a share of it.\nThere is only one bathroom shared between eight bedrooms.\n  PREP: PREP pl-n\n  = amongst\n10. When you introduce a statement by saying `between you and me’ or `between ourselves’, you are indicating that you do not want anyone else to know what you are saying.\nBetween you and me, though, it’s been awful for business...\nBetween ourselves, I know he wants to marry her.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl


Words: bevelled
Meaning:
bev.elled\n   bevelled\nin AM, use beveled\n  If a piece of wood, metal, or glass has bevelled edges, its edges are cut sloping.\n...a huge mirror with deep bevelled edges.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: beverage
Meaning:
bev.er.age\n   beverage  beverages\n  Beverages are drinks. (FORMAL)\nAlcoholic beverages are served in the hotel lounge.\n...foods and beverages.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft adj N\n  = drink


Words: bevvy
Meaning:
bev.vy\n   bevvy  bevvies\n  If you have a few bevvies, you have a few alcoholic drinks. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nIt was just one of those things that happens after a few bevvies.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: bevy
Meaning:
bevy  bevies\n  A bevy of people is a group of people all together in one place.\n...a bevy of bright young officers.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, N of n\n  = group


Words: bewail
Meaning:
be.wail\n   bewail  bewails  bewailing  bewailed\n  If you bewail something, you express great sorrow about it. (JOURNALISM LITERARY)\n...songs that bewail his dissatisfaction in love.\n  VERB: V n


Words: beware
Meaning:
be.ware\n   beware\n  If you tell someone to beware of a person or thing, you are warning them that the person or thing may harm them or be dangerous.\nBeware of being too impatient with others...\nBeware, this recipe is not for slimmers.\n  VERB: only imper and inf, V of n/-ing, V


Words: bewilder
Meaning:
be.wil.der\n   bewilder  bewilders  bewildering  bewildered\n  If something bewilders you, it is so confusing or difficult that you cannot understand it.\nThe silence from Alex had hurt and bewildered her.\n  VERB: V n\n  = perplex


Words: bewildered
Meaning:
be.wil.dered\n   bewildered\n  If you are bewildered, you are very confused and cannot understand something or decide what you should do.\nSome shoppers looked bewildered by the sheer variety of goods on offer.\n  ADJ


Words: bewildering
Meaning:
be.wil.der.ing\n   bewildering\n  A bewildering thing or situation is very confusing and difficult to understand or to make a decision about.\nA glance along his bookshelves reveals a bewildering array of interests...\nThe choice of excursions was bewildering.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  be.wil.der.ing.ly\nThe cast of characters in the scandal is bewilderingly large.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/adv


Words: bewilderment
Meaning:
be.wil.der.ment\n   bewilderment\n  Bewilderment is the feeling of being bewildered.\nHe shook his head in bewilderment.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft in N


Words: bewitch
Meaning:
be.witch\n   bewitch  bewitches  bewitching  bewitched\n  If someone or something bewitches you, you are so attracted to them that you cannot think about anything else.\nShe was not moving, as if someone had bewitched her...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  be.witch.ing\nFrank was a quiet young man with bewitching brown eyes.\n  ADJ


Words: beyond
Meaning:
be.yond\n   beyond\n1. If something is beyond a place or barrier, it is on the other side of it.\nThey heard footsteps in the main room, beyond a door...\n  PREP\n\n  Beyond is also an adverb.\nThe house had a fabulous view out to the Strait of Georgia and the Rockies beyond.\n  ADV: n ADV, and ADV\n\n2. If something happens beyond a particular time or date, it continues after that time or date has passed.\nFew jockeys continue race-riding beyond the age of 40...\n  PREP\n  = past\n  Beyond is also an adverb.\nThe financing of home ownership will continue through the 1990s and beyond.\n  ADV: and ADV\n\n3. If something extends beyond a particular thing, it affects or includes other things.\nHis interests extended beyond the fine arts to international politics and philosophy.\n  PREP\n\n4. You use beyond to introduce an exception to what you are saying.\nI knew nothing beyond a few random facts.\n  PREP\n\n5. If something goes beyond a particular point or stage, it progresses or increases so that it passes that point or stage.\nTheir five-year relationship was strained beyond breaking point...\nIt seems to me he’s beyond caring about what anybody does.\n  PREP: oft PREP -ing\n\n6. If something is, for example, beyond understanding or beyond belief, it is so extreme in some way that it cannot be understood or believed.\nWhat Jock had done was beyond my comprehension...\nSweden is lovely in summer.cold beyond belief in winter...\n  PREP\n\n7. If you say that something is beyond someone, you mean that they cannot deal with it.\nThe situation was beyond her control.\n  PREP\n\n8.\nbeyond the pale: see pale\nbeyond someone’s means: see means\nbeyond your wildest dreams: see dream\nbeyond a joke: see joke


Words: bhaji
Meaning:
bha.ji\n   bhaji  bhajis\n  A bhaji is a small piece of food of Indian origin, made of vegetables fried in batter with spices.\n...an onion bhaji.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bhangra
Meaning:
bhan.gra\n   bhangra   also Bhangra\n  Bhangra is a form of dance music that comes from India and uses traditional Indian instruments.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bi-
Meaning:
bi-\n1. Bi- is used at the beginning of nouns and adjectives that have `two’ as part of their meaning.\n...a bi-cultural society.\n  PREFIX\n\n2. Bi- is used to form adjectives and adverbs indicating that something happens twice in a period of time or happens once in two periods of time that follow each other.\nStudents meet biweekly to discuss their experiences.\n...a bimonthly magazine.\n  PREFIX


Words: biannual
Meaning:
bi.an.nual\n   biannual\n  A biannual event happens twice a year.\nYou will need to have a routine biannual examination.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  bi.an.nu.al.ly\nOnly since 1962 has the show been held biannually.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: bias
Meaning:
bias  biases  biasing  biased\n1. Bias is a tendency to prefer one person or thing to another, and to favour that person or thing.\nBias against women permeates every level of the judicial system...\nThere were fierce attacks on the BBC for alleged political bias.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n  = prejudice\n2. Bias is a concern with or interest in one thing more than others.\nThe Department has a strong bias towards neuroscience.\n  N-VAR: with supp\n\n3. To bias someone means to influence them in favour of a particular choice.\nWe mustn’t allow it to bias our teaching.\n  VERB: V n


Words: biased
Meaning:
bi.ased\n   biased\n1. If someone is biased, they prefer one group of people to another, and behave unfairly as a result. You can also say that a process or system is biased.\nHe seemed a bit biased against women in my opinion...\nThe judge was biased.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ against/in favour of n\n  = prejudiced\n2. If something is biased towards one thing, it is more concerned with it than with other things.\nUniversity funding was tremendously biased towards scientists.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ towards n


Words: bib
Meaning:
bib  bibs\n  A bib is a piece of cloth or plastic which is worn by very young children to protect their clothes while they are eating.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Bible
Meaning:
Bi.ble\n   Bible  Bibles\n1. The Bible is the holy book on which the Jewish and Christian religions are based.\n  N-PROPER: the N\n\n2. A Bible is a copy of the Bible.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Bible Belt
Meaning:
Bi.ble Belt\n   Bible Belt   also bible belt\n  Parts of the southern United States are referred to as the Bible Belt because Protestants with strong beliefs have a lot of influence there.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: biblical
Meaning:
bib.li.cal\n   biblical\n  Biblical means contained in or relating to the Bible.\nThe community’s links with Syria date back to biblical times.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: bibliography
Meaning:
bib.li.og.ra.phy\n   bibliography  bibliographies\n1. A bibliography is a list of books on a particular subject.\nAt the end of this chapter there is a select bibliography of useful books.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bibliography is a list of the books and articles that are referred to in a particular book.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bicarbonate of soda
Meaning:
bi.car.bo.nate of soda\n   bicarbonate of soda\n  Bicarbonate of soda is a white powder which is used in baking to make cakes rise, and also as a medicine for your stomach.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bicentenary
Meaning:
bi.cen.tenary\n   bicentenary  bicentenaries\n  A bicentenary is a year in which you celebrate something important that happened exactly two hundred years earlier. (BRIT; in AM, use bicentennial)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bicentennial
Meaning:
bi.cen.ten.nial\n   bicentennial  bicentennials\n1. A bicentennial is the same as a bicentenary. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Bicentennial celebrations are held to celebrate a bicentenary.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: biceps
Meaning:
bi.ceps\n   biceps  biceps\n  Your biceps are the large muscles at the front of the upper part of your arms.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: bicker
Meaning:
bick.er\n   bicker  bickers  bickering  bickered\n  When people bicker, they argue or quarrel about unimportant things.\nI went into medicine to care for patients, not to waste time bickering over budgets...\n...as states bicker over territory...\nHe is still bickering with the control tower over admissible approach routes.\n  V-RECIP: V over/about n (non recip), pl-n V over/about n, V with n\n  = squabble\n=>  bick.er.ing\nThe election will end months of political bickering.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bicycle
Meaning:
bi.cy.cle\n   bicycle  bicycles\n  A bicycle is a vehicle with two wheels which you ride by sitting on it and pushing two pedals with your feet. You steer it by turning a bar that is connected to the front wheel.\n  N-COUNT\n  = bike


