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Bay of Pigs, the
opposing or competing groups, or against an undesirable situation: *a battle for power between the President's closest advisers* | *The two companies are engaged in a legal battle over the ownership of the land.* | *the battle against disease and poverty* | *The negotiations were a real battle of wits between the two sides. (=a struggle to see who was the most clever)* | *Today's football game will be a battle of the giants between the two strongest teams in the country.* $\rightarrow$ see also half the battle (HALF) **3 win a battle but lose the war** to get one of many results you want or win one part of an argument, but still fail to achieve the larger and more important aim: *Don't get into conflict with your boss - if you win a battle you're likely to lose the war.* | *They had won the battle to keep their jobs, but they lost the war, and the factory closed in a year.* **4 be/fight a losing battle** to keep trying to do something that you cannot succeed in doing: *It's important to fight back against an illness, even if you're fighting a losing battle.* | *We try to teach our kids to respect our traditions, but with TV and pop music it's a losing battle.*
**battle$^2$** *v* [I] **1** to take part in a struggle, especially when trying to gain something or get somewhere: [+adv/prep] *The mountaineers battled on in spite of the bad weather conditions.* | *women battling for equal rights* | *After a sleepless night battling with her conscience, she decided to admit the truth.* | [+to-v] *The firemen battled to control the flames.* | **2** battling to keep control of his company to take part in a battle; fight: *The two armies battled (with each other) for half an hour.*
**bat·tle-axe** *BrE* $\|$-ax *AmE* /'bætl-æks/ *n* **1** a heavy AXE formerly used as a weapon **2** *infml* a fierce argumentative woman: *My boss is a real old battleaxe.*
**battle ,cruiser** *n* a large fast warship with heavy guns, but with lighter armour than a BATTLESHIP
**battle cry** *n* a WAR CRY
**bat·tle-dress** /'bætldres/ *n* [U] also **'battle ,fatigues** *BrE* [P] clothes worn by soldiers when they are fighting
**battle fa,tigue** also **combat fatigue** *n* [U] a type of mental illness in which a person suffers from severe anxiety and DEPRESSION caused by the shock of being involved in a battle
**bat·tle·field** /'bætlfiːld/ also **bat·tle·ground** /-graʊnd/ *n* a place at which a battle is or has been fought: (*fig.*) *a political battlefield (=area of disagreement)*
**bat·tle·ments** /'bætlmənts/ *n* [P] a low wall round the flat roof of a castle or fort, with spaces to shoot through $\rightarrow$ see picture at CASTLE
**Battle of 'Britain, the** the name used for the fights between German and British aircraft during the summer and autumn of 1940, when British aircraft tried to prevent German aircraft from repeatedly dropping bombs on British cities. The bombing was stopped at the end of 1940, and British people considered this to be a great victory. Winston Churchill praised the PILOTS in the British Air Force who fought in this battle by saying, 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.'
**Battle of the 'Boyne** $\rightarrow$ see BOYNE, THE BATTLE OF THE
**Battle of the 'Bulge, the 1** *humor* an attempt to lose weight or prevent yourself from becoming fatter **2** the last main attack by the German army during World War II, when they surrounded the Allies' army in Belgium in 1944
**battle 'royal** *n fml* or *lit* a fierce battle or struggle
**bat·tle·ship** /'bætļʃɪp/ *n* the largest kind of warship, with the biggest guns and heaviest armour
**battleship 'grey** *BrE*; **battleship gray** *AmE* - *n* [U] a medium grey colour —**battleship grey** *adj*
**bat·ty** /'bæti/ *adj infml* slightly mad; CRAZY or ECCENTRIC —**battiness** *n* [U]
**Batty, No·ra** /'nɔːrə/ a character in the humorous British television programme *Last of the Summer Wine*. She is an old woman who is always getting angry and who is known especially for having STOCKINGS that do not fit properly and are always loose around her ANKLES.
**bau·ble** /'bɔːbļ/ *n often derog* **1** a cheap jewel **2** *BrE* a decoration that looks like a small ball and is used to decorate a Christmas tree
**baud** /bɔːd/ *n pl.* **baud** *tech* a measure of the speed at which information is sent to or from a computer, for example through a telephone line. One baud equals one BIT of information per second.
