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bobbing its head up and down 2 [T] (of a woman, especially in former times) to make a CURTSY quickly 3 bob for apples to try to pick up apples floating in water using only your mouth and not your hands. It is done especially at Hallowe'en parties for children. —bob n
bob up phr v [I] to appear or reappear quickly or suddenly: *If you try to sink an apple in water it keeps bobbing up to the surface.* | *I haven't seen him around for a while, but I'm sure he'll bob up again soon.*
bob² n pl. bob infml old-fash a former British coin; the SHILLING (=5p): *It'll cost you ten bob.*
bob³ v -bb- [T] to cut (a woman's hair) so as to be hanging loosely to shoulder-length or shorter: *to have one's hair bobbed* —bob n: *to wear one's hair in a bob*
Bob n Bob's your uncle! BrE infml used to say that something will be easy to do: *Just copy the disk, and Bob's your uncle!*
bob·bin /'bɒbɪn||'bɑː-/ n a small round stick or tube on which thread is wound, as in a sewing machine $\rightarrow$ compare REEL
Bob·bitt, Lo·re·na /'bɒbɪt||'bɑː-, lə'reɪnə/ (1969-) a US woman who became famous in 1993 for cutting off her husband's PENIS
bob·ble¹ /'bɒbəl||'bɑː-/ n BrE a small, often FLUFFY ball (of wool etc) used for decoration: *cushions with bobbles on them* | *a bobble hat (=with a bobble on its top)*
bobble² v [T] AmE to drop or handle something awkwardly, especially a ball; FUMBLE: *The shortstop bobbled the ball and the runner ran home.*
bob·by /'bɒbi'bɑːbi/ n BrE infml, becoming rare a policeman: *The Council wants more bobbies on the beat.*
'bobby pin n AmE for HAIRGRIP
'bobby ,socks, bobby sox n [P] AmE girls' socks reaching above the ankle and with the tops turned over. They were fashionable in the 1950s, especially worn with SADDLE SHOES and wide full skirts.
bobby sox·er /'bɒbi ˌsɒksə||'bɑːbi ˌsɑː-/ n AmE old-fash a young girl between the ages of about 13 and 18, especially during the 1950s
bob·cat /'bɒbkæt||'bɑːb-/ n a wild cat of N America
bobs /bɒbz||bɑːbz/ n $\rightarrow$ see bits and bobs (BIT¹)
bob·sleigh /'bɒbsleɪ||'bɑːb-/ also bob·sled /-sled/ n a small vehicle that runs over snow on metal blades, built for racing down an ice-covered track and having a movable front part to control direction —bobsleigh v [I]
bob·tail /'bɒbteɪl||'bɑːb-/ n (a horse or dog with) a tail cut short —-ed adj
Boc·cac·ci·o, Gio·van·ni /bə'kætʃioʊ||-'kɑː-, dʒəʊ'vɑːni/ (1313-75) an Italian writer whose book of stories called THE DECAMERON had an important influence on European literature
Boch·co, Ste·ven /'bɒtʃkoʊ||'bɑːtʃ-, 'stiːvən/ (1943-) a US television writer and PRODUCER (=someone who controls the making of films or television programmes) who made the popular television programmes *Hill St Blues, LA Law, NYPD Blue*, and *Murder One*
Boche, the /vɒʃ||bɑːʃ/ BrE infml a name used for German soldiers during World War I and World War II
bod /bɒd||bɑːd/ n 1 BrE infml a person: *He's a bit of an odd bod.* 2 AmE infml a person's body: *He has a great bod!*
bode¹ /bəʊd/ v bode well/ill (for) especially lit to be a good/bad sign for the future (for): *These early sales figures bode well for the success of the book.*
bode² past tense of BIDE
bo·de·ga /bəʊ'deɪgə/ n AmE a small food store in a city neighbourhood, operated by Spanish-speaking people
bodge /bɒdʒ||bɑːdʒ/ also bodge up n [S] BrE infml a mistake or something that is much worse than it should be: *The builders have made a complete bodge up of the kitchen.*
bod·ice /'bɒdɪs||'bɑː-/ n 1 the part of a woman's dress above the waist 2 old use a woman's undergarment; CORSET
'bodice-,ripper n usually derog a book with a romantic story usually set in the past, containing many love scenes
bod·i·ly¹ /'bɒdɪli||'bɑː-/ adj [A] of the human body; PHYSICAL: *bodily comforts* | *bodily functions* | *The police charged him with grievous bodily harm.*