Words: bicyclist
Meaning:
bi.cy.clist\n   bicyclist  bicyclists\n  A bicyclist is someone who enjoys bicycling. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT\n  = cyclist


Words: bid
Meaning:
ATTEMPTING OR OFFERING\n   bid  bids  bidding\n\n  The form bid is used in the present tense and is the past tense and past participle.\n\n1. A bid for something or a bid to do something is an attempt to obtain it or do it. (JOURNALISM)\n...Sydney’s successful bid for the 2000 Olympic Games...\nThe Government has already closed down two newspapers in a bid to silence its critics.\n  N-COUNT: N for n, N to-inf\n  = attempt\n2. A bid is an offer to pay a particular amount of money for something that is being sold.\nHanson made an agreed takeover bid of .351 million.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you bid for something or bid to do something, you try to obtain it or do it.\nSingapore Airlines is rumoured to be bidding for a management contract to run both airports...\nI don’t think she is bidding to be Prime Minister again.\n  VERB: V for n, V to-inf\n\n4. If you bid for something that is being sold, you offer to pay a particular amount of money for it.\nShe decided to bid for a Georgian dressing table...\nThe bank announced its intention to bid...\nHe certainly wasn’t going to bid $18 billion for this company.\n  VERB: V for n, V, V n\n\n=>  bid.ding\nThe bidding starts at .2 million.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\nSAYING SOMETHING\n   bid  bids  bidding  bade   bidden\n  If you bid someone farewell, you say goodbye to them. If you bid them goodnight, you say goodnight to them. (FORMAL)\nShe bade farewell to her son...\nI bade her goodnight.\n  VERB: V n to n, V n n\n  American English sometimes uses the form bid for the past tense.\n  = wish\n  see also bidding


Words: bid price
Meaning:
bid price bid prices\n  The bid price of a particular stock or share is the price that investors are willing to pay for it. (BUSINESS)\nSpeculation centred on a likely bid price of 380p a share.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bidder
Meaning:
bid.der\n   bidder  bidders\n1. A bidder is someone who offers to pay a certain amount of money for something that is being sold. If you sell something to the highest bidder, you sell it to the person who offers the most money for it.\nThe sale will be made to the highest bidder subject to a reserve price being attained.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n2. A bidder for something is someone who is trying to obtain it or do it.\n...bidders for two licences to develop cellular telephone systems in Greece.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N for n


Words: bidding
Meaning:
bid.ding\n   bidding\n1. If you do something at someone’s bidding, you do it because they have asked you to do it. (FORMAL)\nAt his bidding, the delegates rose and sang the national anthem.\n  PHRASE\n\n2. If you say that someone does another person’s bidding, you disapprove of the fact that they do exactly what the other person asks them to do, even when they do not want to. (FORMAL)\nShe is very clever at getting men to do her bidding!\n  PHRASE: V inflects  disapproval\n  = obey\n3.\n  see also bid


Words: biddy
Meaning:
bid.dy\n   biddy  biddies\n  If someone describes an old woman as an old biddy, they are saying in an unkind way that they think she is silly or unpleasant. (INFORMAL)\nWe’re not just a lot of old biddies going on about jam.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: bide
Meaning:
bide  bides  biding  bided\n  If you bide your time, you wait for a good opportunity before doing something.\nHe was content to bide his time patiently, waiting for the opportunity to approach her.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: bidet
Meaning:
bi.det\n   bidet  bidets\n  A bidet is a low fixed container in a bathroom which you can use to wash your bottom.\n  N-COUNT


Words: biennial
Meaning:
bi.en.nial\n   biennial  biennials\n  A biennial event happens or is done once every two years.\n...the biennial Commonwealth conference.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: biff
Meaning:
biff  biffs  biffing  biffed\n  If you biff someone, you hit them with your fist. (INFORMAL, OLD-FASHIONED)\n  VERB


Words: bifocals
Meaning:
bi.fo.cals\n   bifocals\n  Bifocals are glasses with lenses made in two halves. The top part is for looking at things some distance away, and the bottom part is for reading and looking at things that are close.\nMrs Bierce wears thick bifocal lenses.\n  N-PLURAL\n  The form bifocal is used as a modifier.


Words: bifurcate
Meaning:
bi.fur.cate\n   bifurcate  bifurcates  bifurcating  bifurcated\n  If something such as a line or path bifurcates or is bifurcated, it divides into two parts which go in different directions.\nThe blood supply bifurcates between eight and thirty times before reaching each particular location in the body.\n  VERB: V, also V n\n\n=>  bi.fur.ca.tion      bifurcations\n...the bifurcation between high art and popular culture.\n  N-VAR


Words: big
Meaning:
big  bigger  biggest\n1. A big person or thing is large in physical size.\nAustralia’s a big country...\nHer husband was a big man...\nThe car was too big to fit into our garage.\n  ADJ\n  = large  !=small\n2. Something that is big consists of many people or things.\nThe crowd included a big contingent from Ipswich.\n...the big backlog of applications.\n  ADJ\n  = large  !=small\n3. If you describe something such as a problem, increase, or change as a big one, you mean it is great in degree, extent, or importance.\nHer problem was just too big for her to tackle on her own...\nThere could soon be a big increase in unemployment.\n  ADJ\n  = serious  !=small\n4. A big organization employs many people and has many customers.\nExchange is largely controlled by big banks.\n...one of the biggest companies in Italy.\n  ADJ\n  = large  !=small\n5. If you say that someone is big in a particular organization, activity, or place, you mean that they have a lot of influence or authority in it. (INFORMAL)\nTheir father was very big in the army...\nI’m sure all the big names will come to the club.\n  ADJ: ADJ n, v-link ADJ in n\n\n6. If you call someone a big bully or a big coward, you are emphasizing your disapproval of them. (INFORMAL)\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n\n7. Children often refer to their older brother or sister as their big brother or sister.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n8. Capital letters are sometimes referred to as big letters. (INFORMAL)\n...a big letter J.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = capital\n9. Big words are long or rare words which have meanings that are difficult to understand. (INFORMAL)\nThey use a lot of big words.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n10. If you make it big, you become successful or famous. (INFORMAL)\nWe’re not just looking at making it big in the UK, we want to be big internationally.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n11. If you think big, you make plans on a large scale, often using a lot of time, effort, or money.\nMaybe we’re not thinking big enough.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n12. If something is happening in a big way, it is happening on a large scale. (INFORMAL)\nI think boxing will take off in a big way here.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: Big Apple
Meaning:
Big Ap.ple\n   Big Apple\n  People sometimes refer to the city of New York as the Big Apple. (INFORMAL)\nThe main attractions of the Big Apple are well documented.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: big band
Meaning:
big band  big bands\n  A big band is a large group of musicians who play jazz or dance music. Big bands were especially popular from the 1930s to the 1950s.\n  N-COUNT


Words: big bang theory
Meaning:
big bang theo.ry\n   big bang theory\n  In astronomy the big bang theory is a theory that suggests that the universe was created as a result of an extremely large explosion.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: Big Brother
Meaning:
Big Broth.er\n   Big Brother\n  People sometimes use Big Brother to refer to a person, government, or organization when they think it has complete control over people and is always checking what they do.\nIt’s an attempt to control what reaches the public. Big Brother is watching.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: big business
Meaning:
big busi.ness\n   big business\n1. Big business is business which involves very large companies and very large sums of money.\nBig business will never let petty nationalism get in the way of a good deal.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Something that is big business is something which people spend a lot of money on, and which has become an important commercial activity.\nSport has become big business.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: big cat
Meaning:
big cat  big cats\n  Big cats are lions, tigers, and other large wild animals in the cat family.\n  N-COUNT


Words: big city
Meaning:
big city\n  The big city is used to refer to a large city which seems attractive to someone because they think there are many exciting things to do there, and many opportunities to earn a lot of money.\n...a country girl who dreams of the big city and bright lights.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: big deal
Meaning:
big deal\n1. If you say that something is a big deal, you mean that it is important or significant in some way. (INFORMAL)\nI felt the pressure on me, winning was such a big deal for the whole family...\nIt’s no big deal.\n  N-SING\n\n2. If someone makes a big deal out of something, they make a fuss about it or treat it as if it were very important. (INFORMAL)\nThe Joneses make a big deal out of being `different’.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR out of/of/about n\n\n3. You can say `big deal’ to someone to show that you are not impressed by something that they consider important or impressive. (INFORMAL)\n`You’ll miss The Brady Bunch.’.`Big deal.’\n  CONVENTION  feelings


Words: big dipper
Meaning:
big dip.per\n   big dipper  big dippers\n  A big dipper is a fairground ride that carries people up and down steep slopes on a narrow railway at high speed. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n  = roller coaster


Words: big fish
Meaning:
big fish  big fish\n1. If you describe someone as a big fish, you believe that they are powerful or important in some way. (INFORMAL)\nThe four men arrested were described as really big fish by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.\n  N-COUNT\n  !=small fry\n2. If you say that someone is a big fish in a small pond, you mean that they are powerful or important but only within a small group of people. (INFORMAL)\nIn South Africa, Jani was a big fish in a small pond.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: big game
Meaning:
big game\n  Large wild animals such as lions and elephants that are hunted for sport are often referred to as big game.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: big gun
Meaning:
big gun  big guns\n  If you refer to someone as a big gun, you mean that they have a lot of power or influence. (INFORMAL)\n...the legal big guns who will prepare his defence.\n  N-COUNT


Words: big head
Meaning:
big head  big heads\n  If you describe someone as a big head, you disapprove of them because they think they are very clever and know everything. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = know-all


Words: big hitter
Meaning:
big hit.ter\n   big hitter big hitters  also big-hitter\n1. A big hitter is a sportsperson such as a golfer or tennis player who hits the ball with a lot of force.\nThe Uruguayan-born big-hitter smashed 28 aces.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A big hitter is a powerful or influential person, especially in business or politics. (INFORMAL)\n...if Tony Blair fails to persuade a Cabinet big hitter to take on the job.\n  N-COUNT


Words: big money
Meaning:
big mon.ey\n   big money\n  Big money is an amount of money that seems very large to you, especially money which you get easily.\nThey began to make big money during the war.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: big mouth
Meaning:
big mouth  big mouths\n  If you say that someone is a big mouth or that they have a big mouth, you mean that they tell other people things that should have been kept secret. (INFORMAL)\nWhy don’t you shut your big mouth?\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: big name
Meaning:
big name  big names\n  A big name is a person who is successful and famous because of their work.\n...all the big names in rock and pop.\n  N-COUNT


Words: big noise
Meaning:
big noise  big noises\n  Someone who is a big noise has an important position in a group or organization. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = big shot


Words: big screen
Meaning:
big screen\n  When people talk about the big screen, they are referring to films that are made for cinema rather than for television.\nShe returns to the big screen to play Candy’s overbearing mother, Rose.\n  N-SING: the N\n  !=small screen


Words: big shot
Meaning:
big shot  big shots\n  A big shot is an important and powerful person in a group or organization. (INFORMAL)\nHe’s a big shot in Chilean politics.\n  N-COUNT


Words: big time
Meaning:
big time   also big-time\n1. You can use big time to refer to the highest level of an activity or sport where you can achieve the greatest amount of success or importance. If you describe a person as big time, you mean they are successful and important. (INFORMAL)\nHe took a long time to settle in to big-time football.\n...a big-time investment banker.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If someone hits the big time, they become famous or successful in a particular area of activity. (INFORMAL)\nHe hit the big time with films such as Ghost and Dirty Dancing.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n3. You can use big time if you want to emphasize the importance or extent of something that has happened. (AM INFORMAL)\nThey screwed things up big time...\nAmerica lost big-time.\n  ADV: ADV after v  emphasis


Words: big top
Meaning:
big top\n  The large round tent that a circus uses for its performances is called the big top.\n  N-SING


Words: big wheel
Meaning:
big wheel  big wheels\n  A big wheel is a very large upright wheel with carriages around the edge of it which people can ride in. Big wheels are often found at theme parks or fun fairs. (BRIT; in AM, use ferris wheel)\n  N-COUNT


Words: big-headed
Meaning:
big-headed\n  If you describe someone as big-headed, you disapprove of them because they think they are very clever and know everything.\n...an arrogant, big-headed man.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = conceited


Words: big-hearted
Meaning:
big-hearted\n  If you describe someone as big-hearted, you think they are kind and generous to other people, and always willing to help them. (WRITTEN)\n...a big-hearted Irishman.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=mean-spirited


Words: big-ticket
Meaning:
big-ticket\n  If you describe something as a big-ticket item, you mean that it costs a lot of money. (mainly AM)\nSupercomputers are big-ticket items.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: bigamist
Meaning:
biga.mist\n   bigamist  bigamists\n  A bigamist is a person who commits the crime of marrying someone when they are already legally married to someone else.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bigamous
Meaning:
biga.mous\n   bigamous\n  A bigamous marriage is one in which one of the partners is already legally married to someone else.\n  ADJ


Words: bigamy
Meaning:
biga.my\n   bigamy\n  Bigamy is the crime of marrying a person when you are already legally married to someone else.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: biggie
Meaning:
big.gie\n   biggie  biggies\n  People sometimes refer to something or someone successful, well-known, or big as a biggie. (INFORMAL)\n...Hollywood box-office biggies.\n  N-COUNT


Words: biggish
Meaning:
big.gish\n   biggish\n  Something that is biggish is fairly big. (INFORMAL)\n...a biggish room.\n  ADJ


Words: bigot
Meaning:
big.ot\n   bigot  bigots\n  If you describe someone as a bigot, you mean that they are bigoted.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: bigoted
Meaning:
big.ot.ed\n   bigoted\n  Someone who is bigoted has strong, unreasonable prejudices or opinions and will not change them, even when they are proved to be wrong.\nHe was bigoted and racist.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: bigotry
Meaning:
big.ot.ry\n   bigotry\n  Bigotry is the possession or expression of strong, unreasonable prejudices or opinions.\nHe deplored religious bigotry.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bigwig
Meaning:
big.wig\n   bigwig  bigwigs\n  If you refer to an important person as a bigwig, you are being rather disrespectful. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: bijou
Meaning:
bi.jou\n   bijou\n  Small houses are sometimes described as bijou houses in order to make them sound attractive or fashionable.\n...a bijou Mayfair flat.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: bike
Meaning:
bike  bikes  biking  biked\n1. A bike is a bicycle or a motorcycle. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. To bike somewhere means to go there on a bicycle. (INFORMAL)\nI biked home from the beach.\n  VERB: V adv/prep\n  = cycle


Words: bike lane
Meaning:
bike lane  bike lanes\n  A bike lane is a part of the road which is intended to be used only by people riding bicycles.\n  N-COUNT


Words: biker
Meaning:
bik.er\n   biker  bikers\n1. Bikers are people who ride around on motorbikes, usually in groups.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. People who ride bicycles are called bikers. (AM; in BRIT, use cyclist)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bikeway
Meaning:
bike.way\n   bikeway  bikeways\n  A bikeway is a road, route, or path intended for use by cyclists. (AUSTRALIAN)\n  N-COUNT\n  = cycleway


Words: bikini line
Meaning:
bi.ki.ni line\n   bikini line\n  A woman’s bikini line is the edges of the area where her pubic hair grows.\n  N-SING


Words: bilateral
Meaning:
bi.lat.er.al\n   bilateral\n  Bilateral negotiations, meetings, or agreements, involve only the two groups or countries that are directly concerned. (FORMAL)\n...bilateral talks between Britain and America.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  bi.lat.er.al.ly\nDisputes and differences between the two neighbours would be solved bilaterally.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v, ADV adj


Words: bilberry
Meaning:
bil.berry\n   bilberry  bilberries\n  A bilberry is a small, round, dark-blue fruit that grows on bushes in northern Europe.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bile
Meaning:
bile\n1. Bile is a liquid produced by your liver which helps you to digest fat.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Bile is the bad-smelling liquid that comes out of your mouth when you vomit with no food in your stomach.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. Bile is anger or bitterness towards someone or something. (LITERARY)\nHe aims his bile at religion, drugs, and politics.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bilingual
Meaning:
bi.lin.gual\n   bilingual\n1. Bilingual means involving or using two languages.\n...bilingual education.\n...the Collins bilingual dictionaries.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Someone who is bilingual can speak two languages equally well, usually because they learned both languages as a child.\nHe is bilingual in an Asian language and English.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ


Words: bilingualism
Meaning:
bi.lin.gual.ism\n   bilingualism\n  Bilingualism is the ability to speak two languages equally well.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bilious
Meaning:
bili.ous\n   bilious\n1. If someone describes the appearance of something as bilious, they mean that they think it looks unpleasant and rather disgusting. (WRITTEN)\n...a bilious shade of green.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n\n2. If you feel bilious, you feel sick and have a headache.\nShe is suffering a bilious attack.\n  ADJ\n\n3. Bilious is sometimes used to describe the feelings or behaviour of someone who is extremely angry or bad-tempered. (WRITTEN)\nHis speech was a bilious, rancorous attack on young people.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: bilk
Meaning:
bilk  bilks  bilking  bilked\n  To bilk someone out of something, especially money, means to cheat them out of it. (AM INFORMAL)\nThey are charged with bilking investors out of millions of dollars.\n  VERB: V n out of n, also V n\n  = cheat


Words: bill
Meaning:
bill  bills  billing  billed\n1. A bill is a written statement of money that you owe for goods or services.\nThey couldn’t afford to pay the bills...\nHe paid his bill for the newspapers promptly.\n...phone bills.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you bill someone for goods or services you have provided them with, you give or send them a bill stating how much money they owe you for these goods or services.\nAre you going to bill me for this?\n  VERB: no cont, V n for n, also V n\n\n3. The bill in a restaurant is a piece of paper on which the price of the meal you have just eaten is written and which you are given before you pay. (BRIT; in AM, use check)\n  N-SING: the N\n\n4. A bill is a piece of paper money. (AM; in BRIT, use note)\n...a large quantity of US dollar bills.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n5. In government, a bill is a formal statement of a proposed new law that is discussed and then voted on.\nThis is the toughest crime bill that Congress has passed in a decade...\nThe bill was approved by a large majority.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp\n\n6. The bill of a show or concert is a list of the entertainers who will take part in it.\n  N-SING\n\n7. If someone is billed to appear in a particular show, it has been advertised that they are going to be in it.\nShe was billed to play the Red Queen in Snow White.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed to-inf\n\n=>  bill.ing\n...their quarrels over star billing.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n8. If you bill a person or event as a particular thing, you advertise them in a way that makes people think they have particular qualities or abilities.\nThey bill it as Britain’s most exciting museum.\n  VERB: V n as n\n\n9. A bird’s bill is its beak.\n  N-COUNT\n\n10.\n  see also Private Member’s Bill\n11. If you say that someone or something fits the bill or fills the bill, you mean that they are suitable for a particular job or purpose.\nIf you fit the bill, send a CV to Rebecca Rees.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n12. If you have to foot the bill for something, you have to pay for it.\nWho is footing the bill for her extravagant holiday?\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: bill of fare
Meaning:
bill of fare  bills of fare\n  The bill of fare at a restaurant is a list of the food for a meal from which you may choose what you want to eat. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT\n  = menu


Words: Bill of Rights
Meaning:
Bill of Rights\n  A Bill of Rights is a written list of citizens’ rights which is usually part of the constitution of a country.\n  N-SING


Words: billboard
Meaning:
bill.board\n   billboard  billboards\n  A billboard is a very large board on which posters are displayed.\n  N-COUNT\n  = hoarding


Words: billet
Meaning:
bil.let\n   billet  billets  billeting  billeted\n1. If members of the armed forces are billeted in a particular place, that place is provided for them to stay in for a period of time.\nThe soldiers were billeted in private homes.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed adv/prep\n\n2. A billet is a house where a member of the armed forces has been billeted.\n  N-COUNT


Words: billfold
Meaning:
bill.fold\n   billfold  billfolds\n  A billfold is a small flat folded case, usually made of leather or plastic, where you can keep banknotes and credit cards. (AM; in BRIT, use wallet)\n  N-COUNT


Words: billiards
Meaning:
bil.liards\n   billiards\n\n  The form billiard is used as a modifier.\n\n1. Billiards is a game played on a large table, in which you use a long stick called a cue to hit balls against each other or into pockets around the sides of the table. (BRIT; in AM, use pocket billiards, pool)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Billiards is a game played on a large table, in which you use a long stick called a cue to hit balls against each other or against the walls around the sides of the table. (AM)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: billion
Meaning:
bil.lion\n   billion  billions\n\n  The plural form is billion after a number, or after a word or expression referring to a number, such as `several’ or `a few’.\n\n1. A billion is a thousand million.\n...3 billion dollars...\nThis year, almost a billion birds will be processed in the region.\n  NUM\n\n2. If you talk about billions of people or things, you mean that there is a very large number of them but you do not know or do not want to say exactly how many.\nBiological systems have been doing this for billions of years...\nHe urged US executives to invest billions of dollars in his country.\n  QUANT-PLURAL: QUANT of pl-n\n\n  You can also use billions as a pronoun.\nHe thought that it must be worth billions.\n  PRON


Words: billionaire
Meaning:
bil.lion.aire\n   billionaire  billionaires\n  A billionaire is an extremely rich person who has money or property worth at least a thousand million pounds or dollars.\n  N-COUNT


Words: billionth
Meaning:
bil.lionth\n   billionth  billionths\n1. The billionth item in a series is the one you count as number one billion.\nDisney will claim its one billionth visitor before the end of the century.\n  ORD\n\n2. A billionth is one of a billion equal parts of something.\n...a billionth of a second.\n  FRACTION


Words: billow
Meaning:
bil.low\n   billow  billows  billowing  billowed\n1. When something made of cloth billows, it swells out and moves slowly in the wind.\nThe curtains billowed in the breeze...\nHer pink dress billowed out around her.\n  VERB: V, V out\n\n2. When smoke or cloud billows, it moves slowly upwards or across the sky.\nSteam billowed out from under the bonnet.\n...billowing clouds of cigarette smoke.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V-ing\n\n3. A billow of smoke or dust is a large mass of it rising slowly into the air.\n...smoke stacks belching billows of almost solid black smoke.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n  = cloud


Words: billy
Meaning:
bil.ly\n   billy  billies\n  A billy or billy club is a short heavy stick which is sometimes used as a weapon by the police. (AM; in BRIT, use baton)\n  N-COUNT\n  = baton


Words: bimbo
Meaning:
bim.bo\n   bimbo  bimbos\n  If someone calls a young woman a bimbo, they think that although she is pretty she is rather stupid. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: bimonthly
Meaning:
bi.month.ly\n   bimonthly\nin BRIT, also use bi-monthly\n  A bimonthly event or publication happens or appears every two months.\n...bimonthly newsletters.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: bin
Meaning:
bin  bins  binning  binned\n1. A bin is a container that you put rubbish in. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use garbage can, trash can)\nHe screwed the paper small and chucked it in the bin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bin is a container that you keep or store things in.\n...a bread bin.\n...big steel storage bins.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n3. If you bin something, you throw it away. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nHe decided to bin his paintings.\n  VERB: V n


Words: bin liner
Meaning:
bin lin.er\n   bin liner  bin liners\n  A bin liner is a plastic bag that you put inside a waste bin or dustbin. (BRIT; in AM, use garbage bag, trash bag)\n  N-COUNT


Words: binary
Meaning:
bi.na.ry\n   binary\n1. The binary system expresses numbers using only the two digits 0 and 1. It is used especially in computing.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Binary is the binary system of expressing numbers.\nThe machine does the calculations in binary.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. Binary describes something that has two different parts. (FORMAL)\n...a binary star.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: binary code
Meaning:
bi.na.ry code\n   binary code binary codes\n  Binary code is a computer code that uses the binary number system. (COMPUTING)\nThe instructions are translated into binary code, a form that computers can easily handle.\n  N-VAR


Words: bind
Meaning:
bind  binds  binding  bound\n1. If something binds people together, it makes them feel as if they are all part of the same group or have something in common.\nIt is the memory and threat of persecution that binds them together.\n...the social and political ties that bind the USA to Britain.\n...a group of people bound together by shared language, culture, and beliefs.\n  VERB: V pl-n together, V n prep/adv, V-ed, also V n\n\n2. If you are bound by something such as a rule, agreement, or restriction, you are forced or required to act in a certain way.\nThe Luxembourg-based satellite service is not bound by the same strict rules as the BBC...\nThe authorities will be legally bound to arrest any suspects...\nThe treaty binds them to respect their neighbour’s independence.\n  VERB: be V-ed by n, be V-ed to-inf, V n to-inf, also V n\n\n=>  bound\nFew of them feel bound by any enduring loyalties.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ by n\n\n3. If you bind something or someone, you tie rope, string, tape, or other material around them so that they are held firmly.\nBind the ends of the cord together with thread.\n...the red tape which was used to bind the files...\n  VERB: V n adv/prep, V n\n\n4. When a book is bound, the pages are joined together and the cover is put on.\nEach volume is bound in bright-coloured cloth...\nTheir business came from a few big publishers, all of whose books they bound.\n...four immaculately bound hardbacks.\n  VERB: be V-ed in n, V n, V-ed\n\n=>  -bound\n...leather-bound stamp albums.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n5.\n  see also binding, bound, double bind


Words: bind over
Meaning:
bind over\n  If someone is bound over by a court or a judge, they are given an order and must do as the order says for a particular period of time. (LEGAL)\nOn many occasions demonstrators were bound over to keep the peace...\nThey put us in a cell, and the next day some bumbling judge bound us over...\nThis imposes a duty on courts to bind over parents when they have no control over their children.\n  PHRASAL VERB: be V-ed P to-inf, V n P, V P n (not pron), also V P n to-inf


Words: binder
Meaning:
bind.er\n   binder  binders\n  A binder is a hard cover with metal rings inside, which is used to hold loose pieces of paper.\n  N-COUNT


Words: binding
Meaning:
bind.ing\n   binding  bindings\n1. A binding promise, agreement, or decision must be obeyed or carried out.\n...proposals for a legally binding commitment on nations to stabilise emissions of carbon dioxide...\nThe panel’s decisions are secret and not binding on the government.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ on n\n\n2. The binding of a book is its cover.\nIts books are noted for the quality of their paper and bindings.\n  N-VAR: oft with poss\n\n3. Binding is a strip of material that you put round the edge of a piece of cloth or other object in order to protect or decorate it.\n...the Regency mahogany dining table with satinwood binding.\n  N-VAR\n\n4. Binding is a piece of rope, cloth, tape, or other material that you wrap around something so that it can be gripped firmly or held in place.\n  N-VAR\n\n5.\n  see also bind


Words: bindweed
Meaning:
bind.weed\n   bindweed\n  Bindweed is a wild plant that winds itself around other plants and makes it difficult for them to grow.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: binge
Meaning:
binge  binges  bingeing  binged\n1. If you go on a binge, you do too much of something, such as drinking alcohol, eating, or spending money. (INFORMAL)\nShe went on occasional drinking binges.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you binge, you do too much of something, such as drinking alcohol, eating, or spending money. (INFORMAL)\nI haven’t binged since 1986...\nI binged on pizzas or milkshakes.\n  VERB: V, V on n


Words: bingo
Meaning:
bin.go\n   bingo\n1. Bingo is a game in which each player has a card with numbers on. Someone calls out numbers and if you are the first person to have all your numbers called out, you win the game.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You can say `bingo!’ when something pleasant happens, especially in a surprising, unexpected, or sudden way.\nI was in a market in Tangier and bingo! I found this.\n  EXCLAM


Words: binoculars
Meaning:
bin.ocu.lars\n   binoculars\n  Binoculars consist of two small telescopes joined together side by side, which you look through in order to look at things that are a long way away.\n  N-PLURAL: also a pair of N


Words: bio-
Meaning:
bio-\n  Bio- is used at the beginning of nouns and adjectives that refer to life or to the study of living things.\n...bio-engineering.\n  PREFIX


Words: biochemical
Meaning:
bio.chemi.cal\n   biochemical\n  Biochemical changes, reactions, and mechanisms relate to the chemical processes that happen in living things.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: biochemist
Meaning:
bio.chem.ist\n   biochemist  biochemists\n  A biochemist is a scientist or student who studies biochemistry.\n  N-COUNT


Words: biochemistry
Meaning:
bio.chem.is.try\n   biochemistry\n1. Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes that happen in living things.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. The biochemistry of a living thing is the chemical processes that happen in it or are involved in it.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: biodegradable
Meaning:
bio.degrad.able\n   biodegradable\n  Something that is biodegradable breaks down or decays naturally without any special scientific treatment, and can therefore be thrown away without causing pollution.\n...a natural and totally biodegradable plastic.\n  ADJ


Words: biodiversity
Meaning:
bio.di.ver.sity\n   biodiversity\n  Biodiversity is the existence of a wide variety of plant and animal species living in their natural environment.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bioengineering
Meaning:
bio.en.gi.neer.ing\n   bioengineering\n1. People sometimes use bioengineering to talk about genetic engineering.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Bioengineering is the use of engineering techniques to solve medical problems, for example to design and make artificial arms and legs.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: biographer
Meaning:
bi.og.raph.er\n   biographer  biographers\n  Someone’s biographer is a person who writes an account of their life.\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss


Words: biographical
Meaning:
bio.graphi.cal\n   biographical\n  Biographical facts, notes, or details are concerned with the events in someone’s life.\nThe book contains few biographical details.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: biography
Meaning:
bi.og.ra.phy\n   biography  biographies\n1. A biography of someone is an account of their life, written by someone else.\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss\n\n2. Biography is the branch of literature which deals with accounts of people’s lives.\n...a volume of biography and criticism.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: biological
Meaning:
bio.logi.cal\n   biological\n1. Biological is used to describe processes and states that occur in the bodies and cells of living things.\nThe living organisms somehow concentrated the minerals by biological processes...\nThis is a natural biological response.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  bio.logi.cal.ly\nMuch of our behaviour is biologically determined...\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV with v\n\n2. Biological is used to describe activities concerned with the study of living things.\n...the university’s school of biological sciences.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. Biological weapons and biological warfare involve the use of bacteria or other living organisms in order to attack human beings, animals, or plants.\nSuch a war could result in the use of chemical and biological weapons.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n4. Biological pest control is the use of bacteria or other living organisms in order to destroy other organisms which are harmful to plants or crops.\n...Jim Litsinger, a consultant on biological control of agricultural pests.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n5. A child’s biological parents are the man and woman who caused him or her to be born, rather than other adults who look after him or her.\n...foster parents for young teenagers whose biological parents have rejected them.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = natural


Words: biological clock
Meaning:
bio.logi.cal clock\n   biological clock  biological clocks\n  Your biological clock is your body’s way of registering time. It does not rely on events such as day or night, but on factors such as your habits, your age, and chemical changes taking place in your body.\nFor women, the `biological clock’ governs the time for having children.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: biological diversity
Meaning:
bio.logi.cal di.ver.sity\n   biological diversity\n  Biological diversity is the same as biodiversity.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: biology
Meaning:
bi.ol.ogy\n   biology\n1. Biology is the science which is concerned with the study of living things.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  bi.olo.gist      biologists\n...biologists studying the fruit fly.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The biology of a living thing is the way in which its body or cells behave.\nThe biology of these diseases is terribly complicated.\n...human biology.\n  N-UNCOUNT: the N of n, supp N\n\n3.\n  see also molecular biology


Words: biomedical
Meaning:
bio.medi.cal\n   biomedical\n  Biomedical research examines the effects of drugs and medical techniques on the biological systems of living creatures.\nBiomedical research will enable many individuals infected with HIV to live longer, more comfortable lives.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: bionic
Meaning:
bi.on.ic\n   bionic\n  In science fiction books or films, a bionic person is someone who has special powers, such as being exceptionally strong or having exceptionally good sight, because parts of their body have been replaced by electronic machinery.\n...the Bionic Woman.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: biopic
Meaning:
bio.pic\n   biopic  biopics\n  A biopic is a film that tells the story of someone’s life.\n  N-COUNT


Words: biopsy
Meaning:
bi.op.sy\n   biopsy  biopsies\n  A biopsy is the removal and examination of fluids or tissue from a patient’s body in order to discover why they are ill.\n  N-VAR


Words: biosphere
Meaning:
bio.sphere\n   biosphere\n  The biosphere is the part of the earth’s surface and atmosphere where there are living things. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: biotech
Meaning:
bio.tech\n   biotech\n  Biotech means the same as biotechnology.\n...the biotech industry.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n