**Bau·haus** /'baʊhaʊs/ *n* a modern style of ARCHITECTURE and design originally taught at the Bauhaus school in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. Bauhaus buildings are known for being simple and FUNCTIONAL (=designed to be useful rather than beautiful or decorative), and for being made with steel and CONCRETE, and this style has greatly influenced many modern ARCHITECTS and artists. —**Bauhaus** *adj*
**baulk** /bɔːk, bɔːlk/ *n, v BrE* for BALK
**Baum, L. Frank** /bɔːm, baːm/ (1856-1919) a US writer who wrote the book *The Wonderful Wizard of Oz*
**baux·ite** /'bɔːksart/ *n* [U] the ORE from which ALUMINIUM is made
**Ba·va·ri·a** /bə'veəriə/ a PROVINCE in southeast Germany whose capital is Munich. Bavaria is called 'Bayern' in German.
**bawd** /bɔːd/ *n old use* or *lit* a woman who keeps a house of PROSTITUTES
**bawd·y** /'bɔːdi/ *adj* about sex in a rude funny way: *bawdy jokes* —**ily** *adv* —**iness** *n* [U]
**'bawdy house** *n old use* a place where men pay to have sex with women; a BROTHEL
**bawl** /bɔːl/ *v* **1** [I;T(OUT)] to shout in a loud rough voice: *He bawled at me/bawled for his dinner.* | *The captain bawled (out) an order.* **2** [I] to cry noisily: *I couldn't sleep because the baby wouldn't stop bawling.*
**bawl sbdy. $\Leftrightarrow$ out** *phr v* [T] *AmE infml* to speak to angrily; REPRIMAND: *She bawled me out for being late.*
**bay$^1$** /beɪ/ *n* (often cap. as part of a name) a wide opening along a coast; part of the sea or of a large lake enclosed in a curve of the land: *The village overlooks a quiet little bay.* | *Botany Bay in Australia* | *the Bay of Biscay*
**bay$^2$** also **'bay tree** *n* a tree like the LAUREL whose sweet-smelling leaves can be used in cooking: *Add a bay leaf to the soup.*
**bay$^3$** *n* **1** any of the parts into which a large room or building is divided down the sides by walls, shelves etc: *In the library, the books on history are all kept in one bay.* | *There's a loading bay at the back of the warehouse.* | *a parking bay in a multi-storey car park* **2** a side track at a railway station $\rightarrow$ see also BAY WINDOW, SICKBAY
**bay$^4$** *v* [I] **1** to make repeatedly the long deep cry of a HOUND (=a large hunting dog) **2 bay BrE** $\|$-bark *AmE* (at) the moon to make a great effort to do something worthless
**bay$^5$** *n* [S] **1** the long deep cry of a HOUND **2 hold/keep at bay** to keep (an enemy or something unwanted) some distance away: *He kept me at bay with a long knife.* | (*fig.*) *We managed to hold our creditors at bay by borrowing some more money from the bank.*
**bay$^6$** *n, adj* (a horse whose colour is) reddish brown
**'Bay ,Area, the** the area of land around the San Francisco Bay in California, including cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Palo Alto, and San José
**'Bay ,Bridge, the** a bridge connecting San Francisco and Oakland, which was built in the 1930s. It has two levels, and is famous as a SYMBOL of San Francisco.
**Bay·er As·pi·rin** /,beɪər 'æsprən/ trademark a popular type of ASPIRIN (=medicine to stop pain) sold in the US
**Bay·eux Tap·es·try, the** /,baɪəː 'tæpəstri; baɪ,uː-/ a TAPESTRY (=large piece of heavy woven cloth) made in Bayeux, northern France in the 11th or 12th century, whose pictures tell the story of the NORMAN CONQUEST of England in 1066
**Bay of Bis·cay** /,beɪ əv 'bɪskeɪ/ a large area of sea between the west coast of France and the north coast of Spain, which is known for its very bad weather
**'Bay of 'Pigs, the** an area on the south coast of Cuba which is famous for a military attack that took place in 1961. A group of Cubans living in the US tried to enter Cuba with the aim of ending the government of Fidel CASTRO. They were trained and supported by the US, but the attack failed and they were all put into prison or killed. $\rightarrow$ see also CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS