b ['bē] -n

  1. the second letter of the English alphabet
  2. a graphic representation of this letter
  3. a speech counterpart of orthographic b
  4. the seventh tone of a C-major scale
  5. a graphic device for reproducing the letter b
  6. one designated besp. as the second in order or class
  7. a grade rating a student's work as good but short of excellent
  8. one graded or rated with a B
  9. something shaped like the letter B
  10. the one of the four ABO blood groups characterized by the presence of antigens designated by the letter B and by the presence of antibodies against the antigens present in the A blood group
  11. bachelor
  12. bacillus
  13. back
  14. bag
  15. bale
  16. bass
  17. basso
  18. bat
  19. Baume
  20. before
  21. Bible
  22. billion
  23. bishop
  24. black
  25. blue
  26. bolivar
  27. book
  28. born
  29. bottom
  30. brick
  31. brightness
  32. British
  33. bulb
  34. butut

B -symbol

  1. boron

Ba -symbol

  1. barium

BA -abbr

  1. bachelor of arts
  2. batting average
  3. Buenos Aires

baa ['ba, 'bä] -vi, n

  1. to make the bleat of a sheep

BAA -abbr

  1. bachelor of applied arts

BAAE -abbr

  1. bachelor of aeronautical and astronautical engineering

baal ['bā(-ə)l, 'bäl] -n

  1. any of numerous Canaanite and Phoenician local deities

baas ['bäs] -n

  1. boss, master used esp. by nonwhites when speaking to or about Europeans in positions of authority

Baath·ism ['bä-thi-zəm] -n, n or adj

  1. the principles and policies of the Baath political party of Iraq and Syria characterized esp. by promotion of pan-Arab socialism

ba·ba ['bä-(,)bä, -bə] -n

  1. a rich cake soaked in a rum and sugar syrup called also baba au rhum -o-rm

ba·ba gha·noush [,bä-bə-gə-'nüsh] -n

  1. an appetizer or spread made chiefly of eggplant, tahini, garlic, olive oil, and lemon

ba·bas·su [,bä-bə-'sü] -n

  1. a tall pinnate-leaved palm ( Orbignya phaleratasyn. O. barbosiana) of Brazil with hard-shelled nuts yielding a valuable oil

Bab·bitt ['ba-bət] -n, adj

  1. a person and esp. a business or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to prevailing middle-class standards

bab·ble ['ba-bəl] -vb, n

  1. to talk enthusiastically or excessively
  2. to utter meaningless or unintelligible sounds
  3. to make sounds as though babbling
  4. to utter in an incoherently or meaninglessly repetitious manner
  5. to reveal by talk that is too free

babe ['bāb] -n

  1. infant, baby
  2. girl, woman
  3. a person and esp. a young woman who is sexually attractive
  4. a naive inexperienced person used esp. in the phrase babe in the woods

Ba·bel ['bā-bəl, 'ba-] -n

  1. a city in Shinar where the building of a tower is held in Genesis to have been halted by the confusion of tongues
  2. a confusion of sounds or voices
  3. a scene of noise or confusion

ba·be·sia [bə-'bē-zh(ē-)ə] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Babesia) of sporozoans parasitic in mammalian red blood cells (as in Texas fever) and transmitted by the bite of a tick called also piroplasm

ba·be·si·o·sis [bə-,bē-zē-'ō-səs] -n

  1. an infection with or disease caused by babesias

Ba·bin·ski reflex [bə-'bin(t)-skē-] -n

  1. a reflex movement in which when the sole is tickled the big toe turns upward instead of downward and which is normal in infancy but indicates damage to the central nervous system (as in the pyramidal tracts) later in life called also Babinski sign Ba*bin*ski's reflex -skez-

bab·i·ru·sa [,ba-bə-'rü-sə, ,bä-] -n

  1. a large wild swine ( Babyrousa babyrussa) of Indonesia

ba·boon [ba-'bün, chiefly Brit bə-] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Papio) of large gregarious primates of Africa and southwestern Asia having a long square naked muzzle
  2. any of several closely related primates

ba·bu ['bä-(,)bü] -n

  1. a Hindu gentleman a form of address corresponding to Mr.
  2. an Indian clerk who writes English
  3. an Indian having some education in English

ba·bul [bə-'bül] -n

  1. an acacia tree ( Acacia niloticasyn. A. arabica) widespread in India and northern Africa that yields gum arabic and tannins as well as fodder and timber

ba·bush·ka [bə-'büsh-kə, -'bu̇sh-, ba-] -n

  1. a usu. triangularly folded kerchief for the head
  2. a head covering (as a scarf) resembling a babushka
  3. an elderly Russian woman

ba·by ['bā-bē] -n, adj

  1. an extremely young child
  2. infant
  3. an extremely young animal
  4. the youngest of a group
  5. one that is like a baby (as in behavior)
  6. something that is one's special responsibility, achievement, or interest
  7. girl, woman often used in address
  8. boy, man often used in address
  9. person, thing
    • is one tough baby

baby -adj

  1. of, relating to, or being a baby
  2. much smaller than the usual
    • baby carrots
    • a baby flattop
    • take two baby steps
  3. to tend to indulge with often excessive or inappropriate care and solicitude
    • baby ing their only child
  4. to use or treat with care
    • baby ing a sore knee

baby back ribs -n pl

  1. meaty pork ribs cut from the lower back rib section

baby blue -n

  1. a pale blue
  2. blue eyes

baby blue eyes -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. a delicate blue-flowered California herb ( Nemophila menziesii) of the waterleaf family

baby boom -n

  1. a marked rise in birthrate (as in the U.S. immediately following the end of World War II)

baby boomlet -n

  1. a small or secondary baby boom (as in the U.S. in the 1980's and 90's)

baby bust -n

  1. a marked decline in birthrate

baby carriage -n

  1. a small four-wheeled carriage often with a folding top for pushing a baby around in called also baby buggy

baby grand -n

  1. a small grand piano

Bab·y·lon ['ba-bə-,län, -lən] -n

  1. a city devoted to materialism and sensual pleasure

Bab·y·lo·nian [,ba-bə-'lō-nyən, -nē-ən] -n

  1. a native or inhabitant of ancient Babylonia or Babylon
  2. the form of the Akkadian language used in ancient Babylonia

Babylonian -adj

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Babylonia or Babylon, the Babylonians, or Babylonian
  2. marked by luxury, extravagance, or the pursuit of sensual pleasure
    • the Babylonian halls of the big hotel -- G. K. Chesterton
    • the Babylonian delights of the city

baby oil -n

  1. a usu. fragrant mineral oil that is used esp. to moisturize and cleanse the skin
  2. any of various oils used similarly

baby's breath -n

  1. gypsophila
  2. a perennial herb ( Gypsophila paniculata) or an annual herb ( G. elegans) commonly used in floral arrangements

ba·by·sit ['bā-bē-,sit] -vb, n

  1. to care for children usu. during a short absence of the parents
  2. to give care
    • babysit for a neighbor's pets
  3. to babysit for
  4. mind, tend
    • babysit house plants
    • police babysitting a witness

baby talk -n

  1. the consciously imperfect or altered speech used by adults in speaking to small children
  2. the syntactically imperfect speech or phonetically modified forms used by small children learning to talk
  3. oversimplified speech or writing

baby tooth -n

  1. milk tooth

BAC -abbr

  1. blood alcohol concentration

bac·ca·lau·re·ate [,ba-kə-'lȯr-ē-ət, -'lär-] -n

  1. the degree of bachelor conferred by universities and colleges
  2. a sermon to a graduating class
  3. the service at which this sermon is delivered

bac·ca·rat [,bä-kə-'rä, ,ba-] -n

  1. a card game resembling chemin de fer in which three hands are dealt and players may bet either or both hands against the dealer's
  2. a two-handed version in which players may bet on or against either hand

Bac·chae ['ba-,kē, -,kī] -n pl

  1. the female attendants or priestesses of Bacchus
  2. the women participating in the Bacchanalia

bac·cha·nal ['ba-kə-nᵊl, 'bä-; ,ba-kə-'nal, ,bä-kə-'näl] -n

  1. orgy
  2. orgy
  3. a devotee of Bacchus
  4. one who celebrates the Bacchanalia
  5. reveler
  6. of, relating to, or suggestive of the Bacchanalia : bacchanalian

bac·cha·na·lia [,ba-kə-'nāl-yə, ,bä-] -n, adj or n

  1. a Roman festival of Bacchus celebrated with dancing, song, and revelry
  2. orgy
  3. orgy

bac·chant [bə-'kant, -'känt; 'ba-kənt, 'bä-] -n, adj

  1. bacchanal

bac·chante [bə-'kant, -'känt; -'kan-tē, -'kän-] -n

  1. a priestess or female follower of Bacchus

bac·chic ['ba-kik, 'bä-] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or suggestive of Bacchus or the Bacchanalia : bacchanalian

Bac·chus ['ba-kəs, 'bä-] -n

  1. the Greek god of wine called also Dionysus

bach ['bach] -n

  1. bachelor
  2. to live as a bachelor often used with it
  3. a small house or weekend cottage

bach·e·lor ['bach-lər, 'ba-chə-] -n

  1. a young knight who follows the banner of another
  2. a person who has received what is usu. the lowest degree conferred by a 4-year college, university, or professional school
    • bachelor of arts
  3. the degree itself
    • received a bachelor of laws
  4. an unmarried man
  5. a male animal (as a fur seal) without a mate during breeding time

bachelor -adj

  1. suitable for or occupied by a single person
    • a bachelor apartment
  2. unmarried
    • bachelor women
    • bachelor parents

bach·e·lor·ette [,bach-lə-'ret, ,ba-chə-] -n

  1. an unmarried woman

bachelor's button -n

  1. a European composite ( Centaurea cyanus) having flower heads with usu. blue, pink, or white rays that is often cultivated in No. America called also cornflower

ba·cil·la·ry ['ba-sə-,ler-ē, bə-'si-lə-rē] -adj

  1. shaped like a rod
  2. consisting of small rods
  3. of, relating to, or caused by bacilli

ba·cil·lus [bə-'si-ləs] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Bacillus) of rod-shaped gram-positive usu. aerobic bacteria producing endospores and including many saprophytes and some parasites (as B. anthracisof anthrax)
  2. a straight rod-shaped bacterium
  3. bacterium
  4. a disease-producing bacterium

bac·i·tra·cin [,ba-sə-'trā-sᵊn] -n

  1. a polypeptide antibiotic isolated from a bacillus ( Bacillus subtilisor B. licheniformis) and usu. used topically esp. against gram-positive bacteria

back ['bak] -n, adj

  1. the rear part of the human body esp. from the neck to the end of the spine
  2. the body considered as the wearer of clothes
  3. capacity for labor, effort, or endurance
  4. the back considered as the seat of one's awareness of duty or failings
    • get off my back
  5. the back considered as an area of vulnerability
    • the police officer's partner always watches his back
  6. the part of a lower animal (as a quadruped) corresponding to the human back
  7. spinal column
  8. spine
  9. the side or surface opposite the front or face : the rear part
  10. the farther or reverse side
  11. something at or on the back for support
    • back of a chair
  12. a place away from the front
    • sat in back
  13. a position in some games (as football or soccer) behind the front line of players
  14. a player in this position
  15. to, toward, or at the rear
  16. in or into the past : backward in time
  17. ago
  18. to or at an angle off the vertical
  19. under restraint
  20. in a delayed or retarded condition
  21. to, toward, or in a place from which a person or thing came
  22. to or toward a former state
  23. in return or reply
  24. being at or in the back
    • back door
  25. distant from a central or main area
    • back roads
  26. articulated at or toward the back of the oral passage
    • back vowels
  27. having returned or been returned
  28. being in arrears : overdue
  29. moving or operating backward : reverse
  30. not current
    • back issues of a magazine
  31. constituting the final 9 holes of an 18-hole golf course
  32. to support by material or moral assistance often used with up
  33. substantiate
  34. to assume financial responsibility for
  35. to provide musical accompaniment for often used with up
  36. to cause to go back or in reverse
  37. to articulate (a sound) with the tongue farther back
  38. to furnish with a back
  39. to be at the back of
  40. to move backward often used with up
  41. to shift counterclockwise
  42. to have the back in the direction of something

back·ache ['bak-,āk] -n

  1. a pain in the lower back

backandforth -n

  1. discussion , give-and-take
  2. exchange

back and forth -adv

  1. backward and forward
  2. between two places or persons

back away -vi

  1. to move away (as from a stand on an issue or from a commitment)

back bacon -n

  1. canadian bacon

back·beat ['bak-,bēt] -n

  1. a steady pronounced rhythm stressing the second and fourth beats of a four-beat measure

back·bench [-'bench] -n

  1. a bench in a British legislature (as the House of Commons) occupied by rank-and-file members

back·bite [-,bīt] -vb, n

  1. to say mean or spiteful things about (as one not present)
  2. to backbite a person

back·block [-,bläk] -n

  1. boondocks usu. used in pl.

back·board [-,bȯrd] -n

  1. a board placed at or serving as the back of something
  2. a rounded or rectangular board behind the basket on a basketball court which serves to keep missed shots from going out-of-bounds and from which the ball can be made to rebound into the basket
  3. a stiff board on which an injured person and esp. one with neck or spinal injuries is placed and immobilized in order to prevent further injury during transport

back·bone [-'bōn, -,bōn] -n, adj

  1. spinal column, spine
  2. : something that resembles a backbone: as
  3. a chief mountain ridge, range, or system
  4. the foundation or most substantial or sturdiest part of something
  5. the longest chain of atoms or groups of atoms in a usu. long molecule (as a polymer or protein)
  6. the primary high-speed hardware and transmission lines of a telecommunications network (as the Internet)
  7. firm and resolute character
  8. spine

back·break·ing [-,brā-kiŋ] -adj, n

  1. extremely arduous, exhausting, or demoralizing : oppressive
    • backbreaking labor
    • backbreaking rents

back burner -n, vt

  1. the condition of being out of active consideration or development usu. used in the phrase on the back burner

back channel -n, adj

  1. a secret, unofficial, or irregular means of communication

back·chat ['bak-,chat] -n

  1. back talk
  2. gossipy or bantering conversation

backcheck [-,chek] -vi, n

  1. to skate back toward one's own goal while closely defending against the offensive rushes of an opposing player in ice hockey

back·cloth [-,klȯth] -n

  1. backdrop

back·coun·try [-,kən-trē] -n

  1. a remote undeveloped rural area

back·court [-'kȯrt] -n

  1. the area near or nearest the back boundary lines or back wall of the playing area in a net or court game
  2. a basketball team's defensive half of the court
  3. the positions of the guards on a basketball team
  4. the guards themselves
    • a team with a strong backcourt

back·court·man [-mən] -n

  1. a guard on a basketball team

back·cross ['bak-,krȯs] -vt

  1. to cross (a first-generation hybrid) with one of the parental types

backcross -n

  1. a mating that involves backcrossing
  2. an individual produced by backcrossing

back·date ['bak-,dāt] -vt

  1. to put a date earlier than the actual one on
    • backdate a memo
  2. to make retroactive
    • backdate pension rights

back dive -n

  1. a dive from a position facing the diving board

back·door ['bak-'dȯr] -adj

  1. indirect, devious
  2. involving or being a play in basketball in which a player moves behind the defense and toward the basket to receive a quick pass
    • a backdoor layup

back down -vi

  1. to withdraw from a commitment or position

back·drop ['bak-,dräp] -n, vt

  1. a painted cloth hung across the rear of a stage
  2. background

back·field [-,fēld] -n

  1. the football players whose positions are behind the line of scrimmage
  2. the positions themselves

back·fill [-,fil] -vt, n

  1. to refill (as an excavation) usu. with excavated material
  2. to backfill an excavation

back·fire [-,fī(-ə)r] -n

  1. a fire started to check an advancing fire by clearing an area
  2. a loud noise caused by the improperly timed explosion of fuel mixture in the cylinder of an internal combustion engine

backfire -vi

  1. to make or undergo a backfire
  2. to have the reverse of the desired or expected effect
    • their plans backfired

back·fit ['bak-,fit] -vt, n

  1. retrofit

back·flip [-,flip] -n

  1. a backward somersault esp. in the air

back·flow [-,flō] -n

  1. a flowing back or returning esp. toward a source

backformation -n

  1. a word formed by subtraction of a real or supposed affix from an already existing longer word (as burglefrom burglar)
  2. the formation of back-formations

back·gam·mon ['bak-,ga-mən, ,bak-'] -n

  1. a board game played with dice and counters in which players try to be the first to gather their pieces into one corner and then systematically remove them from the board

back·ground ['bak-,(g)rau̇nd] -n

  1. the scenery or ground behind something
  2. the part of a painting representing what lies behind objects in the foreground
  3. an inconspicuous position
  4. the conditions that form the setting within which something is experienced
  5. the circumstances or events antecedent to a phenomenon or development
  6. information essential to understanding of a problem or situation
  7. the total of a person's experience, knowledge, and education
  8. intrusive sound or radiation that interferes with received or recorded electronic signals
  9. a more or less steady level of noise above which the effect (as radioactivity) being measured by an apparatus (as a Geiger counter) is detected
  10. a somewhat steady level of radiation in the natural environment (as from cosmic rays)
  11. a level of computer processing at which the processor uses time not required for a primary task to work on an additional task

background -vt

  1. to provide with background

back·ground·er ['bak-,(g)rau̇n-dər] -n

  1. an off-the-record briefing for reporters

background music -n

  1. music to accompany the dialogue or action of a motion picture or radio or television drama

background radiation -n

  1. the microwave radiation pervading the universe that exhibits a corresponding blackbody temperature of 2.7 K and that is the principal evidence supporting the big bang theory called also cosmic background radiation

back·hand ['bak-,hand] -n

  1. a stroke (as in tennis) made with the back of the hand turned in the direction of movement
  2. the side on which such strokes are made
  3. a catch (as in baseball) made to the side of the body opposite the hand being used
  4. handwriting whose strokes slant downward from left to right

backhand -adj

  1. made with a backhand
    • a backhand tennis stroke
  2. with a backhand
  3. to do, hit, or catch backhand

back·hand·ed ['bak-'han-dəd] -adj, adv

  1. indirect, devious
  2. sarcastic
    • a backhanded compliment
  3. using or made with a backhand

back·hand·er [-dər] -n

  1. bribe
  2. a backhand shot

back·hoe [-,hō] -n

  1. an excavating machine having a bucket that is attached to a rigid bar hinged to a boom and that is drawn toward the machine in operation

back·house [-,hau̇s] -n

  1. privy

back·ing ['ba-kiŋ] -n

  1. something forming a back
  2. support, aid
  3. endorsement esp. of a warrant by a magistrate

back judge -n

  1. a football official whose duties include keeping the game's official time and identifying eligible pass receivers

back·land ['bak-,land] -n

  1. backcountry, hinterland usu. used in pl.

back·lash ['bak-,lash] -n

  1. a sudden violent backward movement or reaction
  2. the play between adjacent movable parts (as in a series of gears)
  3. the jar caused by this when the parts are put into action
  4. a snarl in that part of a fishing line wound on the reel
  5. a strong adverse reaction (as to a recent political or social development)

back·light [-,līt] -n, vt

  1. illumination from behind
  2. the source of such illumination

back·list ['bak-,list] -n

  1. a list of books kept in print as distinguished from books newly published

back·log [-,lȯg, -,läg] -n

  1. a large log at the back of a hearth fire
  2. an accumulation of tasks unperformed or materials not processed
    • a backlog of court cases

backlog -vb

  1. accumulate

back matter -n

  1. matter following the main text of a book

back mutation -n

  1. mutation of a previously mutated gene to its former condition

back of -prep

  1. behind
    • out back of the barn

back of beyond

  1. a remote place

back off -vi

  1. back down

backoffice ['bak-'ä-fəs, -'ȯ-fəs] -adj

  1. of or relating to the inner workings of a business or institution : internal
    • backoffice operations

backorder -vt

  1. to assign to the status of back order

back order -n

  1. a business order yet to be fulfilled because stock is unavailable

back out -vi

  1. to withdraw esp. from a commitment or contest

back·pack ['bak-,pak] -n

  1. a load carried on the back
  2. a camping pack (as of canvas or nylon) supported by a usu. aluminum frame and carried on the back
  3. knapsack
  4. a piece of equipment designed for use while being carried on the back

backpack -vt, n

  1. to carry (food or equipment) on the back esp. in hiking
  2. to hike with a backpack

back·ped·al ['bak-,pe-dᵊl] -vi

  1. to retreat or move backward

back·rest [-,rest] -n

  1. a rest for the back

back·room ['bak-'rüm, -'ru̇m] -adj

  1. made or operating in an inconspicuous way : behind-the-scenes
    • backroom deals
    • a backroom politician

back room -n

  1. a room situated in the rear
  2. the meeting place of a directing group that exercises its authority in an inconspicuous and indirect way

back·saw ['bak-,sȯ] -n

  1. a saw with a metal rib along its back

back·scat·ter [-,ska-tər] -n, vb

  1. the scattering of radiation or particles in a direction opposite to that of the incident radiation due to reflection from particles of the medium traversed
  2. the radiation or particles so reversed in direction

backscratch·ing ['bak-,skra-chiŋ] -n

  1. the reciprocal exchange of favors, services, assistance, or praise

back·seat [-'sēt] -n

  1. a seat in the back (as of an automobile)
  2. an inferior position
    • won't take a backseat to anyone

back·set ['bak-,set] -n

  1. setback

back·side [-,sīd] -n

  1. buttocks often used in pl.

back·slap [-,slap] -vt, n

  1. to display excessive or effusive goodwill for
  2. to display excessive cordiality or goodwill

back·slash [-,slash] -n

  1. a mark used esp. in computer programming

back·slide [-,slīd] -vi, n

  1. to lapse morally or in the practice of religion
  2. to revert to a worse condition : retrogress

back·space [-,spās] -vi

  1. to move back a space in a text with the press of a key

backspace -n

  1. an instance of backspacing
  2. the key pressed in backspacing

back·spin [-,spin] -n

  1. a backward rotary motion of a ball

back·splash ['bak-,splash] -n

  1. a vertical surface (as of tiles) designed to protect the wall behind a stove or countertop

back·stab·bing [-,sta-biŋ] -n, vb

  1. betrayal (as by a verbal attack against one not present) esp. by a false friend

back·stage ['bak-,stāj] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or occurring in the area behind the stage and esp. in the dressing rooms
  2. of or relating to the private lives of theater people
  3. of or relating to the inner working or operation (as of an organization)
  4. in or to a backstage area
  5. in private : secretly

back·stairs [-,sterz] -adj

  1. secret, furtive
    • backstairs political deals
  2. sordid, scandalous
    • backstairs gossip

back·stay [-,stā] -n

  1. a stay extending aft from a masthead
  2. a strengthening or supporting device at the back (as of a carriage or a shoe)

back·stitch [-,stich] -n, vb

  1. a stitch sewn one stitch length backward on the front side and two stitch lengths forward on the reverse side to form a solid line of stitching on both sides

back·stop [-,stäp] -n

  1. : something at the back serving as a stop: as
  2. a screen or fence for keeping a ball from leaving the field of play
  3. a stop (as a pawl) that prevents a backward movement (as of a wheel)
  4. a player (as the catcher) positioned behind the batter

backstop -vt

  1. support, bolster
  2. to serve as a backstop to
  3. to play the position of goalkeeper for
    • backstop a hockey team

back·story [-,stȯr-ē] -n

  1. a story that tells what led up to the main story or plot (as of a film)

back·street ['bak-'strēt] -n

  1. a street away from the main thoroughfares

back·stretch ['bak-,strech] -n

  1. the side opposite the homestretch on a racecourse

back·stroke [-,strōk] -n

  1. a swimming stroke executed on the back and usu. consisting of alternating circular arm pulls and a flutter kick

back·swept [-,swept] -adj

  1. swept or slanting backward

back·swim·mer [-,swi-mər] -n

  1. an aquatic bug (family Notonectidae) that swims on its back

back·swing ['bak-,swiŋ] -n

  1. the movement of a club, racket, bat, or arm backward to a position from which the forward or downward swing is made

back·sword [-,sȯrd] -n

  1. a single-edged sword

back talk -n

  1. impudent, insolent, or argumentative replies

backtoback -adj or adv

  1. facing in opposite directions and often touching
  2. coming one after the other : consecutive

back·track ['bak-,trak] -vi

  1. to retrace one's course
  2. to go back to an earlier point in a sequence
  3. to reverse a position

back·up [-,əp] -n

  1. one that serves as a substitute or support
    • a backup plan
  2. musical accompaniment
  3. additional personnel who provide assistance
  4. an accumulation caused by a stoppage in the flow
    • traffic backup
  5. a copy of computer data (as a file or the contents of a hard drive)
  6. the act or an instance of making a backup

back up -vi

  1. to accumulate in a congested state
    • traffic backed up for miles
  2. to move into a position behind (a teammate) in order to assist on a play
  3. hold back
  4. to make a copy of (a computer file or data) to protect against accidental loss
  5. to make copies of all the files on (a hard drive)

back·ward ['bak-wərd] -adv

  1. toward the back
  2. with the back foremost
  3. in a reverse or contrary direction or way
  4. toward the past
  5. toward a worse state

backward -adj, adv, n

  1. directed or turned backward
  2. done or executed backward
  3. diffident, shy
  4. retarded in development
  5. the part behind or past

back·wash ['bak-,wȯsh, -,wäsh] -n

  1. a backward flow or movement (as of water or air) produced esp. by a propelling force
  2. the fluid that is moving backward
  3. consequence, aftermath

back·wa·ter [-,wȯ-tər, -,wä-] -n

  1. water backed up in its course by an obstruction, an opposing current, or the tide
  2. a body of water (as an inlet or tributary) that is out of the main current of a larger body
  3. an isolated or backward place or condition
  4. an unpopular or unimportant field (as of study or business)

back·woods [-'wu̇dz] -n pl but sing or pl in constr, adj

  1. wooded or partly cleared areas far from cities
  2. a remote or culturally backward area

backwoods -adj

  1. of, relating to, or suggesting backwoods
  2. culturally backward or unsophisticated
    • a backwoods sentimentality

back·woods·man [,bak-'wu̇dz-mən, 'bak-,] -n

  1. a person who lives in or is a native of the backwoods

back·wrap ['bak-,rap] -n

  1. a wraparound garment (as a skirt) that fastens in the back

back·yard [-'yärd] -n

  1. an area at the rear of a house
  2. a nearby area : neighborhood
    • crimes committed in our own backyard

backyard -adj

  1. located or occurring in a backyard
    • a backyard barbecue
  2. lacking professional training : amateur
    • a backyard breeder

bac·lo·fen ['bak-lō-,fen] -n

  1. a gamma-aminobutyric acid analog C 10H 12ClNO 2used as a relaxant of skeletal muscle esp. in treating spasticity (as in multiple sclerosis)

ba·con ['bā-kən sometimes -kᵊŋ] -n

  1. a side of a pig cured and smoked
  2. money
  3. money gained through employment or legislation usu. used in the phrase bring home the bacon

Ba·co·ni·an [bā-'kō-nē-ən] -adj, n

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Francis Bacon or his doctrines
  2. of or relating to those who believe that Francis Bacon wrote the works usu. attributed to Shakespeare

bact -abbr

  1. bacterial
  2. bacteriology
  3. bacterium

bac·ter·emia [,bak-tə-'rē-mē-ə] -n, adj

  1. the usu. transient presence of bacteria in the blood

bacteri- -comb form

  1. bacteria
    • bacterio lysis

bac·te·ria [bak-'tir-ē-ə] -n

  1. bacterium not usu. used technically

bac·te·ri·al [bak-'tir-ē-əl] -adj, adv

  1. of, relating to, or caused by bacteria
    • bacterial infection

bacterial vaginosis -n

  1. vaginitis that is marked by a grayish vaginal discharge usu. of foul odor and that is associated with the presence of excessive amounts of some bacteria (esp. Gardnerella vaginalis) called also nonspecific vaginitis

bac·te·ri·cid·al [bak-,tir-ə-'sī-dᵊl] -adj, n

  1. destroying bacteria

bac·ter·in ['bak-tə-rən] -n

  1. a suspension of killed or attenuated bacteria for use as a vaccine

bac·te·ri·o·chlo·ro·phyll [bak-,tir-ē-ō-'klȯr-ə-,fil, -fəl] -n

  1. a pyrrole derivative in photosynthetic bacteria related to the chlorophyll of higher plants

bac·te·ri·o·cin [bak-'tir-ē-ə-sən] -n

  1. an antibiotic (as colicin) produced by bacteria

bac·te·ri·ol·o·gy [(,)bak-,tir-ē-'ä-lə-jē] -n, adj, adv

  1. a science that deals with bacteria and their relations to medicine, industry, and agriculture
  2. bacterial life and phenomena

bac·te·ri·ol·y·sis [(,)bak-,tir-ē-'ä-lə-səs] -n, adj

  1. destruction or dissolution of bacterial cells

bac·te·ri·o·phage [bak-'tir-ē-ə-,fāj also -,fäzh] -n

  1. a virus that infects bacteria

bac·te·ri·o·rho·dop·sin [bak-,tir-ē-ə-rō-'däp-sin] -n

  1. a purple-pigmented protein that is found in the outer membrane of a bacterium ( Halobacterium salinariumsyn. H. halobium) and that converts light energy into chemical energy in the synthesis of ATP

bac·te·ri·o·sta·sis [bak-,tir-ē-ō-'stā-səs] -n

  1. inhibition of the growth of bacteria without destruction

bac·te·ri·o·stat [-'tir-ē-ō-,stat] -n, adj

  1. an agent that causes bacteriostasis

bac·te·ri·um [bak-'tir-ē-əm] -n

  1. any of a domain (Bacteria) of prokaryotic round, spiral, or rod-shaped single-celled microorganisms that may lack cell walls or are gram-positive or gram-negative if they have cell walls, that are often aggregated into colonies or motile by means of flagella, that typically live in soil, water, organic matter, or the bodies of plants and animals, that are usu. autotrophic, saprophytic, or parasitic in nutrition, and that are noted for their biochemical effects and pathogenicity
  2. prokaryote

bac·te·ri·uria [bak-,tir-ē-'yu̇r-ē-ə] -n

  1. the presence of bacteria in the urine

bac·te·rize ['bak-tə-,rīz] -vt, n

  1. to subject to bacterial action

bac·te·roid ['bak-tə-,rȯid] -n

  1. an irregularly shaped form of a nitrogen-fixing bacterium (as a rhizobium) found esp. in root nodules of legumes

Bac·tri·an camel ['bak-trē-ən-] -n

  1. camel

bad ['bad] -adj, n

  1. failing to reach an acceptable standard : poor
    • a bad repair job
  2. unfavorable
    • make a bad impression
  3. not fresh : spoiled
    • bad fish
  4. not sound : dilapidated
    • the house was in bad condition
  5. morally objectionable : evil
    • bad men
  6. mischievous, disobedient
    • a bad dog
  7. inadequate or unsuited to a purpose
    • a bad plan
    • bad lighting
  8. disagreeable, unpleasant
    • bad news
  9. injurious, harmful
    • a bad influence
  10. serious, severe
    • in bad trouble
    • a bad cough
  11. incorrect, faulty
    • bad grammar
  12. suffering pain or distress
    • felt generally bad
  13. unhealthy, diseased
    • bad teeth
  14. sorrowful, sorry
    • feels bad about forgetting to call
  15. invalid, void
    • a bad check
  16. not able to be collected
    • a bad debt
  17. good, great
  18. tough, mean
  19. something that is bad
  20. an evil or unhappy state
  21. fault
    • the mistake was my bad
  22. badly
    • not doing so bad
    • doesn't want it bad enough

bad·ass [-,as] -adj

  1. ready to cause or get into trouble : mean
    • pretending to be a badass gunslinger -- L. L. King
  2. of formidable strength or skill
    • such a badass guitar player -- N'Gai Croal

badass -n

  1. a person who is badass

bad blood -n

  1. ill feeling : bitterness

bad boy -n

  1. a person who flouts convention
    • a literary bad boy

bad cholesterol -n

  1. LDL

bad·die ['ba-dē] -n

  1. one that is bad
  2. an opponent of the hero (as in fiction or motion pictures)

bade ['bid] -vb, n

(variant of bid)

  1. beseech, entreat
  2. to issue an order to : tell
    • did as I was bid
  3. to request to come : invite
  4. to give expression to
    • bade a tearful farewell
  5. offer usu. used in the phrase to bid defiance
  6. to offer (a price) whether for payment or acceptance
  7. to make a bid of or in (a suit at cards)
  8. to make a bid
  9. the act of one who bids
  10. a statement of what one will give or take for something
  11. an offer of a price
  12. something offered as a bid
  13. an opportunity to bid
  14. invitation
  15. an announcement of what a cardplayer proposes to undertake
  16. the amount of such a bid
  17. a biddable bridge hand
  18. an attempt or effort to win, achieve, or attract
    • a bid for reelection
  19. twice a day

badge ['baj] -n, vt

  1. a device or token esp. of membership in a society or group
  2. a characteristic mark
  3. an emblem awarded for a particular accomplishment

bad·ger ['ba-jər] -n

  1. any of various burrowing mammals (esp. Taxidea taxusand Meles meles) of the weasel family that are widely distributed in the northern hemisphere
  2. the pelt or fur of a badger
  3. a native or resident of Wisconsin used as a nickname

badger -vt

  1. to harass or annoy persistently

ba·di·nage [,ba-də-'näzh] -n

  1. playful repartee : banter

bad·land ['bad-,land] -n

  1. a region marked by intricate erosional sculpturing, scanty vegetation, and fantastically formed hills usu. used in pl.

bad·ly ['bad-lē] -adv

  1. in a bad manner
    • played badly
  2. to a great or intense degree
    • want something badly

bad·min·ton ['bad-,mi-tᵊn, -,min-tᵊn] -n

  1. a court game played with light long-handled rackets and a shuttlecock volleyed over a net

badmouth ['bad-,mau̇th, -,mau̇th] -vt

  1. to criticize severely

bad news -n pl but sing in constr

  1. one that is troublesome, unwelcome, or dangerous
    • stay away from him, he's bad news

BAE -abbr

  1. bachelor of aeronautical engineering
  2. bachelor of agricultural engineering
  3. bachelor of architectural engineering
  4. bachelor of art education
  5. bachelor of arts in education

BAEd -abbr

  1. bachelor of arts in education

Bae·de·ker ['bā-di-kər, 'be-] -n

  1. guidebook

BAeE -abbr

  1. bachelor of aeronautical engineering

BAEE -abbr

  1. bachelor of arts in elementary education

baf·fle ['ba-fəl] -vt, n, adv

  1. to defeat or check (as a person) by confusing or puzzling : disconcert
  2. to check or break the force or flow of by or as if by a baffle

baffle ['ba-fəld] -n, adj

  1. a device (as a plate, wall, or screen) to deflect, check, or regulate flow or passage (as of a fluid, light, or sound)

baf·fle·gab ['ba-fəl-,gab] -n

  1. gobbledygook

bag ['bag also 'bāg] -n

  1. : a usu. flexible container that may be closed for holding, storing, or carrying something: as
  2. purse
  3. handbag
  4. a bag for game
  5. suitcase
  6. : something resembling a bag: as
  7. a pouched or pendulous bodily part or organ
  8. udder
  9. a puffy or sagging protuberance of flabby skin
  10. a puffed-out sag or bulge in cloth
  11. a square white stuffed canvas bag used to mark a base in baseball
  12. the amount contained in a bag
  13. a quantity of game taken
  14. the maximum legal quantity of game
  15. an assortment or collection esp. of nonmaterial things
    • a bag of tricks
  16. an unattractive woman
  17. something one likes or does regularly or well
  18. one's characteristic way of doing things
  19. to swell out : bulge
  20. to hang loosely
  21. to cause to swell
  22. to put into a bag
  23. to take (animals) as game
  24. to get possession of esp. by strategy or stealth
  25. capture, seize
  26. to shoot down : destroy
  27. to achieve in or as if in competition : win
    • bag a play-off berth
  28. to give up, forgo, or abandon esp. for something more desirable or attainable
    • decided to bag her job and move to the country
    often used with it

BAg -abbr

  1. bachelor of agriculture

ba·gasse [bə-'gas] -n

  1. plant residue (as of sugarcane or grapes) left after a product (as juice) has been extracted

bag·a·telle [,ba-gə-'tel] -n

  1. trifle
  2. any of various games involving the rolling of balls into scoring areas
  3. a short literary or musical piece in light style

ba·gel ['bā-gəl] -n

  1. a firm doughnut-shaped roll traditionally made by boiling and then baking

bag·ful ['bag-,fu̇l] -n

  1. as much or as many as a bag will hold
  2. a large number or amount
    • had a bagful of tricks

bag·gage ['ba-gij] -n

  1. suitcases, trunks, and personal belongings of travelers : luggage
  2. transportable equipment esp. of a military force
  3. intangible things (as feelings, circumstances, or beliefs) that get in the way
    • emotional baggage

baggage -n

  1. a contemptible woman
  2. prostitute
  3. a young woman

baggage claim -n

  1. the area in an airport where arriving passengers pick up their checked baggage

bag·gies ['ba-gēz] -n pl

  1. baggy pants or shorts

Bag·gies ['ba-gēz] -trademark

  1. used for transparent plastic bags

bag·ging ['ba-giŋ] -n

  1. material (as cloth) for bags

bag·gy ['ba-gē] -adj, adv, n

  1. loose, puffed out, or hanging like a bag
    • baggy trousers
  2. loosely constructed and inflated with inessential elements
    • a baggy novel

bag·house ['bag-,hau̇s] -n

  1. a device or facility in which particulates are removed from a stream of exhaust gases (as from a blast furnace) as the stream passes through a large cloth bag
  2. the bag used to filter the gas stream

bag lady -n

  1. a homeless woman who roams the streets of a city carrying her possessions in shopping bags

bag·man ['bag-mən] -n

  1. traveling salesman
  2. a person who on behalf of another collects or distributes illicitly gained money
  3. an intermediary in an illicit or unethical transaction

ba·gnio ['ban-(,)yō, 'bän-] -n

  1. prison
  2. bordello

bag of waters

  1. the double-walled fluid-filled sac that encloses and protects the fetus in the womb and that breaks releasing its fluid during the birth process

bag·pipe ['bag-,pīp] -n

  1. a wind instrument consisting of a reed melody pipe and from one to five drones with air supplied continuously either by a bag with valve-stopped mouth tube or by bellows often used in pl.

ba·guette [ba-'get] -n

  1. a gem having the shape of a narrow rectangle
  2. the shape itself
  3. a long thin loaf of French bread

bag·wig ['bag-,wig] -n

  1. an 18th century wig with the back hair enclosed in a small silk bag

bag·worm [-,wərm] -n

  1. any of a family (Psychidae) of moths with wingless females and plant-feeding larvae that live in a silk case covered with plant debris
  2. one ( Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis) often destructive to deciduous and evergreen trees of the eastern U.S.

bah ['bä, 'ba] -interj

  1. used to express disdain or contempt

Ba·ha'i [bä-'hä-,ē, -'hī, bə-] -n, adj, n or adj

  1. an adherent of a religious movement originating in Iran in the 19th century and emphasizing the spiritual unity of humankind

Ba·ha·sa In·do·ne·sia [bə-,hä-sə-,in-də-'nē-zhə, -shə] -n

  1. indonesian

Ba·hia grass [bə-'hē-ə-] -n

  1. a perennial tropical American grass ( Paspalum notatum) used in the southern U.S. as a lawn grass

bail ['bāl] -n

  1. a container used to remove water from a boat
  2. to clear (water) from a boat by dipping and throwing over the side usu. used with out
  3. to clear water from by dipping and throwing usu. used with out
  4. bail out
  5. the temporary release of a prisoner in exchange for security given for the due appearance of the prisoner
  6. security given for the release of a prisoner on bail
  7. one who provides bail
  8. to release under bail
  9. to procure the release of by giving bail often used with out
  10. to help from a predicament used with out
    • bail ing out impoverished countries
  11. a supporting half hoop
  12. a hinged bar for holding paper against the platen of a typewriter
  13. a usu. arched handle (as of a kettle or pail)
  14. to deliver (personal property) in trust to another for a special purpose and for a limited period
  15. a device for confining or separating animals

bail·ee [bā-'lē] -n

  1. the person to whom personal property is bailed

bai·ley ['bā-lē] -n

  1. the outer wall of a castle or any of several walls surrounding the keep
  2. a courtyard within the external wall or between two outer walls of a castle

bai·lie ['bā-lē] -n

  1. bailiff
  2. a Scottish municipal magistrate corresponding to an English alderman

bai·liff ['bā-ləf] -n

  1. an official employed by a British sheriff to serve writs and make arrests and executions
  2. a minor officer of some U.S. courts usu. serving as a messenger or usher
  3. one who manages an estate or farm

bai·li·wick ['bā-li-,wik, -lē-] -n

  1. the office or jurisdiction of a bailiff
  2. a special domain

bail·ment ['bā(ə)l-mənt] -n

  1. the act of bailing a person or personal property

bail·or [bā-'lȯr, 'bā-lər] -n

  1. a person who delivers personal property to another in trust

bail·out ['bā-,lau̇t] -n

  1. a rescue from financial distress

bail out -vi

  1. to parachute from an aircraft
  2. to abandon a harmful or difficult situation
  3. leave, depart

bails·man ['bālz-mən] -n

  1. one who gives bail for another

bainma·rie [,ban-mə-'rē, ,baⁿ-] -n

  1. a cooking utensil containing heated water in which food in smaller pots is cooked

bairn ['bern] -n

  1. child

bait ['bāt] -vb, n

  1. to persecute or exasperate with unjust, malicious, or persistent attacks
  2. tease
  3. to harass (as a chained animal) with dogs usu. for sport
  4. to attack by biting and tearing
  5. to furnish with bait
  6. entice, lure
  7. to give food and drink to (an animal) esp. on the road
  8. to stop for food and rest when traveling
  9. something (as food) used in luring esp. to a hook or trap
  10. a poisonous material placed where it will be eaten by harmful or objectionable animals
  11. lure, temptation

bait and switch -n

  1. a sales tactic in which a customer is attracted by the advertisement of a low-priced item but is then encouraged to buy a higher-priced one
  2. the ploy of offering a person something desirable to gain favor (as political support) then thwarting expectations with something less desirable

bait·fish ['bāt-,fish] -n

  1. a small fish (as a golden shiner or menhaden) that attracts and is a food source for a larger game fish
  2. a fish used for bait

bai·za ['bī-(,)zä] -n

  1. see rial at

baize ['bāz] -n

  1. a coarse woolen or cotton fabric napped to imitate felt

bake ['bāk] -vb, n

  1. to cook (as food) by dry heat esp. in an oven
  2. to dry or harden by subjecting to heat
  3. to prepare food by baking it
  4. to become baked
  5. to be or become extremely hot
    • sidewalks baking in the sun
  6. the act or process of baking
  7. a social gathering at which a baked food is served

Ba·ke·lite ['bā-kə-,līt, -,klīt] -trademark

  1. used for any of various synthetic resins and plastics

baker's dozen -n

  1. thirteen

baker's yeast -n

  1. a yeast (as Saccharomyces cerevisiae) used or suitable for use as a leavening agent

bak·ery ['bā-k(ə-)rē] -n

  1. a place for baking or selling baked goods

bake sale -n

  1. a fund-raising event at which usu. homemade foods (as cakes and cookies) are sold

bake·shop ['bāk-,shäp] -n

  1. bakery

bake·ware [-,wer] -n

  1. dishes used for baking and serving food

baking powder -n

  1. a powder used as a leavening agent in making baked goods (as quick breads) that typically consists of sodium bicarbonate, an acidic substance (as cream of tartar), and starch or flour

baking soda -n

  1. sodium bicarbonate

bak·la·va ['bä-klə-,vä, ,bä-klə-'vä] -n

  1. a dessert made of thin pastry, nuts, and honey

bak·sheesh ['bak-,shēsh, bak-'] -n

  1. payment (as a tip or bribe) to expedite service

bal -abbr

  1. balance

BAL [,bē-(,)ā-'el] -n

  1. dimercaprol

Ba·laam ['bā-ləm] -n

  1. an Old Testament prophet who is reproached by the ass he is riding and rebuked by God's angel while on the way to meet with an enemy of Israel

bal·a·cla·va [,ba-lə-'klä-və, -'kla-] -n

  1. a knit cap for the head and neck called also balaclava helmet

bal·a·lai·ka [,ba-lə-'lī-kə] -n

  1. a usu. 3-stringed instrument of Russian origin with a triangular body played by plucking or strumming

bal·ance ['ba-lən(t)s] -n, adj

  1. : an instrument for weighing: as
  2. a beam that is supported freely in the center and has two pans of equal weight suspended from its ends
  3. a device that uses the elasticity of a spiral spring for measuring weight or force
  4. a means of judging or deciding
  5. a counterbalancing weight, force, or influence
  6. an oscillating wheel operating with a hairspring to regulate the movement of a timepiece
  7. stability produced by even distribution of weight on each side of the vertical axis
  8. equipoise between contrasting, opposing, or interacting elements
  9. equality between the totals of the two sides of an account
  10. an aesthetically pleasing integration of elements
  11. the juxtaposition in writing of syntactically parallel constructions containing similar or contrasting ideas
  12. physical equilibrium
  13. the ability to retain one's balance
  14. weight or force of one side in excess of another
  15. something left over : remainder
  16. an amount in excess esp. on the credit side of an account
  17. mental and emotional steadiness

balance -vb

  1. to compute the difference between the debits and credits of (an account)
  2. to pay the amount due on : settle
  3. to arrange so that one set of elements exactly equals another
    • balance a mathematical equation
  4. to complete (a chemical equation) so that the same number of atoms and electric charges of each kind appears on each side
  5. counterbalance, offset
  6. to equal or equalize in weight, number, or proportion
  7. to weigh in or as if in a balance
  8. to bring to a state or position of equipoise
  9. to poise in or as if in balance
  10. to bring into harmony or proportion
  11. to become balanced or established in balance
  12. to be an equal counterpoise
  13. waver
    • balance s and temporizes on matters that demand action

balance beam -n

  1. a narrow wooden beam supported in a horizontal position approximately four feet above the floor and used for balancing feats in gymnastics
  2. an event in gymnastics competition in which the balance beam is used

balance of payments

  1. a summary of the international transactions of a country or region over a period of time including commodity and service transactions, capital transactions, and gold movements

balance of power

  1. an equilibrium of power sufficient to discourage or prevent one nation or party from imposing its will on or interfering with the interests of another

balance of trade

  1. the difference in value over a period of time between a country's imports and exports

bal·anc·er ['ba-lən(t)-sər] -n

  1. one that balances
  2. haltere

balance sheet -n

  1. a statement of financial condition at a given date

balance wheel -n

  1. a wheel that regulates or stabilizes the motion of a mechanism
  2. a balancing or stabilizing force

balancing act -n

  1. an attempt to cope with several often conflicting factors or situations at the same time

bal·as ['ba-ləs] -n

  1. a ruby spinel of a pale rose-red or orange

ba·la·ta [bə-'lä-tə] -n

  1. the dried latex of a tropical American tree (genus Manilkaraand esp. M. bidentata) of the sapodilla family that is similar to gutta-percha and is used esp. in belting and golf balls
  2. a tree yielding it

bal·brig·gan [bal-'bri-gən] -n

  1. a knitted cotton fabric used esp. for underwear or hosiery

bal·co·ny ['bal-kə-nē] -n, adj

  1. a platform that projects from the wall of a building and is enclosed by a parapet or railing
  2. an interior projecting gallery in a public building (as a theater)

bald ['bȯld] -adj, adv, n

  1. lacking a natural or usual covering (as of hair, vegetation, or nap)
  2. having little or no tread
    • bald tires
  3. marked with white
  4. lacking adornment or amplification
    • a bald assertion
  5. undisguised, palpable
    • bald arrogance
  6. to make bald
  7. to become bald

bal·da·chin ['bȯl-də-kən, 'bal-] -n

  1. a cloth canopy fixed or carried over an important person or a sacred object
  2. a rich embroidered fabric of silk and gold
  3. an ornamental structure resembling a canopy used esp. over an altar

bald cypress -n

  1. a large deciduous conifer ( Taxodium distichumof the family Taxodiaceae, the bald cypress family) of southern U.S. swamps that has flexible flat needles and is related to the sequoias
  2. a related tree ( T. mucronatum) of Mexico and southern Texasillustration
  3. the hard red wood of bald cypress that is much used for shingles

bald eagle -n

  1. an eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus) of No. America that is brown when young with white only on the undersides of the wings but in full adult plumage has white head and neck feathers and a white tail

Bal·der ['bȯl-dər] -n

  1. the son of Odin and Frigga and Norse god of light and peace slain through the trickery of Loki by a mistletoe sprig

bal·der·dash ['bȯl-dər-,dash] -n

  1. nonsense

baldfaced ['bȯl(d)-'fāst] -adj

  1. barefaced
    • a baldfaced lie

bald·head ['bȯld-,hed] -n

  1. a bald-headed person

balding -adj

  1. becoming bald
    • bespectacled and balding

bald·pate ['bȯl(d)-,pāt] -n

  1. baldhead
  2. american wigeon

bal·dric ['bȯl-drik] -n

  1. an often ornamented belt worn over one shoulder to support a sword or bugle

bale ['bāl] -n

  1. great evil
  2. woe, sorrow
  3. a large bundle of goods
  4. a large closely pressed package of merchandise bound and usu. wrapped
    • a bale of paper
    • a bale of hay
  5. to make up into a bale

ba·leen [bə-'lēn, 'bā-,lēn] -n

  1. a horny keratinous substance found in two rows of transverse plates which hang down from the upper jaws of baleen whales

baleen whale -n

  1. any of a suborder (Mysticeti) of usu. large whales lacking teeth but having baleen which is used to filter chiefly small crustaceans (as krill) out of large quantities of seawater

bale·fire ['bāl-,fī(-ə)r] -n

  1. an outdoor fire often used as a signal fire

bale·ful [-fəl] -adj, adv, n

  1. deadly or pernicious in influence
    • baleful effects
  2. foreboding or threatening evil
    • a baleful look

Ba·li·nese [,bä-li-'nēz, ,ba-, -'nēs] -n, adj

  1. a native or inhabitant of Bali
  2. any of a breed of slender longhaired cats that originated as a spontaneous mutation of the Siamese

balk ['bȯk sometimes 'bȯlk] -n

  1. a ridge of land left unplowed as a dividing line or through carelessness
  2. beam, rafter
  3. hindrance, check
  4. the space behind the balkline on a billiard table
  5. any of the outside divisions made by the balklines
  6. failure of a player to complete a motion
  7. an illegal motion of the pitcher in baseball while in position
  8. to pass over or by
  9. to check or stop by or as if by an obstacle : block
  10. to stop short and refuse to proceed
  11. to refuse abruptly used with at
    • Congress balk ed at putting up the money -- Thomas Fleming
  12. to commit a balk in sports

bal·kan·ize ['bȯl-kə-,nīz] -vt, n

  1. to break up (as a region or group) into smaller and often hostile units
  2. divide, compartmentalize
    • now pop culture has been balkanized; it is full of niches, with different groups watching and playing their own things -- Richard Corliss

balk·line ['bȯ-,klīn] -n

  1. a line across a billiard table near one end behind which the cue balls are placed in making opening shots
  2. one of four lines parallel to the cushions of a billiard table dividing it into nine compartments
  3. a billiards game that sets restrictions in scoring caroms according to these lines

balky ['bȯ-kē sometimes 'bȯl-] -adj, n

  1. refusing or likely to refuse to proceed, act, or function as directed or expected
    • a balky mule
    • a balky engine

ball ['bȯl] -n

  1. : a round or roundish body or mass: as
  2. a spherical or ovoid body used in a game or sport
    • a tennis ball
    used figuratively in phrases like the ball is in your court to indicate who has the responsibility or opportunity for further action
  3. earth, globe
  4. a spherical or conical projectile
  5. projectiles used in firearms
  6. a roundish protuberant anatomical structure (as near the tip of a human finger or toe or at the base of a thumb)
  7. the part of the sole of the human foot between the toes and arch on which the main weight of the body rests in normal walking
  8. testis
  9. nonsense often used interjectionally
  10. nerve
  11. a game in which a ball is thrown, kicked, or struck
  12. quality of play in such a game
  13. a pitch not swung at by the batter that fails to pass through the strike zone
  14. a hit or thrown ball in various games
    • foul ball
  15. to form or gather into a ball
    • ball ed the paper into a wad
  16. to have sexual intercourse with
  17. to form or gather into a ball
  18. to engage in sexual intercourse
  19. a large formal gathering for social dancing
  20. a very pleasant experience : a good time
    • everyone had a ball at the wedding

bal·lad ['ba-ləd] -n, adj

  1. a narrative composition in rhythmic verse suitable for singing
  2. an art song accompanying a traditional ballad
  3. a simple song : air
  4. a popular song
  5. a slow romantic or sentimental song

bal·lade [bə-'läd, ba-] -n

  1. a fixed verse form consisting usu. of three stanzas with recurrent rhymes, an envoi, and an identical refrain for each part
  2. a musical composition usu. for piano suggesting the epic ballad

bal·lad·eer [,ba-lə-'dir] -n

  1. a singer of ballads

bal·lad·ist ['ba-lə-dist] -n

  1. a person who writes or sings ballads

bal·lad·ry ['ba-lə-drē] -n

  1. the composing or performing of ballads
  2. ballads

ballad stanza -n

  1. a stanza consisting of four lines with the first and third lines unrhymed iambic tetrameters and the second and fourth lines rhymed iambic trimeters

ballandsocket joint -n

  1. a joint in which a ball moves within a socket so as to allow rotary motion in every direction within certain limits
  2. an articulation (as the hip joint) in which the rounded head of one bone fits into a cuplike cavity of the other and admits movement in any direction

bal·last ['ba-ləst] -n

  1. a heavy substance placed in such a way as to improve stability and control (as of the draft of a ship or the buoyancy of a balloon or submarine)
  2. something that gives stability (as in character or conduct)
  3. gravel or broken stone laid in a railroad bed or used in making concrete
  4. a device used to provide the starting voltage or to stabilize the current in a circuit (as of a fluorescent lamp)

ballast -vt

  1. to steady or equip with or as if with ballast
  2. to fill in (as a railroad bed) with ballast

ball bearing -n

  1. a bearing in which the journal turns upon loose hardened steel balls that roll easily in a race
  2. one of the balls in such a bearing

ball boy -n

  1. a male attendant who retrieves balls for players or officials (as in a tennis match or a baseball or basketball game)

ball·bust·er ['bȯl-,bəs-tər] -n

  1. a person who is relentlessly aggressive, intimidating, or domineering

ball·car·ri·er ['bȯl-,ker-ē-ər, -,ka-rē-] -n

  1. a football player who carries the ball on offense

ball cock -n

  1. an automatic valve whose opening and closing are controlled by a hollow float at the end of a lever

ball control -n

  1. an offensive strategy (as in football) in which a team tries to keep possession of the ball for extended periods of time

ball·er ['bȯ-lər] -n

  1. an implement for shaping food into a ball or removing a core
    • a melon baller

bal·le·ri·na [,ba-lə-'rē-nə] -n

  1. a woman who is a ballet dancer : danseuse

bal·let ['ba-,lā, ba-'] -n, adj

  1. a theatrical art form using dancing, music, and scenery to convey a story, theme, or atmosphere
  2. dancing in which conventional poses and steps are combined with light flowing figures (as leaps and turns)
  3. music for a ballet
  4. a group that performs ballets

bal·let·o·mane [ba-'le-tə-,mān] -n

  1. a devotee of ballet

ballflow·er ['bȯl-,flau̇(-ə)r] -n

  1. an architectural ornament consisting of a ball in the flower-shaped hollow of a circular mold

ball game -n

  1. a game played with a ball
  2. a set of circumstances : situation
    • a whole new ball game
  3. contest

ball girl -n

  1. a female attendant who retrieves balls for players or officials (as in a tennis match or a baseball or basketball game)

ball handler -n

  1. a player who controls the ball in any of various games
  2. a player who is skilled at handling the ball (as in basketball)

bal·lis·ta [bə-'lis-tə] -n

  1. an ancient military engine often in the form of a crossbow for hurling large missiles

bal·lis·tic [bə-'lis-tik] -adj, adv

  1. of or relating to ballistics or to a body in motion according to the laws of ballistics
  2. being or characterized by repeated bouncing
    • ballistic stretching
  3. extremely and usu. suddenly excited, upset, or angry : wild
    • went ballistic

ballistic missile -n

  1. a missile guided in the ascent of a high-arch trajectory and freely falling in the descent

bal·lis·tics [bə-'lis-tiks] -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. the science of the motion of projectiles in flight
  2. the flight characteristics of a projectile
  3. the study of the processes within a firearm as it is fired
  4. the firing characteristics of a firearm or cartridge

ball joint -n

  1. ball-and-socket joint

ball lightning -n

  1. a rare form of lightning consisting of luminous balls that may move along solid objects or float in the air

ball mill -n

  1. a pulverizing machine consisting of a rotating drum which contains pebbles or metal balls as the grinding implements

ball of fire

  1. a person of unusual energy, vitality, or drive

ball of wax

  1. affair, concern
    • the whole ball of wax

bal·lon [ba-'lōⁿ] -n

  1. lightness of movement that exaggerates the duration of a ballet dancer's jump

bal·lo·net [,ba-lə-'nā] -n

  1. a compartment of variable volume within the interior of a balloon or airship used to control ascent and descent

bal·loon [bə-'lün] -n

  1. : a nonporous bag of light material that can be inflated esp. with air or gas: as
  2. a bag that is filled with heated air or a gas lighter than air so as to rise and float in the atmosphere and that usu. carries a suspended load (as a gondola with passengers)
  3. an inflatable bag (as of rubber or plastic) usu. used as a toy or for decoration
  4. the outline enclosing words spoken or thought by a figure esp. in a cartoon

balloon -adj

  1. relating to, resembling, or suggesting a balloon
    • a balloon sleeve
  2. being or having a final installment that is much larger than preceding ones in a term or installment note
  3. to swell or puff out : expand
    • balloon ed to 200 pounds
  4. to ascend or travel in or as if in a balloon
  5. to increase rapidly
    • balloon ing prices
  6. inflate, increase

balloon angioplasty -n

  1. dilation of an obstructed atherosclerotic artery by the passage of a balloon catheter through the vessel to the area of disease where inflation of the catheter's tip compresses the plaque against the vessel wall

balloon catheter -n

  1. a catheter with an inflatable tip that serves esp. to hold the catheter in place or to expand a partly closed or obstructed bodily passage or tube (as a coronary artery) called also balloon-tipped catheter

balloon flower -n

  1. a perennial Asian herb ( Platycodon grandiflorus) cultivated for its star-shaped flowers which open from buds resembling balloons

bal·loon·ing [bə-'lü-niŋ] -n

  1. the act or sport of riding in a balloon

bal·loon·ist [-nist] -n

  1. a person who operates or rides in a balloon

balloon tire -n

  1. a flexible low-pressure pneumatic tire with a large cross section designed to provide cushioning

balloon vine -n

  1. a tropical American vine ( Cardiospermum halicacabum) of the soapberry family bearing large ornamental pods

bal·lot ['ba-lət] -n

  1. a small ball used in secret voting
  2. a sheet of paper used to cast a secret vote
  3. the action or system of secret voting
  4. the right to vote
  5. vote
  6. the number of votes cast
  7. the drawing of lots

ballot -vi, n

  1. to vote or decide by ballot

ballot box -n

  1. a box for receiving ballots
  2. ballot

ball·park ['bȯl-,pärk] -n

  1. a park in which ball games (as baseball) are played
  2. a range (as of prices or views) within which comparison or compromise is possible

ballpark -adj

  1. approximately correct : roughly estimated
    • a ballpark price
    • a ballpark figure

ballpeen hammer ['bȯl-'pēn-] -n

  1. a hammer having a hemispherical peen at one end of its head

ball·play·er ['bȯl-,plā-ər] -n

  1. a person who plays ball
  2. a baseball player

ball·point [-,pȯint] -n

  1. a pen having as the writing point a small rotating metal ball that inks itself by contact with an inner magazine

ball·room ['bȯl-,rüm, -,ru̇m] -n

  1. a large room used for dances

ballroom dance -n

  1. any of various usu. social dances (as the tango, two-step, and waltz) in which couples perform set moves

ballsout ['bȯlz-,au̇t] -adj

  1. all-out, full-out
  2. boldly aggressive or competitive

ballsup ['bȯlz-,əp] -n

  1. foul-up

ball·sy ['bȯl-zē] -adj, n

  1. aggressively bold : gutsy, nervy

ball up -vt

  1. to make a mess of : confuse, muddle
  2. to become badly muddled or confused

ball valve -n

  1. a valve in which a ball regulates the aperture esp. by its rise and fall due to fluid pressure, a spring, or its own weight

bally ['ba-lē] -adj or adv

  1. used as an intensive

ball·yard ['bȯl-,yärd] -n

  1. ballpark

bal·ly·hoo ['ba-lē-,hü] -n, vt

  1. a noisy attention-getting demonstration or talk
  2. flamboyant, exaggerated, or sensational promotion or publicity
  3. excited commotion

ballyrag [-,rag] -vt

(variant of bullyrag)

  1. to intimidate by bullying
  2. to vex by teasing : badger

balm ['bä(l)m] -n

  1. a balsamic resin
  2. one from small tropical evergreen trees (genus Commiphoraof the family Burseraceae)
  3. an aromatic preparation (as a healing ointment)
  4. any of several aromatic plants of the mint family
  5. lemon balm
  6. a spicy aromatic odor
  7. a soothing restorative agency

bal·ma·caan [,bal-mə-'kan, -'kän] -n

  1. a loose single-breasted overcoat usu. having raglan sleeves and a short turnover collar

balm of Gil·e·ad [-'gi-lē-əd]

  1. an agency that soothes, relieves, or heals
  2. a small evergreen African and Asian tree ( Commiphora opobalsamumsyn. C. meccanensisof the family Burseraceae) with aromatic leaves
  3. a fragrant oleoresin from this tree
  4. : any of several poplars having resinous buds: as
  5. a hybrid No. American tree ( Populus gileadensis) with broadly cordate leaves that are pubescent esp. on the underside
  6. balsam poplar

bal·mor·al [bal-'mȯr-əl, -'mär-] -n

  1. a laced boot or shoe
  2. a round flat cap with a top projecting all around

balmy ['bä-mē, 'bäl-mē] -adj, adv, n

  1. having the qualities of balm : soothing
  2. mild
    • balmy weather
  3. crazy, foolish

bal·ne·ol·o·gy [,bal-nē-'ä-lə-jē] -n

  1. the science of the therapeutic use of baths

baloney [bə-'lō-nē also -nyə, -nə] -n

(variant of bologna)

  1. a large smoked sausage of beef, veal, and pork
  2. a sausage made (as of turkey) to resemble bologna

ba·lo·ney [bə-'lō-nē] -n

  1. pretentious nonsense : bunkum often used as a generalized expression of disagreement

bal·sa ['bȯl-sə] -n

  1. a small raft or boat
  2. one made of tightly bundled reeds and used on Lake Titicaca
  3. a tropical American tree ( Ochroma pyramidalesyn. O. lagopus) of the silk-cotton family with extremely light strong wood used esp. for floats
  4. its wood

bal·sam ['bȯl-səm] -n

  1. an aromatic and usu. oily and resinous substance flowing from various plants
  2. any of several resinous substances containing benzoic or cinnamic acid and used esp. in medicine
  3. a preparation containing resinous substances and having a balsamic odor
  4. a balsam-yielding tree
  5. balsam fir
  6. impatiens
  7. a common garden ornamental ( Impatiens balsamina)
  8. balm

balsam fir -n

  1. a resinous No. American fir ( Abies balsamea) that is widely used for pulpwood and as a Christmas tree and is the source of Canada balsam

bal·sam·ic [bȯl-'sa-mik, -'sä-] -adj

  1. of, relating to, yielding, or containing balsam
  2. made with balsamic vinegar
    • a balsamic vinaigrette

balsamic vinegar -n

  1. an aged Italian vinegar made from the must of white grapes

balsam poplar -n

  1. a No. American poplar ( Populus balsamifera) that is often cultivated as a shade tree and has buds thickly coated with an aromatic resin called also balm of Gilead tacamahac

Balt ['bȯlt] -n

  1. a native or inhabitant of Lithuania, Latvia, or Estonia

Bal·ti ['bəl-tē, 'bȯl-] -n

  1. a Tibeto-Burman language of northern Kashmir

Bal·tic ['bȯl-tik] -adj

  1. of or relating to the Baltic Sea or to the states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia
  2. of or relating to a branch of the Indo-European language family containing Latvian, Lithuanian, and Old Prussian

Bal·ti·more oriole ['bȯl-tə-,mȯr-, -mər-] -n

  1. an oriole ( Icterus galbula) of the eastern and central U.S. and southern Canada in which the male has a solid black head and the female usu. has an olive-brown back and orange-yellow underside and that was formerly considered to be a subspecies of northern oriole

Bal·toSlav·ic [,bȯl-(,)tō-'slä-vik, -'sla-] -n

  1. a subgroup of Indo-European languages consisting of the Baltic and the Slavic branches

Ba·lu·chi [bə-'lü-chē] -n

  1. a member of an Indo-Iranian people of Baluchistan
  2. the Iranian language of the Baluchis

bal·us·ter ['ba-lə-stər] -n

  1. an object or vertical member (as the leg of a table, a round in a chair back, or the stem of a glass) having a vaselike or turned outline
  2. an upright often vase-shaped support for a rail

bal·us·trade ['ba-lə-,strād] -n, adj

  1. a row of balusters topped by a rail
  2. a low parapet or barrier

bam ['bam] -n

  1. a sudden loud noise often used interjectionally to indicate a sudden impact or occurrence
    • was fine, then bam, he lost his job

BAM -abbr

  1. bachelor of applied mathematics
  2. bachelor of arts in music

Bam·ba·ra [bam-'bär-ə] -n

  1. a member of an African people of the upper Niger
  2. a Mande language of the Bambara people

bam·bi·no [bam-'bē-(,)nō, bäm-] -n

  1. a representation of the infant Christ
  2. child, baby

bam·boo [(,)bam-'bü, 'bam-,] -n

  1. any of various woody or arborescent grasses (as of the genera Bambusa, Arundinaria,and Dendrocalamusof the subfamily Bambusoideae) of tropical and temperate regions having hollow stems, thick rhizomes, and shoots that are used for food
  2. the jointed stem of bamboo used esp. for building, furniture, and utensils

bamboo curtain -n

  1. a political, military, and ideological barrier isolating an area of eastern Asia

bam·boo·zle [bam-'bü-zəl] -vt, n

  1. to deceive by underhanded methods : dupe, hoodwink
  2. to confuse, frustrate, or throw off thoroughly or completely
    • a quarterback bamboozled by an unexpected defense

ban ['ban] -vb

  1. curse
  2. to prohibit esp. by legal means
    • ban discrimination
  3. to prohibit the use, performance, or distribution of
    • ban a book
    • ban a pesticide
  4. bar
    • banned from the U.N.
  5. to utter curses or maledictions
  6. the summoning in feudal times of the king's vassals for military service
  7. anathema, excommunication
  8. malediction, curse
  9. legal or formal prohibition
    • a ban on beef exports
  10. censure or condemnation esp. through social pressure
  11. see leu at

Ba·nach space ['bä-,näk-, -nək-, -,näk̲-, -nək̲-] -n

  1. a complete normed vector space

ba·nal [bə-'nal, ba-, -'näl; bā-'nal; 'bā-nᵊl] -adj, vt, adv

  1. lacking originality, freshness, or novelty : trite

ba·nal·i·ty [bə-'na-lə-tē, bā-, also ba-] -n

  1. something banal : commonplace
  2. the quality or state of being banal

ba·nana [bə-'na-nə, esp Brit -'nä-] -n

  1. an elongated usu. tapering tropical fruit with soft pulpy flesh enclosed in a soft usu. yellow rind
  2. any of several widely cultivated perennial herbs (genus Musaof the family Musaceae, the banana family) bearing bananas in compact pendent bunches

banana oil -n

  1. amyl acetate

banana pepper -n

  1. a long tapered yellow pepper occurring in several varieties from mild and sweet tasting to hot and pungent

banana republic -n

  1. a small dependent country usu. of the tropics
  2. one run despotically

ba·nan·as [bə-'na-nəz, esp Brit -'nä-] -adj

  1. crazy
    • drives me bananas
    • the crowd went bananas

banana seat -n

  1. an elongated bicycle saddle

bananas Fos·ter [-'fȯs-tər, -'fäs-] -n

  1. a dessert of bananas flamed (as with rum) and served with ice cream

banana split -n

  1. ice cream served on a banana sliced in half lengthwise and usu. garnished with flavored syrups, fruits, nuts, and whipped cream

ba·nau·sic [bə-'nȯ-sik, -zik] -adj

  1. relating to or concerned with earning a living used pejoratively
    • contempt for the banausic occupations -- T. S. Eliot
  2. utilitarian, practical
    • such mundane and banausic considerations as comfort and durability -- G. B. Boyer

band ['band] -n

  1. something that confines or constricts while allowing a degree of movement
  2. something that binds or restrains legally, morally, or spiritually
  3. : a strip serving to join or hold things together: as
  4. belt
  5. a cord or strip across the back of a book to which the sections are sewn
  6. : a thin flat encircling strip: as
  7. a close-fitting strip that confines material at the waist, neck, or cuff of clothing
  8. a strip of cloth used to protect a newborn baby's navel called also bellyband
  9. a ring of elastic
  10. a strip (as of living tissue or rock) or a stripe (as on an animal) differentiable (as by color, texture, or structure) from the adjacent material or area
  11. a more or less well-defined range of wavelengths, frequencies, or energies
  12. range
  13. : a narrow strip serving chiefly as decoration: as
  14. a narrow strip of material applied as trimming to an article of dress
  15. a pair of strips hanging at the front of the neck as part of a clerical, legal, or academic dress
  16. a ring without raised portions
  17. track
  18. to affix a band to or tie up with a band
  19. to finish or decorate with a band
  20. to gather together : unite
    • band ed themselves together for protection
  21. to unite for a common purpose often used with together
    • have band ed together in hopes of attacking the blight that is common to them all -- J. B. Conant
  22. a group of persons, animals, or things
  23. a group of musicians organized for ensemble playing

ban·dage ['ban-dij] -n

  1. a strip of fabric used esp. to cover, dress, and bind up wounds
  2. a flexible strip or band used to cover, strengthen, or compress something

bandage -vt

  1. to bind, dress, or cover with a bandage
    • bandage a wound
    • a bandaged ankle

BandAid ['ban-'dād] -adj

  1. offering, making use of, or serving as a temporary or expedient remedy or solution
  2. used for a small adhesive strip with a gauze pad for covering minor wounds

ban·dan·na [ban-'da-nə] -n

  1. a large often colorfully patterned handkerchief

band·box ['ban(d)-,bäks] -n

  1. a usu. cylindrical box of cardboard or thin wood for holding light articles of attire
  2. a structure (as a baseball park) having relatively small interior dimensions

bandbox -adj, adv

  1. exquisitely neat, clean, or ordered as if just taken from a bandbox
    • a bandbox perfection of appearance

ban·deau [ban-'dō] -n

  1. a fillet or band esp. for the hair
  2. brassiere
  3. a band-shaped covering for the breasts

band·ed ['ban-dəd] -adj

  1. having or marked with bands

ban·de·ri·lla [,ban-də-'rē(l)-yə] -n

  1. a decorated barbed dart that the banderillero thrusts into the neck or shoulders of the bull in a bullfight

ban·de·ri·lle·ro [,ban-də-(,)rē(l)-'yer-(,)ō] -n

  1. a person who thrusts in the banderillas in a bullfight

ban·de·role ['ban-də-,rōl] -n

  1. a long narrow forked flag or streamer
  2. a long scroll bearing an inscription or a device

ban·di·coot ['ban-di-,küt] -n

  1. any of several very large rats (genera Bandicotaand Nesokia) of southern Asia destructive to crops
  2. any of various small chiefly insectivorous and herbivorous marsupial mammals (family Peramelidae or family Peroryctidae) of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea

ban·dit ['ban-dət] -n

  1. an outlaw who lives by plunder
  2. a member of a band of marauders
  3. robber
  4. an enemy plane

ban·di·to [ban-'dē-(,)tō] -n

  1. an outlaw esp. of Mexican extraction or origin

band·lead·er ['band-,lē-dər] -n

  1. the conductor of a band (as a dance band)

band·mas·ter ['ban(d)-,mas-tər] -n

  1. bandleader
  2. a conductor of a military or concert band

band·mate ['ban(d)-,māt] -n

  1. a fellow member of a band

ban·dog ['ban-,dȯg] -n

  1. a dog kept tied to serve as a watchdog or because of its ferocity

ban·do·lier [,ban-də-'lir] -n

  1. a belt worn over the shoulder and across the breast often for the suspending or supporting of some article (as cartridges) or as a part of an official or ceremonial dress

ban·dore ['ban-,dȯr] -n

  1. a bass stringed instrument resembling a guitar

bandpass filter ['ban(d)-,pas-] -n

  1. a filter that transmits only frequencies within a selected band

band saw -n

  1. a saw in the form of an endless steel belt running over pulleys
  2. a power saw using this device usu. with the blade in a vertical position

band shell -n

  1. a bandstand having at the rear a sounding board shaped like a huge concave seashell

bands·man ['ban(d)z-mən] -n

  1. a member of a musical band

band·stand ['ban(d)-,stand] -n

  1. a usu. roofed platform on which a band or orchestra performs outdoors
  2. a platform in a ballroom or nightclub on which musicians perform

band·wag·on ['band-,wa-gən] -n

  1. a usu. ornate and high wagon for a band of musicians esp. in a circus parade
  2. a popular party, faction, or cause that attracts growing support often used in such phrases as jump on the bandwagon
  3. a current or fashionable trend

band·width ['band-,width] -n

  1. a range within a band of wavelengths, frequencies, or energies
  2. a range of radio frequencies which is occupied by a modulated carrier wave, which is assigned to a service, or over which a device can operate
  3. the capacity for data transfer of an electronic communications system
    • graphics consume more bandwidth than text does
  4. the maximum data transfer rate of such a system
    • a bandwidth of 56 kilobits per second

ban·dy ['ban-dē] -vb

  1. to bat (as a tennis ball) to and fro
  2. to toss from side to side or pass about from one to another often in a careless or inappropriate manner
  3. exchange
  4. to exchange (words) argumentatively
  5. to discuss lightly or banteringly
  6. to use in a glib or offhand manner often used with about
    • bandy these statistics about with considerable bravado -- Richard Pollak
  7. to band together
  8. contend
  9. unite

bandy -n

  1. a game similar to hockey and believed to be its prototype
  2. bowed
  3. bowlegged

bane ['bān] -n

  1. killer, slayer
  2. poison
  3. death, destruction
    • stop the way of those that seek my bane -- Philip Sidney
  4. woe
  5. a source of harm or ruin : curse
    • national frontiers have been more of a bane than a boon for mankind -- D. C. Thomson
  6. to kill esp. with poison
  7. bone

bane·ber·ry ['bān-,ber-ē] -n

  1. any of several perennial herbs (genus Actaea) of the buttercup family having acrid poisonous berries
  2. one of the berries

bane·ful ['bān-fəl] -adj, adv

  1. productive of destruction or woe : seriously harmful
    • a baneful influence
  2. poisonous

bang ['baŋ] -vb

  1. to strike sharply : bump
    • bang ed his knee
  2. to knock, hit, or thrust vigorously often with a sharp noise
    • bang ed the door shut
  3. to have sexual intercourse with
  4. to strike with a sharp noise or thump
  5. to produce a sharp often metallic explosive or percussive noise or series of such noises
  6. to play a sport (as basketball) in a very aggressive and forceful manner
    • bang for rebounds
  7. a resounding blow
  8. a sudden loud noise often used interjectionally
  9. a sudden striking effect
  10. a quick burst of energy
    • start off with a bang
  11. thrill
    • I get a bang out of all this -- W. H. Whyte
  12. right, directly
    • ran bang up against more trouble
  13. a fringe of banged hair usu. used in pl.
  14. to cut (as front hair) short and squarely across

ban·ga·lore torpedo ['baŋ-gə-,lȯr-] -n

  1. a metal tube that contains explosives and a firing mechanism and is used to cut barbed wire and detonate buried mines

bang away -vi

  1. to work with determined effort
    • students banging away at their homework
  2. to attack persistently
    • police are going to keep banging away at you -- Erle Stanley Gardner

bangbang ['baŋ-,baŋ] -adj

  1. having a sudden, forceful, or attention-grabbing effect : punchy
    • bangbang headlines
  2. executed or happening so quickly as to make judgment (as by an umpire or referee) difficult
    • a bangbang play at first base
  3. characterized by violent or fast-paced action
    • a bangbang movie

bang·er ['baŋ-ər] -n

  1. sausage
  2. firecracker
  3. jalopy
  4. a forceful and aggressive athlete

bang·kok ['baŋ-,käk, baŋ-'] -n

  1. a hat woven of fine palm fiber in the Philippines

ban·gle ['baŋ-gəl] -n

  1. a stiff usu. ornamental bracelet or anklet slipped or clasped on
  2. an ornamental disk that hangs loosely (as on a bracelet)

bang on -adj

  1. exactly correct or appropriate

Bang's disease ['baŋz-] -n

  1. brucellosis
  2. contagious abortion of cattle caused by a brucella ( Brucella abortus)

bang·tail ['baŋ-,tāl] -n

  1. racehorse

bangup ['baŋ-,əp] -adj

  1. first-rate
    • a bangup job

bang up -vt

  1. to cause extensive damage to

bani ['ban] -vb

(variant of ban)

  1. curse
  2. to prohibit esp. by legal means
    • ban discrimination
  3. to prohibit the use, performance, or distribution of
    • ban a book
    • ban a pesticide
  4. bar
    • banned from the U.N.
  5. to utter curses or maledictions
  6. the summoning in feudal times of the king's vassals for military service
  7. anathema, excommunication
  8. malediction, curse
  9. legal or formal prohibition
    • a ban on beef exports
  10. censure or condemnation esp. through social pressure
  11. see leu at

ban·ish ['ba-nish] -vt, n

  1. to require by authority to leave a country
  2. to drive out or remove from a home or place of usual resort or continuance
  3. to clear away : dispel
    • his discovery banish es anxiety -- Stringfellow Barr

ban·is·ter ['ba-nəs-tər] -n, adj

  1. a handrail with its supporting posts
  2. handrail
  3. baluster

ban·jax ['ban-,jaks] -vt

  1. damage, ruin
  2. smash

ban·jo ['ban-(,)jō] -n

  1. a musical instrument with a drumlike body, a fretted neck, and usu. four or five strings which may be plucked or strummed

banjo clock -n

  1. a pendulum clock whose shape suggests a banjo

bank ['baŋk] -n

  1. : a mound, pile, or ridge raised above the surrounding level: as
  2. a piled-up mass of cloud or fog
  3. an undersea elevation rising esp. from the continental shelf
  4. the rising ground bordering a lake, river, or sea or forming the edge of a cut or hollow
  5. a steep slope (as of a hill)
  6. the lateral inward tilt of a surface along a curve or of a vehicle (as an airplane) when turning
  7. a protective or cushioning rim or piece
  8. to raise a bank about
  9. to cover (as a fire) with fresh fuel and adjust the draft of air so as to keep in an inactive state
  10. to build (a curve) with the roadbed or track inclined laterally upward from the inside edge
  11. to heap or pile in a bank
  12. to drive (a ball in billiards) into a cushion
  13. to bounce (a ball or shot) off a surface (as a backboard) into or toward a goal
    • bank in a rebound
  14. to form or group in a tier
  15. to rise in or form a bank often used with up
    • clouds would bank up about midday, and showers fall -- William Beebe
  16. to incline an airplane laterally
  17. to incline laterally
  18. to follow a curve or incline
    • skiers bank ing around the turn
  19. an establishment for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue of money, for the extension of credit, and for facilitating the transmission of funds
  20. the table, counter, or place of business of a money changer
  21. a person conducting a gambling house or game
  22. dealer
  23. : a supply of something held in reserve: as
  24. the fund of supplies (as money, chips, or pieces) held by the banker or dealer for use in a game
  25. a fund of pieces belonging to a game (as dominoes) from which the players draw
  26. a place where something is held available
    • memory bank s
  27. a depot for the collection and storage of a biological product
    • a blood bank
  28. to manage a bank
  29. to deposit money or have an account in a bank
  30. to deposit or store in a bank
  31. : a group or series of objects arranged together in a row or a tier: as
  32. a set of elevators
  33. a row or tier of telephones
  34. one of the horizontal and usu. secondary or lower divisions of a headline

bank·able ['baŋ-kə-bəl] -adj, n

  1. acceptable to or at a bank
    • bankable currency
  2. sure to bring in a profit
    • Hollywood's most bankable star -- Sidney Sheldon

bank·book ['baŋk-,bu̇k] -n

  1. the depositor's book in which a bank records deposits and withdrawals called also passbook

bank card -n

  1. a card (as a credit card or an ATM card) issued by a bank

bank discount -n

  1. the interest discounted in advance on a note and computed on the face value of the note

bank·er ['baŋ-kər] -n, adj

  1. one that engages in the business of banking
  2. the player who keeps the bank in various games

banker -n

  1. a person or boat employed in the cod fishery on the Newfoundland banks

banker's acceptance -n

  1. a short-term credit instrument issued by an importer's bank that guarantees payment of an exporter's invoice

bank holiday -n

  1. legal holiday
  2. a period when banks in general are closed often by government fiat

bank·ing -n

  1. the business of a bank or a banker

bank money -n

  1. a medium of exchange consisting chiefly of checks and drafts

bank·note ['baŋk-,nōt] -n

  1. a promissory note issued by a bank payable to bearer on demand without interest and acceptable as money

bank·roll ['baŋk-,rōl] -n

  1. supply of money : funds

bankroll -vt, n

  1. to supply money for (a business, project, or person)

bank·rupt ['baŋk-(,)rəpt] -n

  1. a person who has done any of the acts that by law entitle creditors to have his or her estate administered for their benefit
  2. a person judicially declared subject to having his or her estate administered under the bankrupt laws for the benefit of creditors
  3. a person who becomes insolvent
  4. a person who is completely lacking in a particular desirable quality or attribute
    • a moral bankrupt

bankrupt -adj

  1. reduced to a state of financial ruin : impoverished
  2. legally declared a bankrupt
    • the company went bankrupt
  3. of or relating to bankrupts or bankruptcy
    • bankrupt laws
  4. broken, ruined
    • a bankrupt professional career
  5. exhausted of valuable qualities : sterile
    • a bankrupt old culture
  6. destitute used with of or in
    • bankrupt of all merciful feelings
  7. to reduce to bankruptcy
  8. impoverish
    • defections had bankrupt ed the party of its brainpower

bank·rupt·cy ['baŋk-(,)rəp(t)-sē] -n

  1. the quality or state of being bankrupt
  2. utter failure or impoverishment

bank shot -n

  1. a shot in billiards and pool in which a player banks the cue ball or the object ball
  2. a shot in basketball played to rebound from the backboard into the basket

bank·sia ['baŋ(k)-sē-ə] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Banksia) of Australian evergreen trees or shrubs of the protea family with alternate leathery leaves and flowers in dense cylindrical heads

bank·side ['baŋk-,sīd] -n

  1. the slope of a bank esp. of a stream

ban·ner ['ba-nər] -n

  1. a piece of cloth attached by one edge to a staff and used by a leader (as a monarch or feudal lord) as his standard
  2. flag
  3. an ensign displaying a distinctive or symbolic device or legend
  4. one presented as an award of honor or distinction
  5. a headline in large type running across a newspaper page
  6. a strip of cloth on which a sign is painted
    • welcome banner s stretched across the street
  7. a name, slogan, or goal associated with a particular group or ideology
    • the new banner is community control -- F. M. Hechinger
    often used with under
    • every new administration arrives...under the banner of change -- John Cogley
  8. an advertisement graphic that runs usu. across the top of a World Wide Web page

banner -adj

  1. prominent in support of a political party
    • a banner Democratic county
  2. distinguished from all others esp. in excellence
    • a banner year for business
  3. to furnish with a banner
  4. to print (as a news story) under a banner usu. on the front page

ban·ner·et ['ba-nə-rət, ,ba-nə-'ret] -n

  1. a knight leading his vassals into the field under his own banner

banneret -n

  1. a small banner

ban·ne·rol ['ba-nə-,rōl] -n

  1. banderole

bannister ['ba-nəs-tər] -n, adj

(variant of banister)

  1. a handrail with its supporting posts
  2. handrail
  3. baluster

ban·nock ['ba-nək] -n

  1. a usu. unleavened flat bread or biscuit made with oatmeal or barley meal
  2. corn bread
  3. a thin cake baked on a griddle

banns ['banz] -n pl

  1. public announcement esp. in church of a proposed marriage

ban·quet ['baŋ-kwət, 'ban- also -,kwet] -n

  1. a sumptuous feast
  2. an elaborate and often ceremonious meal for numerous people often in honor of a person
    • a state banquet
  3. a meal held in recognition of some occasion or achievement
    • an awards banquet

banquet -vi, n

  1. to partake of a banquet
  2. to treat with a banquet : feast

banquet room -n

  1. a large room (as in a restaurant or hotel) suitable for banquets

ban·quette [baŋ-'ket, ban-, 1b is also 'baŋ-kət] -n

  1. a raised way along the inside of a parapet or trench for gunners or guns
  2. sidewalk
  3. a long upholstered bench
  4. a sofa having one roll-over arm
  5. a built-in usu. upholstered bench along a wall

Ban·quo ['baŋ-(,)kwō, 'ban-] -n

  1. a murdered Scottish thane in Shakespeare's Macbethwhose ghost appears to Macbeth

ban·shee ['ban-(,)shē, ban-'] -n

  1. a female spirit in Gaelic folklore whose appearance or wailing warns a family that one of them will soon die

ban·tam ['ban-təm] -n

  1. any of numerous small domestic fowls that are often miniatures of members of the standard breeds
  2. a person of diminutive stature and often combative disposition

bantam -adj

  1. small, diminutive
  2. pertly combative

ban·tam·weight [-,wāt] -n

  1. a boxer in a weight division having a maximum limit of 118 pounds for professionals and 119 pounds for amateurs

ban·teng ['bän-,teŋ] -n

  1. a wild ox ( Bos javanicussyn. B. banteng) of southeastern Asia sometimes domesticated for use as a draft animal or for its meat

ban·ter ['ban-tər] -vb, n, adv

  1. to speak to or address in a witty and teasing manner
  2. delude
  3. challenge
  4. to speak or act playfully or wittily

banter -n

  1. good-natured and usu. witty and animated joking

bant·ling ['bant-liŋ] -n

  1. a very young child

Ban·tu ['ban-(,)tü, 'bän-] -n

  1. a family of Niger-Congo languages spoken in central and southern Africa
  2. a member of any of a group of African peoples who speak Bantu languages

Ban·tu·stan [,ban-tü-'stan, ,bän-tü-'stän, 'ban-tü-,, 'bän-tü-,, -tə-] -n

  1. any of several all-black enclaves formerly in the Republic of So. Africa that had a limited degree of self-government

ban·yan ['ban-yən, -yan] -n

  1. an East Indian fig tree ( Ficus benghalensis) of the mulberry family with branches that send out roots which grow down to the soil and form secondary trunks

ban·zai [(,)bän-'zī, 'bän-,] -n

  1. a Japanese cheer or war cry

banzai attack -n

  1. a mass attack by Japanese soldiers in World War II
  2. an all-out usu. desperate attack

banzai charge -n

  1. banzai attack
  2. a determined often reckless act

bao·bab ['bau̇-,bab, 'bā-ə-] -n

  1. a broad-trunked tropical tree ( Adansonia digitata) of the silk-cotton family that is native to Africa and has an edible acidic fruit resembling a gourd and bark used in making paper, cloth, and rope
  2. any of several related trees chiefly of Madagascar and Australia

bap ['bap] -n

  1. a small bun or roll

Bap -abbr

  1. Baptist

bap·ti·sia [bap-'ti-zh(ē-)ə] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Baptisia) of No. American plants of the legume family having showy papilionaceous flowers similar in form to those of the pea plant

bap·tism ['bap-,ti-zəm, esp Southern 'bab-] -n, adj, adv

  1. a Christian sacrament marked by ritual use of water and admitting the recipient to the Christian community
  2. a non-Christian rite using water for ritual purification
  3. purification by or submergence in Spirit
  4. an act, experience, or ordeal by which one is purified, sanctified, initiated, or named

baptismal name -n

  1. a name given at christening or confirmation

baptism of fire

  1. an introductory or initial experience that is a severe ordeal
  2. a soldier's first exposure to enemy fire
  3. a spiritual baptism by a gift of the Holy Spirit often used in allusion to Acts 2:34; Mt 3:11(RSV)

bap·tist ['bap-tist, esp Southern 'bab- also 'bəb-dist] -n, adj

  1. one that baptizes
  2. a member or adherent of an evangelical Protestant denomination marked by congregational polity and baptism by immersion of believers only

bap·tis·tery ['bap-tə-strē, esp Southern 'bab-] -n

  1. a part of a church or formerly a separate building used for baptism

bap·tize [bap-'tīz, 'bap-,, esp Southern bab- or 'bab-] -vb, n

  1. to administer baptism to
  2. to purify or cleanse spiritually esp. by a purging experience or ordeal
  3. initiate
  4. to give a name to (as at baptism) : christen
  5. to administer baptism

bar ['bär] -n

  1. a straight piece (as of wood or metal) that is longer than it is wide and has any of various uses (as for a lever, support, barrier, or fastening)
  2. a solid piece or block of material that is longer than it is wide
    • a bar of gold
    • a candy bar
  3. a usu. rigid piece (as of wood or metal) longer than it is wide that is used as a handle or support
  4. a handrail used by ballet dancers to maintain balance while exercising
  5. : something that obstructs or prevents passage, progress, or action: as
  6. the destruction of an action or claim in law
  7. a plea or objection that effects such destruction
  8. an intangible or nonphysical impediment
  9. a submerged or partly submerged bank (as of sand) along a shore or in a river often obstructing navigation
  10. the railing in a courtroom that encloses the place about the judge where prisoners are stationed or where the business of the court is transacted in civil cases
  11. court, tribunal
  12. a particular system of courts
  13. an authority or tribunal that hands down judgment
  14. the barrier in the English Inns of Court that formerly separated the seats of the benchers or readers from the body of the hall occupied by the students
  15. the whole body of barristers or lawyers qualified to practice in the courts of any jurisdiction
  16. the profession of barrister or lawyer
  17. : a straight stripe, band, or line much longer than it is wide: as
  18. one of two or more horizontal stripes on a heraldic shield
  19. a metal or embroidered strip worn on a usu. military uniform esp. to indicate rank (as of a company officer) or service
  20. a counter at which food or esp. alcoholic beverages are served
  21. barroom
  22. shop
  23. a vertical line across the musical staff before the initial measure accent
  24. measure
  25. a lace and embroidery joining covered with buttonhole stitch for connecting various parts of the pattern in needlepoint lace and cutwork
  26. standard
    • wants to raise the bar for approving new drugs
  27. to fasten with a bar
  28. to place bars across to prevent ingress or egress
    • bar the door
  29. to mark with bars : stripe
  30. to confine or shut in by or as if by bars
  31. to set aside : rule out
    • did not bar the possibility of further measures
  32. to keep out : exclude
    • barring him from the club
  33. to interpose legal objection to or to the claim of
  34. prevent, forbid
    • a decision barring his participation
  35. except
    • the country's most popular actor, bar none
  36. a unit of pressure equal to 100,000 pascals
  37. barometer; barometric
  38. barrel

Bar -abbr

  1. Baruch

BAr -abbr

  1. bachelor of architecture

BAR -abbr

  1. Browning automatic rifle

bar- -comb form

  1. weight : pressure
    • baro meter

Ba·rab·bas [bə-'ra-bəs] -n

  1. a prisoner according to Matthew, Mark, and John released in preference to Christ at the demand of the multitude

bar·a·thea [,ber-ə-'thē-ə, ,ba-rə-] -n

  1. a fabric that has a broken rib weave and a pebbly texture and that is made of silk, worsted, or synthetic fiber or a combination of these

barb ['bärb] -n, adj

  1. a medieval cloth headdress passing over or under the chin and covering the neck
  2. a sharp projection extending backward (as from the point of an arrow or fishhook) and preventing easy extraction
  3. a sharp projection with its point similarly oblique to something else
  4. a biting or pointedly critical remark or comment
  5. barbel
  6. any of the side branches of the shaft of a feather
  7. a plant hair or bristle ending in a hook
  8. to furnish with a barb
  9. any of a northern African breed of horses that are noted for speed and endurance
  10. barbiturate

bar·bar·i·an [bär-'ber-ē-ən] -adj, n

  1. of or relating to a land, culture, or people alien and usu. believed to be inferior to another land, culture, or people
  2. lacking refinement, learning, or artistic or literary culture

bar·bar·ic [bär-'ber-ik, -'ba-rik] -adj, adv

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of barbarians
  2. possessing or characteristic of a cultural level more complex than primitive savagery but less sophisticated than advanced civilization
  3. marked by a lack of restraint : wild
  4. having a bizarre, primitive, or unsophisticated quality
  5. barbarous

bar·ba·rism ['bär-bə-,ri-zəm] -n

  1. a barbarian or barbarous social or intellectual condition : backwardness
  2. the practice or display of barbarian acts, attitudes, or ideas
  3. an idea, act, or expression that in form or use offends against contemporary standards of good taste or acceptability

bar·bar·i·ty [bär-'ber-ə-tē, -'ba-rə-] -n

  1. barbarism
  2. barbarous cruelty : inhumanity
  3. an act or instance of such cruelty

bar·ba·rize ['bär-bə-,rīz] -vb, n

  1. to make barbarian or barbarous
  2. to become barbarous

bar·ba·rous ['bär-b(ə-)rəs] -adj, adv, n

  1. uncivilized
  2. lacking culture or refinement : philistine
  3. characterized by the occurrence of barbarisms
    • barbarous language
  4. mercilessly harsh or cruel
    • barbarous crimes

Bar·ba·ry ape ['bär-b(ə-)rē-] -n

  1. a tailless monkey ( Macaca sylvanus) of northern Africa and Gibraltar called also Barbary macaque

Barbary sheep -n

  1. aoudad

bar·be·cue ['bär-bi-,kyü] -vt, n

  1. to roast or broil on a rack or revolving spit over or before a source of heat (as hot coals)
  2. to cook in a highly seasoned vinegar sauce

barbecue -n

  1. a large animal (as a steer) roasted whole or split over an open fire or a fire in a pit
  2. barbecued food
    • eat barbecue
  3. a social gathering esp. in the open air at which barbecued food is eaten
  4. an often portable fireplace over which meat and fish are roasted

barbed ['bärbd] -adj

  1. having barbs
  2. characterized by pointed and biting criticism or sarcasm
    • barbed witticisms

barbed wire ['bärb(d)-'wī(-ə)r, 'bäb(d)-] -n

  1. twisted wires armed with barbs or sharp points called also barbwire

bar·bel ['bär-bəl] -n

  1. a European freshwater cyprinid fish ( Barbus barbus) with four barbels on its upper jaw
  2. any of various closely related fishes

barbel -n

  1. a slender tactile process on the lips of certain fishes (as catfishes)

bar·bell ['bär-,bel] -n

  1. a bar with adjustable weighted disks attached to each end that is used for exercise and in weight lifting

bar·ber ['bär-bər] -n

  1. one whose business is cutting and dressing hair, shaving and trimming beards, and performing related services

barber [-b(ə-)riŋ] -vb

  1. to perform the services of a barber for
  2. trim or groom the hair or beard of
  3. to perform the services of a barber

bar·ber·ry ['bär-,ber-ē, -,be-rē] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Berberisof the family Berberidaceae, the barberry family) of shrubs usu. having spines, usu. yellow flowers, and oblong red or blackish berries

bar·ber·shop ['bär-bər-,shäp] -n

  1. a barber's place of business

barbershop -adj

  1. of a style of unaccompanied group singing of popular songs usu. marked by highly conventionalized close harmony

bar·bet ['bär-bət] -n

  1. any of various often brightly colored nonpasserine tropical birds (families Capitonidae, Lybiidae, and Megalaimidae) having a stout bill bearing bristles at the base

bar·bette [bär-'bet] -n

  1. a mound of earth or a protected platform from which guns fire over a parapet
  2. an armored structure protecting a gun turret on a warship

bar·bi·can ['bär-bi-kən] -n

  1. an outer defensive work
  2. a tower at a gate or bridge

bar·bi·cel ['bär-bə-,sel] -n

  1. any of the small hook-bearing processes on a barbule of a feather

bar·bie ['bär-bē] -n

  1. barbecue
  2. barbecue

bar·bi·tal ['bär-bə-,tȯl] -n

  1. a crystalline barbiturate C 8H 12N 2O 3used as a sedative and hypnotic often in the form of its soluble sodium salt

bar·bi·tone ['bär-bə-,tōn] -n

  1. barbital

bar·bi·tu·rate [bär-'bi-chə-rət, -,rāt; ,bär-bə-'tyu̇r-ət, -'tu̇r-, -,āt; ÷bär-'bi-chə-wət] -n

  1. a salt or ester of barbituric acid
  2. any of various derivatives of barbituric acid (as phenobarbital) that are used esp. as sedatives, hypnotics, and antispasmodics and are often addictive

bar·bi·tu·ric acid [,bär-bə-'t(y)u̇r-ik-] -n

  1. a synthetic crystalline acid C 4H 4N 2O 3derived from pyrimidine

Bar·bi·zon [,bär-bə-'zōn, -'zän] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or being a school of mid-19th century French landscape painters whose naturalistic canvases were based on direct observation of nature

bar·bule ['bär-(,)byü(ə)l] -n

  1. a minute barb
  2. one of the processes that fringe the barbs of a feather

barb·wire ['bärb-'wī(-ə)r, 'bäb-] -n

  1. barbed wire

bar car -n

  1. club car

bar·ca·role ['bär-kə-,rōl] -n

  1. a Venetian boat song usu. in or time characterized by the alternation of a strong and weak beat that suggests a rowing rhythm
  2. music imitating a barcarole

Bar·ce·lo·na chair [,bär-sə-'lō-nə-] -n

  1. an armless chair with leather-covered cushions on a stainless steel frame

bar·chan [(,)bär-'kän, -'k̲än] -n

  1. a moving crescent-shaped sand dune

bar chart -n

  1. bar graph

bar code ['bär-,kō-dəd] -n, adj

  1. a code consisting of a group of printed and variously patterned bars and spaces and sometimes numerals that is designed to be scanned and read into computer memory and that contains information (as identification) about the object it labels

bard ['bärd] -n, adj

  1. a tribal poet-singer skilled in composing and reciting verses on heroes and their deeds
  2. a composer, singer, or declaimer of epic or heroic verse
  3. poet
  4. a piece of armor or ornament for a horse's neck, breast, or flank
  5. to furnish with bards
  6. to dress meat for cooking by covering with strips of fat

bard·ol·a·ter [bär-'dä-lə-tər] -n

  1. a person who idolizes Shakespeare

Bar·do·li·no [,bär-də-'lē-(,)nō] -n

  1. a light red Italian wine

bare ['ber] -adj, n

  1. lacking a natural, usual, or appropriate covering
  2. lacking clothing
    • bare feet
  3. bareheaded
  4. lacking any tool or weapon
    • opened the box with his bare hands
  5. open to view : exposed
    • laying bare their secrets
  6. unfurnished or scantily supplied
    • a bare room
  7. destitute
    • bare of all safeguards
  8. having nothing left over or added
    • the bare necessities of life
  9. mere
    • a bare two hours away
  10. devoid of amplification or adornment
    • the bare facts
  11. worthless
  12. to make or lay bare : uncover

bare ['ber] -n, adj

(variant of bear)

  1. any of a family (Ursidae of the order Carnivora) of large heavy mammals of America and Eurasia that have long shaggy hair, rudimentary tails, and plantigrade feet and feed largely on fruit, plant matter, and insects as well as on flesh
  2. a surly, uncouth, burly, or shambling person
    • a tall, friendly bear of a man
  3. one that sells securities or commodities in expectation of a price decline
  4. something difficult to do or deal with
    • the oven is a bear to clean
  5. to move while holding up and supporting
  6. to be equipped or furnished with
  7. behave, conduct
    • bear ing himself well
  8. to have as a feature or characteristic
    • bear s a likeness to her grandmother
  9. to give as testimony
    • bear false witness
  10. to have as an identification
    • bore the name of John
  11. to hold in the mind or emotions
    • bear malice
  12. disseminate
  13. lead, escort
  14. render, give
  15. to give birth to
  16. to produce as yield
  17. to permit growth of
  18. contain
    • oil- bearing shale
  19. to support the weight of : sustain
  20. to accept or allow oneself to be subjected to esp. without giving way
    • couldn't bear the pain
    • I can't bear seeing you cry
  21. to call for as suitable or essential
    • it bear s watching
  22. to hold above, on top, or aloft
  23. to admit of : allow
  24. assume, accept
  25. thrust, press
  26. to produce fruit : yield
  27. to force one's way
  28. to extend in a direction indicated or implied
  29. to be situated : lie
  30. to become directed
  31. to go or incline in an indicated direction
  32. to support a weight or strain often used with up
  33. to exert influence or force
  34. apply, pertain often used with on or upon
    • facts bear ing on the question

bare·back [-,bak] -adv or adj

  1. on the bare back of a horse : without a saddle
    • likes riding bareback
    • bareback riding

bare·boat [-,bōt] -n

  1. a boat chartered without its crew

bare bones -n pl, adj

  1. the barest essentials, facts, or elements
    • the bare bones of her life

bare·faced ['ber-'fāst] -adj, adv, n

  1. : having the face uncovered:
  2. having no whiskers : beardless
  3. wearing no mask
  4. open, unconcealed
    • barefaced impudence
  5. having or showing a lack of scruples
    • a barefaced lie

bare·foot [-,fu̇t] -adv or adj

  1. with the feet bare
    • walked barefoot
    • barefoot boy, with cheek of tan -- J. G. Whittier

bare·hand ['ber-,hand] -vt

  1. to catch or retrieve (a baseball) with a bare hand

barehand·ed ['ber-'han-dəd] -adv or adj

  1. without gloves
  2. without tools or weapons
    • fight an animal barehanded

bare·head·ed [-'he-dəd] -adv or adj

  1. without a covering for the head
    • went bareheaded in the hot sun
    • a bareheaded boy who had lost his cap

bareknuck·le [-'nə-kəl] -adj or adv

  1. not using boxing gloves
    • champion bareknuckle prizefighter of England -- Dennis Craig
    • when men fought bareknuckle
  2. having a fierce unrelenting character
    • bareknuckle politics

bare·ly -adv

  1. in a meager manner : plainly
    • a barely furnished room
  2. scarcely, hardly
    • barely enough money for lunch

barf ['bärf] -vi

  1. vomit

bar·fly ['bär-,flī] -n

  1. a person who spends much time in bars

bar·gain ['bär-gən] -n

  1. an agreement between parties settling what each gives or receives in a transaction between them or what course of action or policy each pursues in respect to the other
  2. something acquired by or as if by bargaining
  3. an advantageous purchase
    • at that price the car is a bargain
  4. a transaction, situation, or event regarded in the light of its results
    • a bad bargain

bargain -vb, n

  1. to negotiate over the terms of a purchase, agreement, or contract : haggle
  2. to come to terms : agree
  3. to bring to a desired level by bargaining
    • bargain a price down
  4. to sell or dispose of by bargaining

bar·gainbase·ment ['bär-gən-'bās-mənt] -adj

  1. of inferior quality or worth
  2. markedly inexpensive
    • bargainbasement rates

bargain basement -n

  1. a section of a store (as the basement) where merchandise is sold at reduced prices

barge ['bärj] -n

  1. : any of various boats: as
  2. a roomy usu. flat-bottomed boat used chiefly for the transport of goods on inland waterways and usu. propelled by towing
  3. a large motorboat supplied to the flag officer of a flagship
  4. a roomy pleasure boat
  5. a boat of state elegantly furnished and decorated
  6. to carry by barge
  7. to move ponderously or clumsily
  8. to thrust oneself heedlessly or unceremoniously
    • barged into the meeting

barge·board ['bärj-,bȯrd] -n

  1. an often ornamented board that conceals roof timbers projecting over gables

barg·ee [bär-'jē] -n

  1. bargeman

bar·gel·lo [bär-'je-(,)lō] -n

  1. a needlework stitch that produces a zigzag pattern

barge·man ['bärj-mən] -n

  1. the master or a deckhand of a barge

bar graph -n

  1. a graphic means of quantitative comparison by rectangles with lengths proportional to the measure of the data or things being compared called also bar chart

bar·hop ['bär-,häp] -vi

  1. to visit and drink at a series of bars in the course of an evening

bar·iat·ric [,ber-ē-'a-trik, ,ba-rē-] -adj

  1. relating to or specializing in the treatment of obesity

ba·ris·ta [bə-'rēs-tə, bä-'rēs-tä] -n

  1. a person who makes and serves coffee (as espresso) to the public

bar·ite ['ber-,īt] -n

  1. barium sulfate occurring as a mineral

bari·tone ['ber-ə-,tōn, 'ba-rə-] -n, adj

  1. a male singing voice of medium compass between bass and tenor
  2. a person having this voice
  3. a member of a family of instruments having a range between tenor and bass
  4. the baritone saxhorn or baritone saxophone

baritone -adj

  1. relating to or having the range or part of a baritone

bar·i·um ['ber-ē-əm] -n

  1. a silver-white malleable toxic divalent metallic element of the alkaline-earth group that occurs only in combination
  2. barium sulfate

barium sulfate -n

  1. a crystalline insoluble compound BaSO 4that is used esp. as a pigment and extender, as a filler (as in fluids used in gas and oil drilling), and as a substance opaque to X rays in medical photography of the alimentary canal

bark ['bärk] -vb

  1. to make the characteristic short loud cry of a dog
  2. to make a noise resembling a bark
  3. to speak in a curt loud and usu. angry tone : snap
  4. to utter in a curt loud usu. angry tone
    • an officer bark ing orders
  5. to advertise by persistent outcry
    • bark ing their wares
  6. the sound made by a barking dog
  7. a similar sound
  8. a short sharp peremptory tone of speech or utterance
  9. the tough exterior covering of a woody root or stem
  10. the tissues outside the cambium that include an inner layer esp. of secondary phloem and an outer layer of periderm
  11. cinchona
  12. a candy containing chocolate and nuts that is made in a sheet and broken into pieces
  13. to treat with an infusion of tanbark
  14. to strip the bark from
  15. to rub off or abrade the skin of
    • bark ed a shin on the desk
  16. a small sailing ship
  17. a sailing ship of three or more masts with the aftmost mast fore-and-aft rigged and the others square-rigged
  18. a craft propelled by sails or oars

bark beetle -n

  1. any of numerous beetles (family Scolytidae) that bore under the bark of trees both as a larva and as an adult

bar·keep ['bär-,kēp] -n

  1. bartender

bar·ken·tine ['bär-kən-,tēn] -n

  1. a sailing ship of three or more masts with the foremast square-rigged and the others fore-and-aft rigged

bark·er ['bär-kər] -n

  1. one that barks
  2. a person who advertises by hawking at an entrance to a show

barker -n

  1. one that removes or prepares bark

barking deer -n

  1. muntjac

barky ['bär-kē] -adj

  1. covered with or resembling bark

bar·ley ['bär-lē] -n

  1. a cereal grass (genus Hordeumand esp. H. vulgare) having the flowers in dense spikes with long awns and three spikelets at each joint of the rachis
  2. its seed used esp. in malt beverages, breakfast foods, and stock feeds

bar·leybree [-,brē] -n

  1. whisky
  2. malt liquor

bar·ley·corn [-,kȯrn] -n

  1. a grain of barley
  2. an old unit of length equal to a third of an inch

bar·low ['bär-,lō] -n

  1. a sturdy inexpensive jackknife

barm ['bärm] -n

  1. yeast formed on fermenting malt liquors

bar·maid ['bär-,mād] -n

  1. a woman who serves liquor at a bar

bar·man [-mən] -n

  1. bartender

Bar·me·cid·al [,bär-mə-'sī-dᵊl] -adj

  1. providing only the illusion of abundance
    • a Barmecidal feast

bar mitz·vah [bär-'mits-və] -n

  1. a Jewish boy who reaches his 13th birthday and attains the age of religious duty and responsibility
  2. the initiatory ceremony recognizing a boy as a bar mitzvah

bar mitzvah -vt

  1. to administer the ceremony of bar mitzvah to

barmy ['bär-mē] -adj

  1. full of froth or ferment
  2. balmy

barn ['bärn] -n, adj

  1. a usu. large building for the storage of farm products or feed and usu. for the housing of farm animals or farm equipment
  2. an unusually large and usu. bare building
    • a great barn of a hotel -- W. A. White
  3. a large building for the housing of a fleet of vehicles (as trolley cars or trucks)

Bar·na·bas ['bär-nə-bəs] -n

  1. a companion of the apostle Paul on his first missionary journey

bar·na·cle ['bär-ni-kəl] -n, adj

  1. barnacle goose
  2. any of numerous marine crustaceans (subclass Cirripedia) with feathery appendages for gathering food that are free-swimming as larvae but permanently fixed (as to rocks, boat hulls, or whales) as adults

barnacle goose -n

  1. a European goose ( Branta leucopsis) that has a whitish face and black breast and breeds in the arctic

barn burner -n

  1. one that arouses much interest or excitement
    • the game should be a real barn burner

barn dance -n

  1. an American social dance orig. held in a barn and featuring several dance forms (as square dancing)

barn lot -n

  1. barnyard

barn owl -n

  1. a widely distributed owl ( Tyto alba) that has plumage mottled buff brown and gray above and chiefly white below, frequents barns and other buildings, and preys esp. on rodents

barn raising -n

  1. a gathering for the purpose of erecting a barn

barn·storm ['bärn-,stȯrm] -vi, n

  1. to tour through rural districts staging usu. theatrical performances
  2. to travel from place to place making brief stops (as in a political campaign or a promotional tour)
  3. to pilot one's airplane in sight-seeing flights with passengers or in exhibition stunts in an unscheduled course esp. in rural districts
  4. to travel across while barnstorming

barn swallow -n

  1. a swallow ( Hirundo rusticaof the family Hirundinidae) that is widespread in the northern hemisphere, has a deeply forked tail, and often nests in or near buildings

barn·yard [-,yärd] -n

  1. a usu. fenced area adjoining a barn

barnyard -adj

  1. smutty, earthy, scatological
    • barnyard humor

barnyard grass -n

  1. a coarse annual panicled grass ( Echinochloa crusgalli) that has flowers borne on only one side of the raceme and is nearly cosmopolitan as a weed in cultivated ground

baro·gram ['ber-ə-,gram, 'ba-rə-] -n

  1. a barographic tracing

baro·graph [-,graf] -n, adj

  1. a recording barometer

Ba·ro·lo [bä-'rō-(,)lō, bə-] -n

  1. a dry red Italian wine

ba·rom·e·ter [bə-'rä-mə-tər] -n, adj, adv

  1. an instrument for determining the pressure of the atmosphere and hence for assisting in forecasting weather and for determining altitude
  2. something that indicates fluctuations (as in public opinion)
    • housing sales and other economic barometer s
  3. standard, test
    • a barometer to measure high school talent -- Jeff Fellenzer

barometric pressure -n

  1. the pressure of the atmosphere usu. expressed in terms of the height of a column of mercury

bar·on ['ber-ən, 'ba-rən] -n

  1. one of a class of tenants holding his rights and title by military or other honorable service directly from a feudal superior (as a king)
  2. a lord of the realm : noble, peer
  3. a member of the lowest grade of the peerage in Great Britain
  4. a nobleman on the continent of Europe of varying rank
  5. a member of the lowest order of nobility in Japan
  6. a joint of meat consisting of two sirloins or loins and legs not cut apart at the backbone
    • a baron of beef
  7. a man who possesses great power or influence in some field of activity
    • a cattle baron

bar·on·age [-ə-nij] -n

  1. the whole body of barons or peers : nobility

bar·on·ess ['ber-ə-nəs, 'ba-rə-, -,nes, US also ,ber-ə-'nes, ,ba-rə-] -n

  1. the wife or widow of a baron
  2. a woman who holds a baronial title in her own right

bar·on·et ['ber-ə-nət, 'ba-rə-, US also ,ber-ə-'net, ,ba-rə-] -n

  1. the holder of a rank of honor below a baron and above a knight

bar·on·et·age ['ber-ə-nə-(,)tij, ,ba-rə-; ,ber-ə-'ne-tij, ,ba-rə-] -n

  1. baronetcy
  2. the whole body of baronets

bar·on·et·cy ['ber-ə-nət-sē, 'ba-rə-; ,ber-ə-'net-sē, ,ba-rə-] -n

  1. the rank of a baronet

ba·rong [bə-'rȯŋ, -'räŋ] -n

  1. a thick-backed thin-edged knife or sword used by the Moros

ba·ro·ni·al [bə-'rō-nē-əl] -adj

  1. of or relating to a baron or the baronage
  2. stately, ample
    • a baronial room

bar·ony ['ber-ə-nē, 'ba-rə-] -n

  1. the domain, rank, or dignity of a baron
  2. a vast private landholding
  3. a field of activity under the sway of an individual or a special group

ba·roque [bə-'rōk, ba-, -'räk, -'rȯk] -adj, adv

  1. of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a style of artistic expression prevalent esp. in the 17th century that is marked generally by use of complex forms, bold ornamentation, and the juxtaposition of contrasting elements often conveying a sense of drama, movement, and tension
  2. characterized by grotesqueness, extravagance, complexity, or flamboyance
  3. irregularly shaped used of gems
    • a baroque pearl

baroque -n

  1. the baroque style or the period in which it flourished

baro·re·cep·tor [,ber-ō-ri-'sep-tər, ,ba-rə-] -n

  1. a sensory nerve ending esp. in the walls of large arteries (as the carotid sinus) that is sensitive to changes in blood pressure

baro·trau·ma [-'trau̇-mə, -'trȯ-] -n

  1. injury of a body part or organ as a result of changes in barometric pressure

ba·rouche [bə-'rüsh] -n

  1. a four-wheeled carriage with a driver's seat high in front, two double seats inside facing each other, and a folding top over the back seat

barque ['bärk] -vb

(variant of bark)

  1. to make the characteristic short loud cry of a dog
  2. to make a noise resembling a bark
  3. to speak in a curt loud and usu. angry tone : snap
  4. to utter in a curt loud usu. angry tone
    • an officer bark ing orders
  5. to advertise by persistent outcry
    • bark ing their wares
  6. the sound made by a barking dog
  7. a similar sound
  8. a short sharp peremptory tone of speech or utterance
  9. the tough exterior covering of a woody root or stem
  10. the tissues outside the cambium that include an inner layer esp. of secondary phloem and an outer layer of periderm
  11. cinchona
  12. a candy containing chocolate and nuts that is made in a sheet and broken into pieces
  13. to treat with an infusion of tanbark
  14. to strip the bark from
  15. to rub off or abrade the skin of
    • bark ed a shin on the desk
  16. a small sailing ship
  17. a sailing ship of three or more masts with the aftmost mast fore-and-aft rigged and the others square-rigged
  18. a craft propelled by sails or oars

bar·quette [bär-'ket] -n

  1. a small boat-shaped pastry shell

bar·rack ['ber-ək, -ik; 'ba-rək, -rik] -n

  1. a building or set of buildings used esp. for lodging soldiers in garrison
  2. a structure resembling a shed or barn that provides temporary housing
  3. housing characterized by extreme plainness or dreary uniformity usu. used in pl. in all senses

barrack -vt

  1. to lodge in barracks
  2. to shout at derisively or sarcastically
  3. root, cheer usu. used with for
  4. jeer, scoff

barracks bag -n

  1. a fabric bag for carrying personal equipment
  2. duffel bag

bar·ra·coon [,ber-ə-'kün, ,ba-rə-] -n

  1. an enclosure or barracks formerly used for temporary confinement of slaves or convicts often used in pl.

bar·ra·cou·ta [,ber-ə-'kü-tə, ,ba-rə-] -n

  1. a large elongate marine bony fish ( Thyrsites atunof the family Gempylidae) used for food and caught commercially in the waters off New Zealand and southern Australia

bar·ra·cu·da [,ber-ə-'kü-də, ,ba-rə-] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Sphyraenaof the family Sphyraenidae) of elongate predaceous often large bony fishes of warm seas that includes food and sport fishes as well as some forms frequently causing ciguatera poisoning
  2. one that uses aggressive, selfish, and sometimes unethical methods to obtain a goal esp. in business

bar·rage ['bär-ij] -n

  1. a dam placed in a watercourse to increase the depth of water or to divert it into a channel for navigation or irrigation
  2. artillery fire laid on a line close to friendly troops to screen and protect them
  3. a vigorous or rapid outpouring or projection of many things at once
    • a barrage of protests
  4. to deliver a barrage against

barrage balloon -n

  1. a small captive balloon used to support wires or nets as protection against air attacks

bar·ra·mun·di [,ber-ə-'mən-dē, ,ba-rə-] -n, pl

  1. a catadromous bony fish ( Lates calcariferof the family Centropomidae) with a greenish-bronze back and silvery sides that is found from the Persian Gulf to southern China and Australia and is valued as a sport and food fish

bar·ran·ca [bə-'raŋ-kə] -n

  1. a deep gully or arroyo with steep sides
  2. a steep bank or bluff

bar·ra·tor ['ber-ə-tər, 'ba-rə-] -n

  1. one who engages in barratry

bar·ra·try ['ber-ə-trē, 'ba-rə-] -n

  1. the purchase or sale of office or preferment in church or state
  2. an unlawful act or fraudulent breach of duty by a master of a ship or by the mariners to the injury of the owner of the ship or cargo
  3. the persistent incitement of litigation

Barr body ['bär-] -n

  1. a densely staining inactivated condensed X chromosome that is present in each somatic cell of most female mammals and is used as a test of genetic femaleness (as in a fetus) called also sex chromatin

barre ['bär] -n

  1. bar

barred ['bärd] -adj

  1. marked by or divided off by bars
  2. having alternate bands of different color
    • a barred feather

barred owl -n

  1. a large No. American owl ( Strix varia) with brown eyes and bars of dark brown on the breast

bar·rel ['ber-əl, 'ba-rəl] -n, adj

  1. a round bulging vessel of greater length than breadth that is usu. made of staves bound with hoops and has flat ends of equal diameter
  2. the amount contained in a barrel
  3. the amount (as 31 gallons of fermented beverage or 42 gallons of petroleum) fixed for a certain commodity used as a unit of measure
  4. a great quantity
  5. : a drum or cylindrical part: as
  6. the discharging tube of a gun
  7. the part of a fountain pen or of a pencil containing the ink or lead
  8. a cylindrical or tapering housing containing the optical components of a photographic-lens system and the iris diaphragm
  9. the fuel outlet from the carburetor on a gasoline engine
  10. the trunk of a quadruped

barrel -vb

  1. to put or pack in a barrel
  2. to move at a high speed or without hesitation

bar·rel·age ['ber-ə-lij, 'ba-rə-] -n

  1. amount (as of beer) in barrels

barrel cactus -n

  1. any of a genus ( Ferocactus) of nearly globular deeply ribbed spiny cacti of Mexico and the adjacent U.S.
  2. any of several similar cacti (genus Echinocactus)

bar·relchest·ed ['ber-əl-,ches-təd, 'ba-rəl-] -adj

  1. having a large rounded chest
    • a barrelchested athlete

barrel cuff -n

  1. an unfolded cuff (as on a shirt) usu. fastened by a button

bar·rel·ful ['ber-əl-,fu̇l, 'ba-rəl-] -n

  1. as much or as many as a barrel will hold
  2. a large number or amount
    • a barrelful of laughs

bar·rel·head [-,hed] -n

  1. the flat end of a barrel

bar·rel·house [-,hau̇s] -n

  1. a cheap drinking and usu. dancing establishment
  2. a strident, uninhibited, and forcefully rhythmic style of jazz or blues

barrel organ -n

  1. an instrument for producing music by the action of a revolving cylinder studded with pegs on a series of valves that admit air from a bellows to a set of pipes

barrel racing -n

  1. a rodeo event for women in which a mounted rider makes a series of sharp turns around three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern

barrel roll -n

  1. an airplane maneuver in which a complete revolution about the longitudinal axis is made

barrel vault [-,vȯl-təd] -n, adj

  1. a semicylindrical vault

bar·ren ['ber-ən, 'ba-rən] -adj, adv, n

  1. : not reproducing: as
  2. incapable of producing offspring used esp. of females or matings
  3. not yet or not recently pregnant
  4. habitually failing to fruit
  5. : not productive: as
  6. producing little or no vegetation : desolate
    • barren deserts
  7. producing inferior crops
    • barren soil
  8. unproductive of results or gain : fruitless
    • a barren scheme
  9. devoid, lacking used with of
    • barren of excitement
  10. lacking interest or charm
    • a barren routine
  11. lacking inspiration or ideas
    • a barren mind

barren -n

  1. an extent of usu. level land having an inferior growth of trees or little vegetation
  2. a tract of barren land

bar·rette [bä-'ret, bə-] -n

  1. a clip or bar for holding hair in place

bar·ri·cade ['ber-ə-,kād, 'ba-rə-, ,ber-ə-', ,ba-rə-'] -vt

  1. to block off or stop up with a barricade
    • barricade a street
  2. to prevent access to by means of a barricade

barricade -n

  1. an obstruction or rampart thrown up across a way or passage to check the advance of the enemy
  2. barrier
  3. barrier , obstacle
  4. a field of combat or dispute

bar·ri·ca·do [,ber-ə-'kā-(,)dō, ,ba-rə-] -n, vt

  1. barricade

bar·ri·er ['ber-ē-ər, 'ba-rē-] -n

  1. something material that blocks or is intended to block passage
    • highway barrier s
    • a barrier contraceptive
  2. a natural formation or structure that prevents or hinders movement or action
    • geographic barrier s to species dissemination
    • barrier beaches
    • drugs that cross the placental barrier
  3. a medieval war game in which combatants fight on foot with a fence or railing between them
  4. something immaterial that impedes or separates : obstacle
    • behavioral barrier s
    • trade barrier s

barrier island -n

  1. a long broad sandy island lying parallel to a shore that is built up by the action of waves, currents, and winds and that protects the shore from the effects of the ocean

barrier reef -n

  1. a coral reef roughly parallel to a shore and separated from it usu. by a lagoon

bar·ring ['bär-iŋ] -prep

  1. excluding by exception : excepting

bar·rio ['bär-ē-,ō, 'ber-, 'ba-rē-] -n

  1. a ward, quarter, or district of a city or town in a Spanish-speaking country
  2. a Spanish-speaking quarter or neighborhood in a city or town in the U.S. esp. in the Southwest

bar·ris·ter ['ber-ə-stər, 'ba-rə-] -n

  1. a counsel admitted to plead at the bar and undertake the public trial of causes in an English superior court

bar·room ['bär-,rüm, -,ru̇m] -n

  1. a room or establishment whose main feature is a bar for the sale of liquor

bar·row ['ber-(,)ō, 'ba-(,)rō] -n

  1. mountain, mound used only in the names of hills in England
  2. a large mound of earth or stones over the remains of the dead : tumulus

barrow -n

  1. a male hog castrated before sexual maturity
  2. handbarrow
  3. wheelbarrow
  4. a cart with a shallow box body, two wheels, and shafts for pushing it

barrow boy -n

  1. costermonger

bar sinister -n

  1. a heraldic charge held to be a mark of bastardy
  2. the fact or condition of being of illegitimate birth

Bart -abbr

  1. baronet

bar·tend·er ['bär-,ten-dər] -n, vi

  1. a person who serves drinks at a bar

bar·ter ['bär-tər] -vb, n

  1. to trade by exchanging one commodity for another
  2. to trade or exchange by or as if by bartering

barter -n

  1. the act or practice of carrying on trade by bartering
  2. the thing given in exchange in bartering

Bar·tho·lin's gland ['bär-thə-lənz-, 'bär-tᵊl-ənz-] -n

  1. either of two oval racemose glands lying one to each side of the lower part of the vagina and secreting a lubricating mucus

bar·ti·zan ['bär-tə-zən, ,bär-tə-'zan] -n

  1. a small structure (as a turret) projecting from a building and serving esp. for lookout or defense

Bart·lett ['bärt-lət] -n

  1. a pear that has yellowish-green or sometimes red skin and whitish flesh and is the principal commercially produced pear in the U.S.

Ba·ruch [bə-'rük, 'bär-,ük, 'ber-] -n

  1. a homiletic book included in the Roman Catholic canon of the Old Testament and in the Protestant Apocrypha

bar·ware ['bär-,wer] -n

  1. glassware or utensils used in preparing and serving alcoholic beverages

bary·on ['ber-ē-,än, 'ba-rē-] -n, adj

  1. any of a group of subatomic particles (as nucleons) that are subject to the strong force and are composed of three quarks

ba·ry·tes ['ber-,īt] -n

(variant of barite)

  1. barium sulfate occurring as a mineral

barytone ['ber-ə-,tōn, 'ba-rə-] -n, adj

(variant of baritone)

  1. a male singing voice of medium compass between bass and tenor
  2. a person having this voice
  3. a member of a family of instruments having a range between tenor and bass
  4. the baritone saxhorn or baritone saxophone

BAS -abbr

  1. bachelor of applied science
  2. bachelor of arts and sciences

bas·al ['bā-səl, -zəl] -adj, adv

  1. relating to, situated at, or forming the base
  2. arising from the base of a stem
    • basal leaves
  3. of or relating to the foundation, base, or essence : fundamental
  4. of, relating to, or being essential for maintaining the fundamental vital activities of an organism : minimal
    • a basal diet
  5. used for teaching beginners
    • basal readers

basal body -n

  1. a minute distinctively staining cell organelle found at the base of a flagellum or cilium and identical to a centriole in structure called also basal granule kinetosome

basal cell -n

  1. one of the innermost cells of the deeper epidermis of the skin

basal ganglion -n

  1. any of four deeply placed masses of gray matter (as the amygdala) in each cerebral hemisphere called also basal nucleus

basal metabolic rate -n

  1. the rate at which heat is given off by an organism at complete rest

basal metabolism -n

  1. the turnover of energy in a fasting and resting organism using energy solely to maintain vital cellular activity, respiration, and circulation as measured by the basal metabolic rate

ba·salt [bə-'sȯlt, 'bā-,] -n, adj

  1. a dark gray to black dense to fine-grained igneous rock that consists of basic plagioclase, augite, and usu. magnetite

bas·cule ['bas-(,)kyül] -n

  1. an apparatus or structure (as a drawbridge) in which one end is counterbalanced by the other on the principle of the seesaw or by weights

base ['bās] -n, adj

  1. the lower part of a wall, pier, or column considered as a separate architectural feature
  2. the lower part of a complete architectural design
  3. the bottom of something considered as its support : foundation
  4. a side or face of a geometrical figure from which an altitude can be constructed
  5. one on which the figure stands
  6. the length of a base
  7. that part of a bodily organ by which it is attached to another more central structure of the organism
  8. a main ingredient
    • paint having a latex base
  9. a supporting or carrying ingredient (as of a medicine)
  10. the fundamental part of something : groundwork, basis
  11. the economic factors on which in Marxist theory all legal, social, and political relations are formed
  12. the lower part of a heraldic field
  13. the starting point or line for an action or undertaking
  14. a baseline in surveying
  15. : a center or area of operations: as
  16. the place from which a military force draws supplies
  17. a place where military operations begin
  18. a permanent military installation
  19. a number (as 5 in 5 6.44or 5 7) that is raised to a power
  20. the number that when raised to a power equal to the logarithm of a number yields the number itself
    • the logarithm of 100 to the base 10 is 2 since 10 2 100
  21. a number equal to the number of units in a given digit's place that for a given system of writing numbers is required to give the numeral 1 in the next higher place
    • the decimal system uses a base of 10
  22. such a system of writing numbers using an indicated base
    • convert from base 10 to base 2
  23. a number that is multiplied by a rate or of which a percentage or fraction is calculated
    • to find the interest on 90 at 10 percent multiply the base 90 by .10
  24. root
  25. the starting place or goal in various games
  26. any one of the four stations at the corners of a baseball infield
  27. a point to be considered
    • his opening remarks touched every base
  28. any of various typically water-soluble and bitter tasting compounds that in solution have a pH greater than 7, are capable of reacting with an acid to form a salt, and are molecules or ions able to take up a proton from an acid or able to give up an unshared pair of electrons to an acid
  29. any of the five purine or pyrimidine bases of DNA and RNA that include cytosine, guanine, adenine, thymine, and uracil
  30. a price level at which a security previously declining in price resists further decline
  31. the part of a transformational grammar that consists of rules and a lexicon and generates the deep structures of a language
  32. to make, form, or serve as a base for
  33. to find a base or basis for usu. used with on or upon
  34. of little height
  35. low in place or position
  36. bass
  37. baseborn
  38. resembling a villein : servile
    • a base tenant
  39. held by villenage
    • base tenure
  40. being of comparatively low value and having relatively inferior properties (as lack of resistance to corrosion)
    • a base metal such as iron
  41. containing a larger than usual proportion of base metals
    • base silver denarii
  42. lacking or indicating the lack of higher qualities of mind or spirit : ignoble
  43. lacking higher values : degrading
    • a drab base way of life

base angle -n

  1. either of the angles of a triangle that have one side in common with the base

base·ball ['bās-,bȯl] -n

  1. a game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players each on a large field having four bases that mark the course a runner must take to score
  2. the ball used in this game

baseball cap -n

  1. a cap of the kind worn by baseball players that has a rounded crown and a long visor

base·board [-,bȯrd] -n

  1. a board situated at or forming the base of something
  2. a molding covering the joint of a wall and the adjoining floor

base·born [-'bȯrn] -adj

  1. mean, ignoble
  2. of humble birth
  3. of illegitimate birth

base exchange -n

  1. a post exchange at a naval or air force base

base hit -n

  1. a hit in baseball that enables the batter to reach base safely without benefit of an error or fielder's choice

BASE jumping ['bās-] -n

  1. the activity or sport of parachuting from a high structure (as a building, tower, or bridge) or cliff

base·line ['bās-,līn] -n

  1. a line serving as a basis
  2. one of known measure or position used (as in surveying or navigation) to calculate or locate something
  3. either of the lines on a baseball field that lead from home plate to first base and third base and are extended into the outfield as foul lines
  4. base path
  5. a boundary line at either end of a court (as in tennis or basketball)
  6. a usu. initial set of critical observations or data used for comparison or a control
  7. a starting point
    • the baseline of this discussion

base·lin·er ['bās-,lī-nər] -n

  1. a tennis player who stays on or near the baseline and seldom moves to the net

base·ment ['bās-mənt] -n, adj

  1. the part of a building that is wholly or partly below ground level
  2. the ground floor facade or interior in Renaissance architecture
  3. the lowest or fundamental part of something
  4. the rocks underlying stratified rocks
  5. a toilet or washroom esp. in a school

basement membrane -n

  1. a thin membranous layer of connective tissue that separates a layer of epithelial cells from the underlying lamina propia

ba·sen·ji [bə-'sen-jē, -'zen-] -n

  1. any of a breed of small curly-tailed dogs of African origin that do not bark

base on balls

  1. an advance to first base awarded a baseball player who during a turn at bat takes four pitches that are balls

basepair -vi

  1. to participate in formation of a base pair
    • adenine basepair s with thymine

base pair -n

  1. one of the pairs of nucleotide bases on complementary strands of nucleic acid that consist of a purine on one strand joined to a pyrimidine on the other strand by hydrogen bonds holding together the two strands much like the rungs of a ladder and that include adenine linked to thymine in DNA or to uracil in RNA and guanine linked to cytosine in both DNA and RNA

base path -n

  1. the area between the bases of a baseball field used by a base runner

base pay -n

  1. a rate or amount of pay for a standard work period, job, or position exclusive of additional payments or allowances

base·plate ['bās-,plāt] -n

  1. a plate that serves as a base or support

base runner -n

  1. a baseball player of the team at bat who is on base or is attempting to reach a base

bases ['bās] -n, adj

(variant of base)

  1. the lower part of a wall, pier, or column considered as a separate architectural feature
  2. the lower part of a complete architectural design
  3. the bottom of something considered as its support : foundation
  4. a side or face of a geometrical figure from which an altitude can be constructed
  5. one on which the figure stands
  6. the length of a base
  7. that part of a bodily organ by which it is attached to another more central structure of the organism
  8. a main ingredient
    • paint having a latex base
  9. a supporting or carrying ingredient (as of a medicine)
  10. the fundamental part of something : groundwork, basis
  11. the economic factors on which in Marxist theory all legal, social, and political relations are formed
  12. the lower part of a heraldic field
  13. the starting point or line for an action or undertaking
  14. a baseline in surveying
  15. : a center or area of operations: as
  16. the place from which a military force draws supplies
  17. a place where military operations begin
  18. a permanent military installation
  19. a number (as 5 in 5 6.44or 5 7) that is raised to a power
  20. the number that when raised to a power equal to the logarithm of a number yields the number itself
    • the logarithm of 100 to the base 10 is 2 since 10 2 100
  21. a number equal to the number of units in a given digit's place that for a given system of writing numbers is required to give the numeral 1 in the next higher place
    • the decimal system uses a base of 10
  22. such a system of writing numbers using an indicated base
    • convert from base 10 to base 2
  23. a number that is multiplied by a rate or of which a percentage or fraction is calculated
    • to find the interest on 90 at 10 percent multiply the base 90 by .10
  24. root
  25. the starting place or goal in various games
  26. any one of the four stations at the corners of a baseball infield
  27. a point to be considered
    • his opening remarks touched every base
  28. any of various typically water-soluble and bitter tasting compounds that in solution have a pH greater than 7, are capable of reacting with an acid to form a salt, and are molecules or ions able to take up a proton from an acid or able to give up an unshared pair of electrons to an acid
  29. any of the five purine or pyrimidine bases of DNA and RNA that include cytosine, guanine, adenine, thymine, and uracil
  30. a price level at which a security previously declining in price resists further decline
  31. the part of a transformational grammar that consists of rules and a lexicon and generates the deep structures of a language
  32. to make, form, or serve as a base for
  33. to find a base or basis for usu. used with on or upon
  34. of little height
  35. low in place or position
  36. bass
  37. baseborn
  38. resembling a villein : servile
    • a base tenant
  39. held by villenage
    • base tenure
  40. being of comparatively low value and having relatively inferior properties (as lack of resistance to corrosion)
    • a base metal such as iron
  41. containing a larger than usual proportion of base metals
    • base silver denarii
  42. lacking or indicating the lack of higher qualities of mind or spirit : ignoble
  43. lacking higher values : degrading
    • a drab base way of life

bash ['bash] -vb, n

  1. to strike violently : hit
  2. to injure or damage by striking : smash often used with in
  3. to attack physically or verbally
    • media bash ing
    • celebrity bash ing
  4. crash
  5. a forceful blow
  6. a festive social gathering : party
  7. try, attempt
    • have a bash at it

bashaw ['pä-shə, 'pa-; pə-'shä, -'shȯ] -n

(variant of pasha)

  1. a man of high rank or office (as in Turkey or northern Africa)

bash·ful ['bash-fəl] -adj, adv, n

  1. socially shy or timid : diffident, self-conscious
  2. resulting from or typical of a bashful nature
    • a bashful smile

ba·sic ['bā-sik also -zik] -adj, n

  1. of, relating to, or forming the base or essence : fundamental
    • basic truths
  2. concerned with fundamental scientific principles : not applied
    • basic research
  3. constituting or serving as the basis or starting point
    • a basic set of tools
  4. of, relating to, containing, or having the character of a chemical base
  5. having an alkaline reaction
  6. containing relatively little silica
    • basic rocks
  7. relating to, made by, used in, or being a process of making steel done in a furnace lined with basic material and under basic slag

basic -n

  1. something that is basic : fundamental
    • get back to basic s
  2. basic training

BA·SIC ['bā-sik] -n

  1. a simplified high-level language for programming a computer

ba·si·cal·ly ['bā-si-k(ə-)lē also -zi-] -adv

  1. at a basic level : in fundamental disposition or nature
    • basically correct
    • basically, they are simple people
  2. for the most part
    • they basically play zone defense
  3. in a basic manner : simply
    • live basically

basic slag -n

  1. a slag low in silica and high in base-forming oxides that is used in the basic process of steelmaking and that is subsequently useful as a fertilizer

basic training -n

  1. the initial period of training of a military recruit

ba·sid·io·my·cete [bə-,si-dē-ō-'mī-,sēt, -,mī-'sēt] -n, adj

  1. any of a group of higher fungi that have septate hyphae and spores borne on a basidium, that include rusts, smuts, mushrooms, and puffballs, and that are variously considered to comprise a class (Basidiomycetes), a subdivision (Basidiomycotina), or a division (Basidiomycota)

ba·sid·io·spore [bə-'si-dē-ə-,spȯr] -n

  1. a spore produced by a basidium

ba·sid·i·um [bə-'si-dē-əm] -n

  1. a structure on a basidiomycete in which karyogamy occurs followed by meiosis to form usu. four basidiospores

ba·si·fy ['bā-sə-,fī] -vt, n

  1. to convert into a base or make alkaline

ba·sil ['ba-zəl, 'bā-, -səl] -n

  1. any of several aromatic herbs (genus Ocimum) of the mint family
  2. sweet basil
  3. the dried or fresh leaves of a basil used esp. as a seasoning

bas·i·lar ['ba-zə-lər, -sə- also 'bā-] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or situated at the base

basilar membrane -n

  1. a membrane extending from the bony shelf of the cochlea to the outer wall and supporting the organ of Corti

Ba·sil·i·an [bə-'zi-lē-ən] -n, adj

  1. a member of the monastic order founded by St. Basil in the fourth century in Cappadocia

ba·sil·i·ca [bə-'si-li-kə also -'zi-] -n, adj

  1. an oblong building ending in a semicircular apse used in ancient Rome esp. for a court of justice and place of public assembly
  2. an early Christian church building consisting of nave and aisles with clerestory and a large high transept from which an apse projects
  3. a Roman Catholic church given ceremonial privileges

bas·i·lisk ['ba-sə-,lisk, 'ba-zə-] -n

  1. a legendary reptile with fatal breath and glance
  2. any of several crested tropical American lizards (genus Basiliscusof the family Iguanidae) related to the iguanas and noted for their ability to run on their hind legs

basilisk -adj

  1. suggesting a basilisk : baleful, spellbinding
    • the eyes...with all their blaze of basilisk horror -- Bram Stoker

ba·sin ['bā-sᵊn] -n, adj

  1. an open usu. circular vessel with sloping or curving sides used typically for holding water for washing
  2. a bowl used esp. in cooking
  3. the quantity contained in a basin
  4. a dock built in a tidal river or harbor
  5. an enclosed or partly enclosed water area
  6. a large or small depression in the surface of the land or in the ocean floor
  7. the entire tract of country drained by a river and its tributaries
  8. a great depression in the surface of the lithosphere occupied by an ocean
  9. a broad area of the earth beneath which the strata dip usu. from the sides toward the center

bas·i·net [,ba-sə-'net] -n

  1. a light typically pointed steel helmet often having a visor

ba·sip·e·tal [bā-'si-pə-tᵊl, -'zi-] -adj, adv

  1. proceeding from the apex toward the base or from above downward
    • basipetal maturation of an inflorescence

ba·sis ['bā-səs] -n

  1. the bottom of something considered as its foundation
  2. the principal component of something
  3. something on which something else is established or based
  4. an underlying condition or state of affairs
    • hired on a trial basis
    • on a first-name basis
  5. the basic principle
  6. a set of linearly independent vectors in a vector space such that any vector in the vector space can be expressed as a linear combination of them with appropriately chosen coefficients

basis point -n

  1. one hundredth of one percent (as in the yield of an investment)

bask ['bask] -vb

  1. to lie or relax in a pleasant warmth or atmosphere
  2. to take pleasure or derive enjoyment
    • bask ed in the spotlight
  3. to warm by continued exposure to heat

bas·ket ['bas-kit, Brit also 'bäs-] -n, adj

  1. a receptacle made of interwoven material (as osiers)
  2. any of various lightweight usu. wood containers
  3. the quantity contained in a basket
  4. something that resembles a basket esp. in shape or use
  5. a net open at the bottom and suspended from a metal ring that constitutes the goal in basketball
  6. a field goal in basketball
  7. an aggregate of values (as of selected currencies) the average of which serves as a monetary standard
  8. a selection of financial instruments (as equities, futures, or options) the values of which reflect market fluctuations
  9. a ring around the lower end of a ski pole that keeps the pole from sinking too deep in snow

bas·ket·ball [-,bȯl] -n

  1. a usu. indoor court game between two teams of usu. five players each who score by tossing an inflated ball through a raised goal
  2. the ball used in this game

bas·ket·bal·ler [-,bȯ-lər] -n

  1. a basketball player

basket case -n

  1. a person who has all four limbs amputated
  2. a person who is mentally incapacitated or worn out (as from nervous tension)
  3. one that is not functioning well or is in a run-down condition
    • an economic basket case

basket catch -n

  1. a catch of a fly ball made with the glove held palm up at waist level

bas·ket·ful ['bas-kit-,fu̇l] -n

  1. as much or as many as a basket will hold
  2. a considerable quantity

basket hilt [,bas-kit-'hil-təd] -n, adj

  1. a hilt with a basket-shaped guard to protect the hand

Basket Maker -n

  1. any of three stages of an ancient culture of the plateau area of southwestern U.S.
  2. a member of the people who produced the Basket Maker culture

basketofgold -n

  1. a European perennial herb ( Aurinia saxatilissyn. Alyssum saxatile) of the mustard family widely cultivated for its grayish foliage and yellow flowers

bas·ket·ry ['bas-ki-trē] -n

  1. basketwork
  2. the art or craft of making baskets or objects woven like baskets

basket star -n

  1. any of various brittle stars with slender complexly branched interlacing arms

basket weave -n

  1. a textile weave resembling the checkered pattern of a plaited basket
  2. something resembling this weave

bas·ket·work ['bas-kit-,wərk] -n

  1. objects produced by basketry

bask·ing shark ['bas-kiŋ-] -n

  1. a large plankton-feeding shark ( Cetorhinus maximus) that has an oil-rich liver and may attain a length of up to 45 feet (13.7 meters)

bas·ma·ti rice [,bäz-'mä-tē-, ,bäs- also ,baz-, ,bas-] -n

  1. a cultivated aromatic long-grain rice originating in southern Asia called also basmati

bas mitzvah [bät-'mits-və] -n

(variant of bat mitzvah)

  1. a Jewish girl who at 12 or more years of age assumes religious responsibilities
  2. the initiatory ceremony recognizing a girl as a bat mitzvah

ba·so·phil ['bā-sə-,fil, -zə-] -n

  1. a basophilic substance or structure
  2. a white blood cell containing basophilic granules that is similar in function to a mast cell

ba·so·phil·ia [,bā-sə-'fi-lē-ə, -zə-] -n

  1. tendency to stain with basic dyes
  2. an abnormal condition in which some tissue element has increased basophilia

ba·so·phil·ic [-'fi-lik] -adj

  1. staining readily with basic stains

Ba·so·tho [bä-'sō-,tō, -'sü-,tü] -n

  1. a Bantu-speaking people of Lesotho
  2. a member of this people

Basque ['bask, 'bäsk] -n, adj

  1. a member of a people inhabiting the western Pyrenees on the Bay of Biscay
  2. the language of the Basques of unknown relationship
  3. a tight-fitting bodice for women

basre·lief [,bä-ri-'lēf, ,bas-, bās-; 'bä-ri-,, 'bas-, 'bās-] -n

  1. sculptural relief in which the projection from the surrounding surface is slight and no part of the modeled form is undercut
  2. sculpture executed in bas-relief

bass ['bas] -n

  1. any of numerous edible marine or freshwater bony fishes (esp. families Centrarchidae, Serranidae, and Percichthyidae of the order Perciformes)
  2. deep or grave in tone
  3. of low pitch
  4. relating to or having the range or part of a bass
  5. the lowest voice part in a 4-part chorus
  6. the lower half of the whole vocal or instrumental tonal range
  7. the lowest adult male singing voice
  8. a person having this voice
  9. a member of a family of instruments having the lowest range
  10. double bass
  11. a deep or grave tone : a low-pitched sound
  12. basswood
  13. a coarse tough fiber from palms

bass clef -n

  1. a clef placing the F below middle C on the fourth line of the staff
  2. the bass staff

bass drum -n

  1. a large drum having two heads and giving a booming sound of low indefinite pitch

bas·set hound ['ba-sət-] -n

  1. any of an old breed of short-legged hunting dogs of French origin having very long ears and a short smooth coat called also basset

bass fiddle -n

  1. double bass

bass horn -n

  1. an obsolete wind instrument shaped like a bassoon but with a cup-shaped mouthpiece

bas·si·net [,ba-sə-'net, 'ba-sə-,] -n

  1. a baby's basketlike bed (as of wickerwork or plastic) often with a hood over one end

bass·ist ['bā-sist] -n

  1. a person who plays an acoustic or electric bass

bas·so ['ba-(,)sō, 'bä-] -n

  1. a bass singer
  2. an operatic bass
  3. a low deep voice

bas·soon [bə-'sün, ba-] -n

  1. a double-reed woodwind instrument having a long U-shaped conical tube connected to the mouthpiece by a thin metal tube and a usual range two octaves lower than that of the oboe

bas·so pro·fun·do [,ba-(,)sō-prə-'fən-(,)dō, ,bä-, -'fu̇n-] -n

  1. a deep heavy bass voice with an exceptionally low range
  2. a person having this voice

bas·sore·lie·vo [,ba-(,)sō-ri-'lē-(,)vō, ,bä-(,)sō-rēl-'yā-(,)vō] -n

  1. bas-relief

bass viol -n

  1. viola da gamba
  2. double bass

bass·wood ['bas-,wu̇d] -n

  1. any of several New World lindens
  2. linden
  3. the straight-grained soft white wood of a basswood

bast ['bast] -n

  1. phloem
  2. bast fiber

bas·tard ['bas-tərd] -n, adj

  1. an illegitimate child
  2. something that is spurious, irregular, inferior, or of questionable origin
  3. an offensive or disagreeable person used as a generalized term of abuse
  4. man, fellow

bastard -adj

  1. illegitimate
  2. of mixed or ill-conceived origin
    • known for coining bastard words
  3. of abnormal shape or irregular size
  4. of a kind similar to but inferior to or less typical than some standard
  5. lacking genuineness or authority : false

bas·tard·ise ['bas-tər-,dīz] -vt, n

(variant of bastardize)

  1. to reduce from a higher to a lower state or condition : debase
  2. to declare or prove to be a bastard
  3. to modify esp. by introducing discordant or disparate elements

bas·tard·ize ['bas-tər-,dīz] -vt, n

  1. to reduce from a higher to a lower state or condition : debase
  2. to declare or prove to be a bastard
  3. to modify esp. by introducing discordant or disparate elements

bastard wing -n

  1. alula

bas·tardy ['bas-tər-dē] -n

  1. the quality or state of being a bastard : illegitimacy
  2. the begetting of an illegitimate child

baste ['bāst] -vt, n

  1. to sew with long loose stitches in order to hold something in place temporarily
  2. to moisten (as meat) at intervals with a liquid (as melted butter, fat, or pan drippings) esp. during cooking
  3. to beat severely or soundly : thrash
  4. to scold vigorously : berate

bast fiber -n

  1. a strong woody fiber obtained chiefly from the phloem of plants and used esp. in cordage, matting, and fabrics

bas·tille [ba-'stē(ə)l] -n

  1. prison, jail

Bastille Day -n

  1. July 14 observed in France as a national holiday in commemoration of the fall of the Bastille in 1789

bas·ti·na·do [,bas-tə-'nā-(,)dō, -'nä-] -n

  1. a blow with a stick or cudgel
  2. a beating esp. with a stick
  3. a punishment consisting of beating the soles of the feet with a stick
  4. stick, cudgel

bastinado -vt

  1. to subject to repeated blows

basting -n

  1. the action of a sewer who bastes
  2. the thread used in basting
  3. the stitching made by basting
  4. the action of one that bastes food
  5. the liquid used in basting
  6. a severe beating

bas·tion ['bas-chən] -n, adj

  1. a projecting part of a fortification
  2. a fortified area or position
  3. stronghold
    • the last bastion of academic standards -- Amer. Scientist

Ba·su·to [bə-'sü-(,)tō] -n

  1. basotho

bat ['bat] -n

  1. a stout solid stick : club
  2. a sharp blow : stroke
  3. a usu. wooden implement used for hitting the ball in various games
  4. a paddle used in various games (as table tennis)
  5. the short whip used by a jockey
  6. batsman, batter
    • a right-handed bat
  7. a turn at batting usu. used in the phrase at bat
  8. hitting ability
    • we need his bat in the lineup
  9. batt
  10. rate of speed : gait
  11. binge
  12. to strike or hit with or as if with a bat
  13. to advance (a base runner) by batting
  14. to have a batting average of
  15. to discuss at length : consider in detail
  16. to strike or hit a ball with a bat
  17. to take one's turn at bat
  18. to wander aimlessly
  19. any of a widely distributed order (Chiroptera) of nocturnal usu. frugivorous or insectivorous flying mammals that have wings formed from four elongated digits of the forelimb covered by a cutaneous membrane and that have adequate visual capabilities but often rely on echolocation
  20. to wink esp. in surprise or emotion
    • never batted an eye
  21. flutter
    • batted his eyelashes

BAT -abbr

  1. bachelor of arts in teaching

bat·boy ['bat-,bȯi] -n

  1. a boy employed to look after the equipment (as bats) of a baseball team

batch ['bach] -n

  1. the quantity baked at one time : baking
  2. the quantity of material prepared or required for one operation
  3. a mixture of raw materials ready for fusion into glass
  4. the quantity produced at one operation
  5. a group of jobs (as programs) that are submitted for processing on a computer and whose results are obtained at a later time
    • batch processing
  6. a quantity (as of persons or things) considered as a group
  7. to bring together or process as a batch

batch ['bach] -n

(variant of bach)

  1. bachelor
  2. to live as a bachelor often used with it
  3. a small house or weekend cottage

bate ['bāt] -vb

  1. to reduce the force or intensity of : restrain
    • with bated breath
  2. to take away : deduct
  3. to lower esp. in amount or estimation
  4. blunt
  5. diminish, decrease
  6. to attempt to fly off something (as a gauntlet) in fear

bateared fox ['bat-,ird-] -n

  1. a large-eared yellowish-gray fox ( Otocyon megalotis) that inhabits arid unforested areas of eastern and southern Africa

ba·teau [ba-'tō] -n

  1. any of various small craft
  2. a flat-bottomed boat with raked bow and stern and flaring sides

Bates·ian ['bāt-sē-ən] -adj

  1. characterized by or being mimicry involving resemblance of an innocuous species to another that is protected from predators by repellent qualities (as unpalatability)
    • a Batesian mimic

bat·fish ['bat-,fish] -n

  1. any of several fishes with winglike processes
  2. any of a family (Ogcocephalidae of the order Lophiiformes) of flattened pediculate bony fishes

bat·fowl [-,fau̇(-ə)l] -vi

  1. to catch birds at night by blinding them with a light and knocking them down with a stick or netting them

bat girl -n

  1. a girl or woman employed to look after the equipment (as bats) of a baseball team

bath ['bath, 'bäth] -n

  1. a washing or soaking (as in water or steam) of all or part of the body
  2. water used for bathing
  3. a contained liquid for a special purpose
  4. a receptacle holding the liquid
  5. a medium for regulating the temperature of something placed in or on it
  6. a vessel containing this medium
  7. bathroom
  8. a building containing an apartment or a series of rooms designed for bathing
  9. spa usu. used in pl.
  10. swimming pool often used in pl.
  11. the quality or state of being covered with a liquid
  12. flood
  13. bathtub
  14. a financial setback : loss
    • took a bath in the market
  15. to give a bath to
  16. to take a bath
  17. an ancient Hebrew liquid measure corresponding to the ephah of dry measure

bath chair ['bath-, 'bäth-] -n

  1. a hooded and sometimes glassed wheeled chair used esp. by invalids
  2. wheelchair

bathe ['bāth] -vb, n

  1. moisten, wet
  2. to wash in a liquid (as water)
  3. to apply water or a liquid medicament to
  4. to flow along the edge of : lave
  5. to suffuse with or as if with light
  6. to take a bath
  7. to go swimming
  8. to become immersed or absorbed
  9. bath
  10. swim, dip

ba·thet·ic [bə-'the-tik] -adj, adv

  1. characterized by bathos

bath·house ['bath-,hau̇s, 'bäth-] -n

  1. a building equipped for bathing
  2. a building containing dressing rooms for bathers

bathing beauty -n

  1. a woman in a bathing suit who is a contestant in a beauty contest

bathing suit -n

  1. swimsuit

bath mat -n

  1. a usu. washable mat used in a bathroom

bath·o·lith ['ba-thə-,lith] -n, adj

  1. a great mass of intruded igneous rock that for the most part stopped in its rise a considerable distance below the surface

ba·thos ['bā-,thäs] -n

  1. the sudden appearance of the commonplace in otherwise elevated matter or style
  2. anticlimax
  3. exceptional commonplaceness : triteness
  4. insincere or overdone pathos : sentimentalism

bath·robe ['bath-,rōb, 'bäth-] -n

  1. a loose often absorbent robe worn before and after bathing or as a dressing gown

bath·room [-,rüm, -,ru̇m] -n

  1. a room containing a bathtub or shower and usu. a sink and toilet
  2. lavatory

bath salts -n pl

  1. a usu. colored crystalline compound for perfuming and softening bathwater

bath·tub [-,təb] -n

  1. a usu. fixed tub for bathing

bathtub gin -n

  1. a homemade spirit concocted from raw alcohol, water, essences, and essential oils

bath·wa·ter ['bath-,wȯ-tər, 'bäth-, -,wä-tər] -n

  1. water for a bath

bathy- -comb form

  1. deep : depth
    • bathy al
  2. deep-sea
    • bathy sphere

bathy·al ['ba-thē-əl] -adj

  1. of or relating to the ocean depths or floor usu. from 600 to 6000 feet (180 to 1800 meters)

ba·thym·e·try [bə-'thi-mə-trē] -n, adj, adv

  1. the measurement of water depth at various places in a body of water
  2. the information derived from such measurements

bathy·pe·lag·ic [,ba-thi-pə-'la-jik] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or living in the ocean depths esp. between approximately 2000 and 12,000 feet (600 and 3600 meters)

bathy·scaphe ['ba-thi-,skaf, -,skāf] -n

  1. a navigable submersible for deep-sea exploration having a spherical watertight cabin attached to its underside

bathy·sphere [-,sfir] -n

  1. a strongly built steel diving sphere for deep-sea observation

bathy·ther·mo·graph [-'thər-mə-,graf] -n

  1. an instrument designed to record water temperature as a function of depth

ba·tik [bə-'tēk, 'ba-tik] -n

  1. a fabric printed by an Indonesian method of hand-printing textiles by coating with wax the parts not to be dyed
  2. the method itself
  3. a design executed in batik

bat·ing ['bā-tiŋ] -prep

  1. with the exception of : excepting

ba·tiste [bə-'tēst, ba-] -n

  1. a fine soft sheer fabric of plain weave made of various fibers

bat·man ['bat-mən] -n

  1. an orderly of a British military officer

bat mitz·vah [bät-'mits-və] -n

  1. a Jewish girl who at 12 or more years of age assumes religious responsibilities
  2. the initiatory ceremony recognizing a girl as a bat mitzvah

bat mitzvah -vt

  1. to administer the ceremony of bat mitzvah to

ba·ton [bə-'tän, ba- also 'ba-tᵊn] -n

  1. cudgel, truncheon
  2. billy club
  3. a staff borne as a symbol of office
  4. a narrow heraldic bend
  5. a slender rod with which a leader directs a band or orchestra
  6. a hollow cylinder carried by each member of a relay team and passed to the succeeding runner
  7. a hollow metal rod with a weighted bulb at one or both ends that is flourished or twirled by a drum major or drum majorette

bat out -vt

  1. to compose esp. in a casual, careless, or hurried manner
    • batted out a first draft of the memo

ba·tra·chi·an [bə-'trā-kē-ən] -n, adj

  1. amphibian
  2. frog, toad

bat ray -n

  1. a stingray ( Myliobatis californica) of coastal waters from Oregon to the Gulf of California having two long pectoral fins and a large protruding head

bats ['bats] -adj

  1. batty

bats·man ['bats-mən] -n

  1. a batter esp. in cricket

batt ['bat] -n

  1. batting
  2. an often square piece of batting

bat·tai·lous ['ba-tᵊl-əs] -adj

  1. ready for battle : warlike

bat·ta·lia [bə-'tāl-yə, -'tal-] -n

  1. order of battle
  2. a large body of men in battle array

bat·tal·ion [bə-'tal-yən] -n

  1. a considerable body of troops organized to act together : army
  2. a military unit composed of a headquarters and two or more companies, batteries, or similar units
  3. a large group

batteau [ba-'tō] -n

(variant of bateau)

  1. any of various small craft
  2. a flat-bottomed boat with raked bow and stern and flaring sides

bat·te·ment [,bat-'mäⁿ] -n

  1. a ballet movement in which the foot is extended in any direction usu. followed by a beat against the supporting foot

bat·ten ['ba-tᵊn] -vb

  1. to grow fat
  2. to feed gluttonously
  3. to grow prosperous esp. at the expense of another usu. used with on
  4. fatten

batten -n

  1. a piece of lumber used esp. for flooring
  2. a thin narrow strip of lumber used esp. to seal or reinforce a joint
  3. a strip, bar, or support resembling or used similarly to a batten (as in a sail)
  4. to furnish with battens
  5. to fasten with or as if with battens often used with down
  6. to make one secure by or as if by battens
    • batten ing down for the hurricane

bat·ter ['ba-tər] -vb, n

  1. to beat with successive blows so as to bruise, shatter, or demolish
  2. bombard
  3. to subject to strong, overwhelming, or repeated attack
    • batter ed by forces of change
  4. to wear or damage by hard usage or blows
    • a batter ed old hat
  5. to strike heavily and repeatedly : beat

batter -n

  1. a mixture consisting chiefly of flour, egg, and milk or water and being thin enough to pour or drop from a spoon
  2. a mixture (as of flour and egg) used as a coating for food that is to be fried
  3. an instance of battering
  4. to coat (food) with batter for frying
  5. a receding upward slope of the outer face of a structure
  6. to give a receding upward slope to (as a wall)
  7. one that bats
  8. the player whose turn it is to bat

battered child syndrome -n

  1. the complex of physical injuries sustained by a grossly abused child

battered woman syndrome -n

  1. the highly variable symptom complex of physical and psychological injuries exhibited by a woman repeatedly abused esp. physically by her mate called also battered woman's syndrome battered wife syndrome battered women's syndrome

bat·te·rie [,ba-tə-'rē] -n

  1. a ballet movement consisting of beating together the feet or calves of the legs during a leap

battering ram -n

  1. a military siege engine consisting of a large wooden beam with a head of iron used in ancient times to beat down the walls of a besieged place
  2. a heavy metal bar with handles used (as by firefighters) to batter down doors and walls

bat·tery ['ba-t(ə-)rē] -n

  1. the act of battering or beating
  2. an offensive touching or use of force on a person without the person's consent
  3. a grouping of artillery pieces for tactical purposes
  4. the guns of a warship
  5. an artillery unit in the army equivalent to a company
  6. a combination of apparatus for producing a single electrical effect
  7. a group of two or more cells connected together to furnish electric current
  8. a single cell that furnishes electric current
    • a flashlight battery
  9. level of energy or enthusiasm
    • needs a vacation to recharge her batteries
  10. a number of similar articles, items, or devices arranged, connected, or used together : set, series
    • a battery of tests
  11. a usu. impressive or imposing group : array
  12. the position of readiness of a gun for firing
  13. the pitcher and catcher of a baseball team

bat·ting ['ba-tiŋ] -n

  1. the action of one who bats
  2. the use of or ability with a bat
  3. layers or sheets of raw cotton or wool or of synthetic fibrous material used for lining quilts or for stuffing or packaging
  4. a blanket of thermal insulation (as fiberglass)

batting average -n

  1. a ratio (as a rate per thousand) of base hits to official times at bat for a baseball player
  2. a record of achievement or accomplishment

batting cage -n

  1. a screen placed around the back and sides of the home plate area to stop baseballs during batting practice

bat·tle ['ba-tᵊl] -n

  1. battalion
  2. a combat between two persons
  3. a general encounter between armies, ships of war, or aircraft
  4. an extended contest, struggle, or controversy
    • a battle of wits

battle ['bat-liŋ, 'ba-tᵊl-iŋ] -vb, n

  1. to engage in battle : fight
  2. to contend with full strength, vigor, skill, or resources : struggle
  3. to fight or struggle against
  4. to force (as one's way) by battling
  5. to fortify with battlements

bat·tleax ['ba-tᵊl-,aks] -n

  1. a broadax formerly used as a weapon of war
  2. a usu. older woman who is sharp-tongued, domineering, or combative

battle cruiser -n

  1. a large heavily armed warship that is lighter, faster, and more maneuverable than a battleship

battle cry -n

  1. war cry

battle dress uniform -n

  1. a military uniform for field service

battle fatigue -n, adj

  1. combat fatigue

bat·tle·field ['ba-tᵊl-,fēld] -n

  1. a place where a battle is fought
  2. an area of conflict

bat·tle·front [-,frənt] -n

  1. the military sector in which actual combat takes place

bat·tle·ground [-,grau̇nd] -n

  1. battlefield

battle line -n

  1. a line along which a battle is fought
  2. a line defining the positions of opposing groups in a conflict or controversy usu. used in pl.
    • battle lines were drawn over economic policies

bat·tle·ment ['ba-tᵊl-mənt] -n, adj

  1. a parapet with open spaces that surmounts a wall and is used for defense or decoration

battle royal -n

  1. a fight participated in by more than two combatants
  2. one in which the last man in the ring or on his feet is declared the winner
  3. a violent struggle
  4. a heated dispute

bat·tle·ship ['ba-tᵊl-,ship] -n

  1. a warship of the largest and most heavily armed and armored class

bat·tle·wag·on [-,wa-gən] -n

  1. battleship

bat·tu [ba-'tü, -'tyü] -adj

  1. performed with a striking together of the legs

bat·tue [ba-'tü, -'tyü] -n

  1. the beating of woods and bushes to flush game
  2. a hunt in which this procedure is used

bat·ty ['ba-tē] -adj, n

  1. of, relating to, or resembling a bat
  2. mentally unstable : crazy

bau·ble ['bȯ-bəl, 'bä-] -n

  1. trinket
  2. a fool's scepter
  3. something of trifling appeal

Bau·cis ['bȯ-səs] -n

  1. the wife of Philemon

baud ['bȯd, 'bäd, Brit 'bōd] -n

  1. a variable unit of data transmission speed (as one bit per second)

Bau·haus ['bau̇-,hau̇s] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or influenced by a school of design noted esp. for a program that synthesized technology, craftsmanship, and design aesthetics

bau·hin·ia [bō-'i-nē-ə, -'hi-, bȯ-] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Bauhinia) of leguminous vines, shrubs, and trees of the legume family that grow in tropical and subtropical regions and include some that are grown esp. for their fragrant orchid-like flowers

baulk ['bȯk sometimes 'bȯlk] -n

(variant of balk)

  1. a ridge of land left unplowed as a dividing line or through carelessness
  2. beam, rafter
  3. hindrance, check
  4. the space behind the balkline on a billiard table
  5. any of the outside divisions made by the balklines
  6. failure of a player to complete a motion
  7. an illegal motion of the pitcher in baseball while in position
  8. to pass over or by
  9. to check or stop by or as if by an obstacle : block
  10. to stop short and refuse to proceed
  11. to refuse abruptly used with at
    • Congress balk ed at putting up the money -- Thomas Fleming
  12. to commit a balk in sports

Bau·me [bō-'mā] -adj

  1. being, calibrated in accordance with, or according to either of two arbitrary hydrometer scales for liquids lighter than water or for liquids heavier than water that indicate specific gravity in degrees

baum marten ['bau̇m-,mär-tᵊn] -n

  1. the pelt or fur of the European marten ( Martes martes)

baux·ite ['bȯk-,sīt, 'bäk-] -n, adj

  1. an impure mixture of earthy hydrous aluminum oxides and hydroxides that is the principal source of aluminum

Bav -abbr

  1. Bavaria; Bavarian

Ba·var·i·an [bə-'ver-ē-ən] -n, adj

  1. a native or inhabitant of Bavaria
  2. the High German dialect of southern Bavaria and Austria

Bavarian cream -n

  1. flavored custard or pureed fruit combined with gelatin and whipped cream

baw·bee ['bȯ-(,)bē, bȯ-'] -n

  1. any of various Scottish coins of small value
  2. an English halfpenny

baw·cock ['bȯ-,käk] -n

  1. a fine fellow

bawd ['bȯd] -n

  1. pander
  2. one who keeps a house of prostitution : madam
  3. prostitute

bawd·ry ['bȯ-drē] -n

  1. unchastity
  2. suggestive, coarse, or obscene language

bawdy ['bȯ-dē] -adj, adv, n

  1. obscene, lewd
  2. boisterously or humorously indecent
  3. bawdry

bawdy house -n

  1. bordello

bawl ['bȯl] -vb, n

  1. to cry out loudly and unrestrainedly
  2. to cry loudly : wail
  3. to cry out at the top of one's voice
  4. a loud prolonged cry : outcry

bawl out -vt

  1. to reprimand loudly or severely

bay ['bā] -adj

  1. reddish brown
    • a bay mare
  2. a bay-colored animal
  3. a horse with a bay-colored body and black mane, tail, and points
  4. a reddish brown
  5. a principal compartment of the walls, roof, or other part of a building or of the whole building
  6. a main division of a structure
  7. any of various compartments or sections used for a special purpose (as in an airplane, spacecraft, or service station)
    • a bomb bay
    • a cargo bay
  8. bay window
  9. a support or housing for electronic equipment
  10. to bark with prolonged tones
    • dogs bay ing at the moon
  11. to cry out : shout
  12. to bark at
  13. to bring to bay
  14. to pursue with barking
  15. to utter in deep prolonged tones
  16. a baying of dogs
  17. the position of one unable to retreat and forced to face danger
    • brought his quarry to bay
  18. the position of one checked
    • police kept the rioters at bay
  19. an inlet of the sea or other body of water usu. smaller than a gulf
  20. a small body of water set off from the main body
  21. any of various terrestrial formations resembling a bay of the sea
  22. laurel
  23. any of several shrubs or trees (as the red bay or sweet bay) resembling the laurel
  24. a garland or crown esp. of laurel given as a prize for victory or excellence
  25. honor, fame usu. used in pl.

ba·ya·dere ['bī-ə-,dir, -,der] -n

  1. a fabric with horizontal stripes in strongly contrasted colors

bay·ber·ry ['bā-,ber-ē, -,be-rē] -n

  1. any of several wax myrtles
  2. a hardy shrub ( Myrica pensylvanica) of coastal eastern No. America bearing dense clusters of small berries covered with grayish-white wax
  3. the fruit of a bayberry

Bayes·ian ['bā-zē-ən, -zhən] -adj

  1. being, relating to, or involving statistical methods that assign probabilities or distributions to events (as rain tomorrow) or parameters (as a population mean) based on experience or best guesses before experimentation and data collection and that apply Bayes' theorem to revise the probabilities and distributions after obtaining experimental data

Bayes' theorem ['bāz-] -n

  1. a theorem about conditional probabilities: the probability that an event A occurs given that another event B has already occurred is equal to the probability that the event B occurs given that A has already occurred multiplied by the probability of occurrence of event A and divided by the probability of occurrence of event B

bay leaf -n

  1. the dried leaf of the European laurel ( Laurus nobilis) used in cooking

bay·man ['bā-mən, -,man] -n

  1. a person and esp. a fisherman who lives or works on or about a bay

bay·o·net ['bā-ə-nət, -,net, ,bā-ə-'net] -n

  1. a steel blade attached at the muzzle end of a shoulder arm (as a rifle) and used in hand-to-hand combat

bayonet -vb

  1. to stab with a bayonet
  2. to compel or drive by or as if by the bayonet
  3. to use a bayonet

bay·ou ['bī-(,)ü, -(,)ō] -n

  1. a creek, secondary watercourse, or minor river that is tributary to another body of water
  2. any of various usu. marshy or sluggish bodies of water

bay rum -n

  1. a fragrant cosmetic and medicinal liquid distilled from the leaves of a West Indian bay tree ( Pimenta racemosa) of the myrtle family or usu. prepared from essential oils, alcohol, and water

bay scallop -n

  1. a scallop ( Argopecten irradians) of U.S. coastal and estuarine waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico that is harvested commercially for food

Bay Stat·er ['bā-,stā-tər] -n

  1. a native or resident of Massachusetts used as a nickname

bay window -n

  1. a window or series of windows forming a bay in a room and projecting outward from the wall
  2. potbelly

ba·zaar [bə-'zär] -n

  1. a market (as in the Middle East) consisting of rows of shops or stalls selling miscellaneous goods
  2. a place for the sale of goods
  3. department store
  4. a fair for the sale of articles esp. for charitable purposes

ba·zoo·ka [bə-'zü-kə] -n

  1. a light portable antitank weapon consisting of an open-breech smoothbore firing tube that launches an armor-piercing rocket and is fired from the shoulder