Words: biotechnological
Meaning:
bio.tech.no.logi.cal\n\n  Biotechnological means relating to biotechnology. (TECHNICAL)\n...modern biotechnological methods of genetic manipulation.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: biotechnology
Meaning:
bio.tech.nol.ogy\n   biotechnology\n  Biotechnology is the use of living parts such as cells or bacteria in industry and technology. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  bio.tech.nolo.gist      biotechnologists\n...biotechnologists turning proteins into pharmaceuticals.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bioterrorism
Meaning:
bio.ter.ror.ism\n  also bio-terrorism\n  Bioterrorism is terrorism that involves the use of biological weapons.\n...the threat of bioterrorism.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  bio.ter.ror.ist     bioterrorists\n...the war against bioterrorists.\n...a bioterrorist attack.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: bipartisan
Meaning:
bi.par.ti.san\n   bipartisan\n  Bipartisan means concerning or involving two different political parties or groups.\n...a bipartisan approach to educational reform.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: biplane
Meaning:
bi.plane\n   biplane  biplanes\n  A biplane is an old-fashioned type of aeroplane with two pairs of wings, one above the other.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bipolar
Meaning:
bi.po.lar\n   bipolar\n  Bipolar systems or situations are dominated by two strong and opposing opinions or elements. (FORMAL)\n...the bipolar world of the Cold War years.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: bird
Meaning:
bird  birds\n1. A bird is a creature with feathers and wings. Female birds lay eggs. Most birds can fly.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Some men refer to young women as birds. This use could cause offence. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3.\n  see also game bird\n4.\n  see also early bird\n5. If you refer to two people as birds of a feather, you mean that they have the same interests or are very similar.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n6. A bird in the hand is something that you already have and do not want to risk losing by trying to get something else.\n  PHRASE\n\n7. If you say that a little bird told you about something, you mean that someone has told you about it, but you do not want to say who it was.\n  PHRASE\n\n8. If you say that doing something will kill two birds with one stone, you mean that it will enable you to achieve two things that you want to achieve, rather than just one.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: bird of paradise
Meaning:
bird of para.dise\n   bird of paradise  birds of paradise\n  A bird of paradise is a songbird which is found mainly in New Guinea. The male birds have very brightly coloured feathers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bird of passage
Meaning:
bird of pas.sage\n   bird of passage  birds of passage\n  If you refer to someone as a bird of passage, you mean that they are staying in a place for a short time before going to another place.\nMost of these emigrants were birds of passage who returned to Spain after a relatively short stay.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bird of prey
Meaning:
bird of prey  birds of prey\n  A bird of prey is a bird such as an eagle or a hawk that kills and eats other birds and animals.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bird table
Meaning:
bird ta.ble\n   bird table  bird tables\n  A bird table is a small wooden platform on a pole which some people put in their garden in order to put food for the birds on it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bird’s eye view
Meaning:
bird’s eye view  bird’s eye views\n  You say that you have a bird’s eye view of a place when you are looking down at it from a great height, so that you can see a long way but everything looks very small.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: bird-watcher
Meaning:
bird-watcher  bird-watchers   also birdwatcher\n  A bird-watcher is a person whose hobby is watching and studying wild birds in their natural surroundings.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bird-watching
Meaning:
bird-watching   also birdwatching\n  Bird-watching is the activity of watching and studying wild birds in their natural surroundings.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: birdcage
Meaning:
bird.cage\n   birdcage  birdcages   also bird cage\n  A birdcage is a cage in which birds are kept.\n  N-COUNT


Words: birdie
Meaning:
birdie  birdies  birdying  birdied\n1. In golf, if you get a birdie, you get the golf ball into a hole in one stroke fewer than the number of strokes which has been set as the standard for a good player.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If a golfer birdies a hole, he or she gets a birdie at that hole.\nHe birdied five of the first seven holes.\n  VERB: V n


Words: birdlife
Meaning:
bird.life\n   birdlife   also bird life\n  The birdlife in a place is all the birds that live there.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: birdlike
Meaning:
bird.like\n   birdlike   also bird-like\n  If someone has a birdlike manner, they move or look like a bird.\n...the birdlike way she darted about.\n  ADJ


Words: birdsong
Meaning:
bird.song\n   birdsong  birdsongs   also bird song\n  Birdsong is the sound of a bird or birds calling in a way which sounds musical.\nThe air is filled with birdsong.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl


Words: Biro
Meaning:
Biro  Biros\n  A Biro is a pen with a small metal ball at its tip which transfers the ink onto the paper. (TRADEMARK) (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: birth
Meaning:
birth  births\n1. When a baby is born, you refer to this event as his or her birth.\nIt was the birth of his grandchildren which gave him greatest pleasure...\nShe weighed 5lb 7oz at birth.\n...premature births.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. You can refer to the beginning or origin of something as its birth.\n...the birth of popular democracy.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with poss\n\n3. Some people talk about a person’s birth when they are referring to the social position of the person’s family.\n...men of low birth...\nHis birth, background and career show that you can make it in this country on merit alone.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu supp N\n\n4.\n  see also date of birth, home birth\n5. If, for example, you are French by birth, you are French because your parents are French, or because you were born in France.\nSadrudin was an Iranian by birth.\n  PHRASE: adj PHR\n\n6. When a woman gives birth, she produces a baby from her body.\nShe’s just given birth to a baby girl...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n7. To give birth to something such as an idea means to cause it to start to exist.\nIn 1980, strikes at the Lenin shipyards gave birth to the Solidarity trade union.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n8. The country, town, or village of your birth is the place where you were born.\n  PHRASE: n PHR


Words: birth certificate
Meaning:
birth cer.tifi.cate\n   birth certificate  birth certificates\n  Your birth certificate is an official document which gives details of your birth, such as the date and place of your birth, and the names of your parents.\n  N-COUNT


Words: birth control
Meaning:
birth con.trol\n   birth control\n  Birth control means planning whether to have children, and using contraception to prevent having them when they are not wanted.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: birth rate
Meaning:
birth rate  birth rates   also birth-rate\n  The birth rate in a place is the number of babies born there for every 1000 people during a particular period of time.\nThe UK has the highest birth rate among 15 to 19-year-olds in Western Europe.\n...a falling birth-rate.\n  N-COUNT


Words: birthdate
Meaning:
birth.date\n   birthdate  birthdates\n  Your birthdate is the same as your date of birth.\n  N-COUNT


Words: birthday
Meaning:
birth.day\n   birthday   birthdays\n  Your birthday is the anniversary of the date on which you were born.\n  N-COUNT


Words: birthday suit
Meaning:
birth.day suit\n   birthday suit  birthday suits\n  If you are in your birthday suit, you are not wearing any clothes. (INFORMAL, HUMOROUS or OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT: poss N


Words: birthing
Meaning:
birth.ing\n   birthing\n  Birthing means relating to or used during the process of giving birth.\nThe hospital has pioneered the use of birthing pools.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: birthmark
Meaning:
birth.mark\n   birthmark  birthmarks\n  A birthmark is a mark on someone’s skin that has been there since they were born.\n  N-COUNT


Words: birthplace
Meaning:
birth.place\n   birthplace  birthplaces\n1. Your birthplace is the place where you were born. (WRITTEN)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The birthplace of something is the place where it began.\n...Athens, the birthplace of the ancient Olympics.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: birthright
Meaning:
birth.right\n   birthright  birthrights\n  Something that is your birthright is something that you feel you have a basic right to have, simply because you are a human being.\nFreedom is the natural birthright of every human.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: biscuit
Meaning:
bis.cuit\n   biscuit  biscuits\n1. A biscuit is a small flat cake that is crisp and usually sweet. (BRIT; in AM, use cookie)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A biscuit is a small round dry cake that is made with baking powder, baking soda, or yeast. (AM)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If someone has done something very stupid, rude, or selfish, you can say that they take the biscuit or that what they have done takes the biscuit, to emphasize your surprise at their behaviour. (BRIT; in AM, use take the cake)\n  PHRASE: V inflects  emphasis


Words: bisect
Meaning:
bi.sect\n   bisect  bisects  bisecting  bisected\n  If something long and thin bisects an area or line, it divides the area or line in half.\nThe main street bisects the town from end to end.\n  VERB: V n


Words: bisexual
Meaning:
bi.sex.ual\n   bisexual  bisexuals\n  Someone who is bisexual is sexually attracted to both men and women.\n  ADJ\n\n  Bisexual is also a noun.\nHe was an active bisexual.\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  bi.sexu.al.ity\nLillian opened up to Frank about her bisexuality.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bishop
Meaning:
bish.op\n   bishop  bishops\n1. A bishop is a clergyman of high rank in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox churches.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE; N-VOC\n\n2. In chess a bishop is a piece that can be moved diagonally across the board on squares that are the same colour.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bishopric
Meaning:
bish.op.ric\n   bishopric  bishoprics\n  A bishopric is the area for which a bishop is responsible, or the rank or office of being a bishop.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bison
Meaning:
bi.son\n   bison  bison\n  A bison is a large hairy animal with a large head that is a member of the cattle family. They used to be very common in North America and Europe. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use buffalo)\n  N-COUNT\n  = buffalo


