blurt out blurts out, blurting out, blurted out
VERB If you blurt out something, you say it suddenly, after trying to keep it a secret.
blush blushes, blushing, blushed
VERB If you blush, your face becomes red, because you are embarrassed or ashamed.
[from Old English blyscan meaning to glow]
boa boas
NOUN a large snake that kills its prey by coiling round it and crushing it
boar boars
NOUN 1 a male wild pig
2 a male domestic pig used for breeding
board boards, boarding, boarded
NOUN 1 a long, flat piece of wood
2 a flat piece of wood, plastic or cardboard, which is used for a particular purpose a chessboard a surfboard
3 the group of people who control a company or organization My mum is on the board of governors.
4 the meals provided when you stay in a hotel or guesthouse The price includes full board.
VERB 5 If you board a ship or aircraft, you get on it or in it.
PHRASE 6 If you are on board a ship or aircraft, you are on it or in it.
Do not confuse board with bored.
boarder boarders
NOUN 1 a pupil who lives at school during term
2 a lodger
boast boasts, boasting, boasted
VERB If you boast, you talk proudly about what you have or what you can do.
SYNONYM: brag
boat boats
NOUN a small vehicle for travelling across water
body bodies
NOUN 1 Your body is all of you, from your head to your feet.
2 You can say body when you mean just the main part of a human or other animal, not counting head, arms and legs.
bodyguard bodyguards
NOUN a person employed to protect someone
bog bogs
NOUN an area of wet, spongy ground
boil boils, boiling, boiled
VERB 1 When a hot liquid boils, or when you boil it, it starts to bubble and to give off steam.
2 When you boil food, you cook it in boiling water.
boiler boilers
NOUN a piece of equipment that burns fuel to provide hot water
boisterous
ADJECTIVE Someone who is boisterous is noisy and lively.
SYNONYMS: loud, rowdy
boisterously ADVERB
bold bolder, boldest
ADJECTIVE 1 brave or confident He was bold enough to ask for her autograph.
2 clear and noticeable The sign was painted in bold colours.
[from Old Norse ballr meaning dangerous or terrible]
bollard bollards
NOUN a short, thick post used to stop vehicles from entering a road
[from Old Norse ballr meaning dangerous or terrible]
bollard bollards
NOUN a short, thick post used to stop vehicles from entering a road
bolt bolts, bolting, bolted
NOUN 1 a metal object that screws into a nut and is used to fasten things together
VERB 2 If you bolt one thing to another, you fasten them together using a bolt. They bolted the chair to the floor.
3 If you bolt a door or window, you slide a metal bar across in order to fasten it.
bomb bombs, bombing, bombed
NOUN 1 a container filled with material that explodes when it hits something or when it is set off by a timer
VERB 2 If you bomb something, you attack it with a bomb.
[from Greek bombos meaning a booming sound]
bond bonds
NOUN a close relationship between people the bond between mothers and babies
bone bones
NOUN the hard parts that form the framework of a persons or animals body
bonfire bonfires
NOUN a large fire made outdoors, to burn rubbish or to celebrate something
[from bone + fire bones were used as fuel in the Middle Ages]
bonnet bonnets
NOUN 1 the metal cover over a cars engine
2 a babys or womans hat tied under the chin
bonus bonuses
NOUN 1 an amount of money added to a persons usual pay
2 a good thing that you get in addition to something else
bony bonier, boniest
ADJECTIVE Bony people or animals are very thin, with not much flesh covering their bones.
book books, booking, booked
NOUN 1 a number of pages held together inside a cover
VERB 2 When you book something, you arrange to have it or use it at a particular time. Mum booked two rooms at the hotel.
bookcase bookcases
NOUN a piece of furniture where you keep books
booklet booklets
NOUN a small book with a paper cover
boom booms, booming, boomed
NOUN 1 a deep, echoing sound
2 a fast increase in something There has been a boom in the sale of sun cream this summer.
VERB 3 If something booms, it makes a loud booming sound. We heard the foghorn boom in the distance.
boomerang boomerangs
NOUN a curved, wooden missile that can be thrown so that it returns to the thrower. Boomerangs were traditionally used as weapons by Australian Aborigines.
boost boosts, boosting, boosted
VERB If someone boosts something, they improve or increase it. The teacher boosted Juliets confidence when she praised her story.
boot boots
NOUN 1 strong shoes that come up over your ankle, and sometimes your calf
2 the covered space in a car, usually at the back, for carrying things in
booth booths
NOUN 1 a small, partly-enclosed area a telephone booth
2 a stall where you can buy things, for example at a market or a fair
border borders
NOUN 1 the dividing line between two countries
2 a strip or band round the edge of something
3 flower beds round the edges of a garden
borderline borderlines
NOUN If someone or something is on the borderline, they are on the division between two different categories.
bore bores, boring, bored
VERB 1 If something bores you, you find it dull and uninteresting.