bodily² adv taking hold of the whole body (or whole thing): *Her son wouldn't move, so she picked him up bodily and carried him to bed.*
bod·kin /'bɒdkɪn||'bɑːd-/ n a long thick needle without a point
Bod·lei·an Li·bra·ry, the /,bɒdliən 'laɪbrəri||,bɑːdliən 'laɪbreri/ the university library of Oxford University, which holds many of the country's oldest and most famous books and papers
bod·y /'bɒdi||'bɑːdi/ n 1 [C] a) the whole physical structure of a person or animal as opposed to the mind or soul: *Her body was covered from head to toe in painful red spots.* | *The murderer buried the body of his victim.* b) this without the head or limbs: *He had a wound on his leg and two more on his body.* 2 [the (of)] the main or largest part of something: *We sat in the body of the hall.* | *Should this information go in the main body of the text, or in the notes at the end?* 3 [C(of)] a large amount: *a body of information* | *The oceans are large bodies of water.* | *There is now a substantial body of opinion that opposes this law (=many people oppose it)* 4 [C(sometimes cap.)] a number of people who do something together in a planned way: *The House of Representatives is an elected body/a legislative body.* | *the governing body of the college* | *a fine body of men* | *They marched in a body/in one body (=all together) to the headmaster's office.* 5 [C] tech an object; piece of matter: *the speed at which a falling body travels* | *The Sun, Moon, and stars are heavenly bodies.* | *a foreign body (=something that should not be there) in one's eye* 6 [C] the frame and outer covering of a car: *The factory produces car bodies, but does not make the engines.* 7 [U] a full strong quality: *I like a wine with plenty of body.* | *This conditioner will give your hair more body.* 8 [C] old-fash infml a person, usually a woman: *Mrs Jones was a dear old body.* 9 keep body and soul together to have enough money, food etc to live on: *She hardly eats enough to keep body and soul together.* 10 over my/his/her dead body (used to show your determination that something will not happen) not if I/he/she etc can prevent it: *You'll come into this house over my dead body.* 11 -bodied /bɒdid||bɑː-/ having the stated kind of body: *big-bodied* | *a wide-bodied jet* $\rightarrow$ see also ABLE-BODIED, FULL-BODIED
USAGE A body consists of someone's arms, legs, head etc and may be healthy, skinny, dead etc: *Eat right and look after your body.* If you say that someone has a lovely/good/beautiful body, this may suggest that you think they are sexually attractive. Your figure is the shape of your body, considered with regard to whether the shape is pleasing or attractive, or whether it suits a particular style of clothes: *She has an excellent figure.* Figure is usually used about women. Build can be used for the size and shape of both men and women: *a man with a heavy build* | *She has a small build.*
'body ,armour BrE || body armor AmE — n [U] special clothing worn by soldiers, the police etc to protect them from bullets
'body bag n AmE a large bag in which the dead body is carried away from the scene of a crime, an accident, or a battle: *Large numbers of body bags coming back from the war would lower support for US action.*
'body blow n 1 (in BOXING) a usually heavy blow that strikes your opponent between the neck and the waist 2 [to] a serious loss, disappointment, or defeat: *His injury was a body blow to our chances of winning the match.*
bod·y·build·er /'bɒdibɪldə||'bɑː-/ n someone, especially a man, who does a lot of hard physical exercise using heavy weights, and develops big muscles —-ing n [U]
'body ,clock n $\rightarrow$ see BIOLOGICAL CLOCK
'body ,count n [S] the number of people killed in a fight or war, or the number of deaths shown in a film
'body ,double n an actor in a film who takes the place of a famous actor during sex scenes
bod·y·guard /'bɒdigɑːd||'bɑːdigɑːrd/ n 1 a man whose job is to guard an important person: *The Queen's bodyguard*