Words: bistro
Meaning:
bis.tro\n   bistro  bistros\n  A bistro is a small, informal restaurant or a bar where food is served.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bit
Meaning:
bit  bits\n1. A bit of something is a small amount of it.\nAll it required was a bit of work...\nI got paid a little bit of money.\n  QUANT: QUANT of n-uncount\n\n2. A bit means to a small extent or degree. It is sometimes used to make a statement less extreme.\nThis girl was a bit strange...\nShe looks a bit like his cousin Maureen...\nThat sounds a bit technical...\nIsn’t that a bit harsh?\n  PHRASE: PHR adj/adv/prep  vagueness\n  = slightly\n3. You can use a bit of to make a statement less forceful. For example, the statement `It’s a bit of a nuisance’ is less forceful than `It’s a nuisance’.\nIt’s all a bit of a mess...\nThis comes as a bit of a disappointment.\n  PHRASE: PHR n  vagueness\n\n4. Quite a bit means quite a lot.\nThey’re worth quite a bit of money...\nThings have changed quite a bit...\nHe’s quite a bit older than me.\n  PHRASE: PHR of n, PHR after v, PHR compar\n\n5. You use a bit before `more’ or `less’ to mean a small amount more or a small amount less.\nI still think I have a bit more to offer...\nMaybe we’ll hear a little bit less noise.\n  PHRASE: PHR more/less\n\n6. If you do something a bit, you do it for a short time. In British English, you can also say that you do something for a bit.\nLet’s wait a bit...\nI hope there will be time to talk a bit...\nThat should keep you busy for a bit.\n  PHRASE: PHR with v\n\n7. A bit of something is a small part or section of it. (mainly BRIT)\nThat’s the bit of the meeting that I missed...\nNow comes the really important bit...\nThe best bit was walking along the glacier.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n\n  = part\n8. A bit of something is a small piece of it. (mainly BRIT)\nOnly a bit of string looped round a nail in the doorpost held it shut.\n...crumpled bits of paper.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n  = piece\n9. You can use bit to refer to a particular item or to one of a group or set of things. For example, a bit of information is an item of information.\nThere was one bit of vital evidence which helped win the case...\nNot one single bit of work has been started towards the repair of this road.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n10. In computing, a bit is the smallest unit of information that is held in a computer’s memory. It is either 1 or 0. Several bits form a byte.\n  N-COUNT\n\n11. A bit is 12. cents; mainly used in expressions such as two bits, which means 25 cents, or four bits, which means 50 cents. (AM)\n  N-COUNT\n\n12. Bit is the past tense of bite.\n\n13. If something happens bit by bit, it happens in stages.\nBit by bit I began to understand what they were trying to do.\n  PHRASE: PHR with v\n\n14. If someone is champing at the bit or is chomping at the bit, they are very impatient to do something, but they are prevented from doing it, usually by circumstances that they have no control over.\nI expect you’re champing at the bit, so we’ll get things going as soon as we can.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n15. If you do your bit, you do something that, to a small or limited extent, helps to achieve something.\nMarcie always tried to do her bit.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n16. You say that one thing is every bit as good, interesting, or important as another to emphasize that the first thing is just as good, interesting, or important as the second.\nMy dinner jacket is every bit as good as his.\n  PHRASE: PHR adj/adv  emphasis\n\n17. If you say that something is a bit much, you are annoyed because you think someone has behaved in an unreasonable way. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nIt’s a bit much expecting me to dump your boyfriend for you.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR  feelings\n\n18. You use not a bit when you want to make a strong negative statement. (mainly BRIT)\nI’m really not a bit surprised...\n`Are you disappointed?’ `Not a bit.’\n  PHRASE  emphasis\n\n19. You say not a bit of it to emphasize that something that you might expect to be the case is not the case. (BRIT)\nDid he give up? Not a bit of it!\n  PHRASE  emphasis\n\n20. You can use bits and pieces or bits and bobs to refer to a collection of different things. (INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE\n\n(next)


Words: bit .1
Meaning:
21. If you get the bit between your teeth, or take the bit between your teeth, you become very enthusiastic about a job you have to do.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n22. If something is smashed or blown to bits, it is broken into a number of pieces. If something falls to bits, it comes apart so that it is in a number of pieces.\nShe found a pretty yellow jug smashed to bits.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n23.\nthrilled to bits: see thrilled


Words: bit part
Meaning:
bit part  bit parts   also bit-part\n  A bit part is a small and unimportant role for an actor in a film or play.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bitch
Meaning:
bitch  bitches  bitching  bitched\n1. If someone calls a woman a bitch, they are saying in a very rude way that they think she behaves in a very unpleasant way. (INFORMAL, VERY RUDE)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n  see also son of a bitch\n2. If you say that someone is bitching about something, you mean that you disapprove of the fact that they are complaining about it in an unpleasant way. (INFORMAL)\nThey’re forever bitching about everybody else.\n  VERB: oft cont, V about n, also V  disapproval\n\n3. A bitch is a female dog.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bitchy
Meaning:
bitchy\n  If someone is being bitchy or is making bitchy remarks, they are saying unkind things about someone. (INFORMAL)\nI’m sorry. I know I was bitchy on the phone...\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = catty\n=>  bitchi.ness\nThere’s a lot of bitchiness.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bite
Meaning:
bite  bites  biting  bit  bitten\n1. If you bite something, you use your teeth to cut into it, for example in order to eat it or break it. If an animal or person bites you, they use their teeth to hurt or injure you.\nBoth sisters bit their nails as children...\nHe bit into his sandwich...\nHe had bitten the cigarette in two...\nLlamas won’t bite or kick.\n  VERB: V n, V into n, V n adv/prep, V\n\n2. A bite of something, especially food, is the action of biting it.\nHe took another bite of apple...\nYou cannot eat a bun in one bite.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n  A bite is also the amount of food you take into your mouth when you bite it.\nLook forward to eating the food and enjoy every bite.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you have a bite to eat, you have a small meal or a snack. (INFORMAL)\nIt was time to go home for a little rest and a bite to eat.\n  N-SING: a N, usu N to-inf\n\n4. If a snake or a small insect bites you, it makes a mark or hole in your skin, and often causes the surrounding area of your skin to become painful or itchy.\nWe were all badly bitten by mosquitoes.\n  VERB: V n, also V\n\n5. A bite is an injury or a mark on your body where an animal, snake, or small insect has bitten you.\nAny dog bite, no matter how small, needs immediate medical attention.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n6. When an action or policy begins to bite, it begins to have a serious or harmful effect.\nAs the sanctions begin to bite there will be more political difficulties ahead...\nThe recession started biting deeply into British industry.\n  VERB: V, V prep/adv\n\n7. If an object bites into a surface, it presses hard against it or cuts into it.\nThere may even be some wire or nylon biting into the flesh...\n  VERB: V prep/adv, also V, V n\n\n8. If you say that a food or drink has bite, you like it because it has a strong or sharp taste.\n...the addition of tartaric acid to give the wine some bite.\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval\n\n9. If the air or the wind has a bite, it feels very cold.\nThere was a bite in the air, a smell perhaps of snow.\n  N-SING: a N\n\n10. If a fish bites when you are fishing, it takes the hook or bait at the end of your fishing line in its mouth.\nAfter half an hour, the fish stopped biting and we moved on.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Bite is also a noun.\nIf I don’t get a bite in a few minutes I lift the rod and twitch the bait.\n  N-COUNT\n\n11.\n  see also love bite, nail-biting\n12. If someone bites the hand that feeds them, they behave badly or in an ungrateful way towards someone who they depend on.\nShe may be cynical about the film industry, but ultimately she has no intention of biting the hand that feeds her.\n  PHRASE: Vs inflect\n\n13. If you bite your lip or your tongue, you stop yourself from saying something that you want to say, because it would be the wrong thing to say in the circumstances.\nI must learn to bite my lip...\nHe bit his tongue as he found himself on the point of saying `follow that car’.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n14. If something takes a bite out of a sum of money, part of the money is spent or taken away in order to pay for it.\nLocal taxes are going to be taking a bigger bite out of people’s income than they ever have before.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n15.\nsomeone’s bark is worse than their bite: see bark\nto bite the bullet: see bullet\nto bite off more than one can chew: see chew\nto bite the dust: see dust


Words: bite-sized
Meaning:
bite-sized   also bite-size\n1. Bite-sized pieces of food are small enough to fit easily in your mouth.\n...bite-sized pieces of cheese.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If you describe something as bite-sized, you like it because it is small enough to be considered or dealt with easily.\n...bite-size newspaper items.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  approval


Words: biting
Meaning:
bit.ing\n   biting\n1. Biting wind or cold is extremely cold.\n...a raw, biting northerly wind...\nAntarctic air brought biting cold to southern Chile on Thursday.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = piercing\n2. Biting criticism or wit is very harsh or unkind, and is often caused by such feelings as anger or dislike.\n...a furore caused by the author’s biting satire on the Church...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: bitmap
Meaning:
bit.map\n   bitmap bitmaps bitmapping bitmapped\n  A bitmap is a type of graphics file on a computer. (COMPUTING)\n...bitmap graphics for representing complex images such as photographs.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Bitmap is also a verb.\nBitmapped maps require huge storage space.\n  VERB: V-ed