2 If you bore a hole in something, you make it using a tool such as a drill.
3 the past tense of bear
NOUN 4 someone or something that bores you
bored
ADJECTIVE If you are bored, you are miserable because you have nothing interesting to do.
Do not confuse bored with board.
boring
ADJECTIVE dull and uninteresting
ANTONYM: interesting
born
VERB When an animal such as a human baby is born, it comes out of its mothers body and starts to live.
borrow borrows, borrowing, borrowed
VERB If you borrow something that belongs to someone else, they let you have it for a period of time. I borrowed a book from my friend.
boss bosses, bossing, bossed
NOUN 1 Someones boss is the person in charge of the place where they work.
VERB 2 If someone bosses you, they keep telling you what to do.
bossy bossier, bossiest
ADJECTIVE If you are bossy, you like to order other people around.
botany
NOUN the study and classification of plants
both
ADJECTIVE OR PRONOUN Both is used when saying something about two things or two people. You can both come to my party.
bother bothers, bothering, bothered
VERB 1 If you dont bother to do something, you dont do it because it takes too much effort or its not important.
2 If something bothers you, you are worried about it.
3 If you are not bothered about something, you dont care about it.
4 If you bother someone, you interrupt them when they are busy.
NOUN 5 trouble, fuss or difficulty Mums having a bit of bother with the car.
bottle bottles, bottling, bottled
NOUN 1 a glass or plastic container for keeping liquids in
VERB 2 If you bottle something, you put it in a bottle to store it.
bottom bottoms
NOUN 1 the lowest part of something It sank to the bottom of the pond.
2 Your bottom is the part of your body that you sit on.
bottomless
ADJECTIVE If something is bottomless, it has no bottom or it is very deep.
bough boughs
Rhymes with cow NOUN a large branch of a tree
bought
VERB the past tense and past participle of buy
Do not confuse bought with brought.
boulder boulders
NOUN a large, rounded rock
bounce bounces, bouncing, bounced
VERB When an object bounces, it springs back from something after hitting it. The ball bounced high off the ground.
bound bounds, bounding, bounded
ADJECTIVE 1 If you say that something is bound to happen, you mean that it is certain to happen. Hes bound to find out.
NOUN 2 a large leap
VERB 3 When humans or other animals bound, they move quickly with large leaps.
boundary boundaries
NOUN the limit of an area
bouquet bouquets
NOUN an attractively arranged bunch of flowers
bout bouts
NOUN 1 something that lasts for a short period of time I had a bout of flu.
2 a boxing or wrestling match
boutique boutiques
NOUN a small shop that sells fashionable clothes
bow bows, bowing, bowed
Rhymes with now VERB 1 When you bow, you bend your body or lower your head as a sign of respect or greeting.
NOUN 2 the movement you make when you bow
3 the front part of a ship
Rhymes with low NOUN 4 a knot with two loops and two loose ends The ribbon was tied in a bow.
5 a long, thin piece of wood with horsehair strings stretched along it, used to play some stringed instruments, such as the violin and the cello
6 a long, flexible piece of wood used for shooting arrows
bowel bowels
NOUN the tubes leading from your stomach, through which waste passes before it leaves your body
[from Latin botellus meaning little sausage]
bowl bowls, bowling, bowled
NOUN 1 a round container with a wide, uncovered top, used for holding liquid or for serving food a bowl of soup
2 the hollow, rounded part of something a toilet bowl
VERB 3 When you bowl in cricket and rounders, you throw the ball towards the batsman.
bowling
NOUN a game in which you roll a heavy ball down a narrow track towards a set of wooden objects called pins, and try to knock them down
bowls
NOUN a game in which the players try to roll large wooden balls as near as possible to a small ball
box boxes, boxing, boxed
NOUN 1 a container with a firm base and sides, and usually a lid
VERB 2 If someone boxes, they fight according to special rules.
boxer boxers
NOUN 1 a person who boxes
2 a medium-sized, smooth-haired dog with a flat face
Boxing Day
NOUN the day after Christmas Day
boy boys
NOUN a male child
boyfriend boyfriends
NOUN Someones boyfriend is the man or boy with whom they are having a romantic relationship.
bra bras
NOUN a piece of underwear worn by a woman to support her breasts
brace braces, bracing, braced
NOUN 1 an object fixed to something to straighten or support it I wore a brace on my teeth for two years.
PLURAL NOUN 2 Braces are elastic straps worn over the shoulders to hold trousers up.
VERB 3 If you brace yourself, you stiffen your body to steady yourself. We braced ourselves as the bus went round the corner.
4 If you brace yourself for something unpleasant, you prepare yourself to deal with it.
bracelet bracelets
NOUN a chain or band worn around someones wrist as an ornament
[from Old French bracel meaning little arm]
bracken
NOUN a plant like a large fern that grows on hills and in woods
bracket brackets
NOUN a pair of written marks, ( ), { } or [ ], placed round a word or sentence that is not part of the main text, or to show that the items inside the brackets belong together