Words: bitter
Meaning:
bit.ter\n   bitter  bitterest  bitters\n1. In a bitter argument or conflict, people argue very angrily or fight very fiercely.\n...the scene of bitter fighting during the Second World War.\n...a bitter attack on the Government’s failure to support manufacturing...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  bit.ter.ly\nAny such thing would be bitterly opposed by most of the world’s democracies.\n...a bitterly fought football match.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj\n\n=>  bit.ter.ness\nThe rift within the organization reflects the growing bitterness of the dispute.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If someone is bitter after a disappointing experience or after being treated unfairly, they continue to feel angry about it.\nShe is said to be very bitter about the way she was sacked...\nHis long life was marked by bitter personal and political memories.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  bit.ter.ly\n`And he sure didn’t help us,’ Grant said bitterly.\n...the party bureaucrats who bitterly resented their loss of power.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj\n\n=>  bit.ter.ness\nI still feel bitterness and anger towards the person who knocked me down.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. A bitter experience makes you feel very disappointed. You can also use bitter to emphasize feelings of disappointment.\nI think the decision was a bitter blow from which he never quite recovered...\nThe statement was greeted with bitter disappointment by many of the other delegates.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  bit.ter.ly\nI was bitterly disappointed to have lost yet another race so near the finish.\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v\n\n4. Bitter weather, or a bitter wind, is extremely cold.\nOutside, a bitter east wind was accompanied by flurries of snow.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  bit.ter.ly\nIt’s been bitterly cold here in Moscow.\n  ADV: ADV adj\n\n5. A bitter taste is sharp, not sweet, and often slightly unpleasant.\nThe leaves taste rather bitter.\n  ADJ\n  !=sweet\n6. Bitter is a kind of beer that is light brown in colour. (BRIT)\n...a pint of bitter.\n  N-MASS\n\n7. If you say that you will continue doing something to the bitter end, especially something difficult or unpleasant, you are emphasizing that you will continue doing it until it is completely finished.\nThe guerrillas would fight to the bitter end, he said, in order to achieve their main goal.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v  emphasis\n\n8.\na bitter pill: see pill


Words: bitterly
Meaning:
bit.ter.ly\n   bitterly\n  You use bitterly when you are describing an attitude which involves strong, unpleasant emotions such as anger or dislike.\nWe are bitterly upset at what has happened.\n  ADV: ADV adj


Words: bittersweet
Meaning:
bitter.sweet\n  also bitter-sweet\n1. If you describe an experience as bittersweet, you mean that it has some happy aspects and some sad ones.\n...bittersweet memories of his first appearance for the team.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A bittersweet taste seems bitter and sweet at the same time.\n...a wine with a bitter-sweet flavour.\n  ADJ


Words: bitty
Meaning:
bit.ty\n   bitty\n1. If you say that something is bitty, you mean that it seems to be formed from a lot of different parts which you think do not fit together or go together well. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThe programme was bitty and pointless.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe someone or something as a little bitty person or thing, you are emphasizing that they are very small. (AM INFORMAL)\nShe’s just a little bitty wisp of a girl.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis


Words: bitumen
Meaning:
bi.tu.men\n   bitumen\n  Bitumen is a black sticky substance which is obtained from tar or petrol and is used in making roads.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bivouac
Meaning:
bivou.ac\n   bivouac  bivouacs  bivouacking  bivouacked\n1. A bivouac is a temporary camp made by soldiers or mountain climbers.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you bivouac in a particular place, you stop and stay in a bivouac there.\nWe bivouacked on the outskirts of the city.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, also V


Words: biweekly
Meaning:
bi.week.ly\n   biweekly\n  A biweekly event or publication happens or appears once every two weeks. (AM)\nHe used to see them at the biweekly meetings.\n...Beverage Digest, the industry’s biweekly newsletter.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Biweekly is also an adverb. (in BRIT, use fortnightly)\nThe group meets on a regular basis, usually weekly or biweekly.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: biz
Meaning:
biz\n1. Biz is sometimes used to refer to the entertainment business, especially pop music or films. (JOURNALISM INFORMAL)\n...a girl in the music biz.\n  N-SING: oft n N\n\n2.\n  see also showbiz


Words: bizarre
Meaning:
bi.zarre\n   bizarre\n  Something that is bizarre is very odd and strange.\nThe game was also notable for the bizarre behaviour of the team’s manager...\n  ADJ\n  = weird\n=>  bi.zarre.ly\nShe dressed bizarrely...\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj, ADV with cl


Words: blab
Meaning:
blab  blabs  blabbing  blabbed\n  If someone blabs about something secret, they tell people about it. (INFORMAL)\nHer mistake was to blab about their affair...\nNo blabbing to your mates!...\nShe’ll blab it all over the school.\n  VERB: V about n, V to n, V n prep, also V


Words: black
Meaning:
black  blacker  blackest  blacks  blacking  blacked\n1. Something that is black is of the darkest colour that there is, the colour of the sky at night when there is no light at all.\nShe was wearing a black coat with a white collar...\nHe had thick black hair...\nI wear a lot of black...\nHe was dressed all in black.\n  COLOUR\n\n2. A black person belongs to a race of people with dark skins, especially a race from Africa.\nHe worked for the rights of black people...\n...the traditions of the black community.\n  ADJ\n\n3. Black people are sometimes referred to as blacks. This use could cause offence.\nThere are about thirty-one million blacks in the US.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n4. Black coffee or tea has no milk or cream added to it.\nA cup of black tea or black coffee contains no calories...\nI drink coffee black.\n  ADJ: ADJ n, v n ADJ\n\n5. If you describe a situation as black, you are emphasizing that it is very bad indeed.\nIt was, he said later, one of the blackest days of his political career...\nThe future for the industry looks even blacker.\n  ADJ  emphasis\n\n6. If someone is in a black mood, they feel very miserable and depressed.\nHer mood was blacker than ever.\n  ADJ\n\n7. Black humour involves jokes about sad or difficult situations.\n`So you can all go over there and get shot,’ he said, with the sort of black humour common among British troops here...\nIt’s a black comedy of racial prejudice, mistaken identity and thwarted expectations.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n8. People who believe in black magic believe that it is possible to communicate with evil spirits.\nHe was also alleged to have conducted black magic ceremonies...\nThe King was unjustly accused of practising the black arts.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n9. If you say that someone is black and blue, you mean that they are badly bruised.\nWhenever she refused, he’d beat her black and blue...\nBud’s nose was still black and blue.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n10. If a person or an organization is in the black, they do not owe anyone any money.\nUntil his finances are in the black I don’t want to get married.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v\n  !=in the red\n11. If someone gives you a black look, they look at you in a way that shows that they are very angry about something.\nPassing my stall, she cast black looks at the amount of stuff still unsold.\n  PHRASE: N inflects, usu PHR after v


Words: Black Africa
Meaning:
Black Af.ri.ca\n   Black Africa\n  Black Africa is the part of Africa to the south of the Sahara Desert.\n  N-PROPER


Words: black and white
Meaning:
black and white   also black-and-white\n1. In a black and white photograph or film, everything is shown in black, white, and grey.\n...old black and white film footage...\nThe pictures were in black and white.\n  COLOUR\n\n2. A black and white television set shows only black-and-white pictures.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. A black and white issue or situation is one which involves issues which seem simple and therefore easy to make decisions about.\nBut this isn’t a simple black and white affair, Marianne...\nShe saw things in black and white.\n  ADJ\n  = clear-cut\n4. You say that something is in black and white when it has been written or printed, and not just said.\nHe’d seen the proof in black and white...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR


Words: black belt
Meaning:
black belt  black belts\n1. A black belt is worn by someone who has reached a very high standard in a sport such as judo or karate.\nHe holds a black belt in karate.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can refer to someone who has a black belt in judo or karate as a black belt.\nMurray is a judo black belt.\n  N-COUNT


Words: black box
Meaning:
black box  black boxes\n1. A black box is an electronic device in an aircraft which records information about its flights. Black boxes are often used to provide evidence about accidents.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can refer to a system or device as a black box when you know that it produces a particular result but you have no understanding of how it works.\nThey were part of the black box associated with high-flyer management development.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: black economy
Meaning:
black econo.my\n   black economy\n  The black economy consists of the buying, selling, and producing of goods or services that goes on without the government being informed, so that people can avoid paying tax on them. (BRIT)\n...an attempt to clamp down on the black economy.\n  N-SING


Words: black eye
Meaning:
black eye  black eyes\n  If someone has a black eye, they have a dark-coloured bruise around their eye.\nHe punched her in the face at least once giving her a black eye.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: black hole
Meaning:
black hole  black holes\n  Black holes are areas in space, where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from them. Black holes are thought to be formed by collapsed stars.\n  N-COUNT


Words: black ice
Meaning:
black ice\n  Black ice is a thin, transparent layer of ice on a road or path that is very difficult to see.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: black mark
Meaning:
black mark  black marks\n  A black mark against someone is something bad that they have done or a bad quality that they have which affects the way people think about them.\nThere was one black mark against him.\n  N-COUNT


