beautiful people
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attractive men, but a handsome woman is good-looking
in a strong healthy way. Good-looking can be used
about men and women, but not usually of things.
Attractive can be used about men, women, and things:
an attractive young man | an attractive pattern. Cute
(especially AmE) is used especially about children and
young people or animals: a cute little boy | Lisa's new
puppy is really cute. -> see also LOVELY (USAGE)
beau·ti·fy /'bju:tIfaI/ v [T] to make beautiful
beau·ty /'bju:ti/ n 1 [U] the qualities in someone or some-
thing that give pleasure to the senses or lift up the mind or
spirit: a woman/a poem of great beauty | the beauty of the
scenery 2 [C] someone (usually female) or something beau-
tiful: His mother was a great beauty. | the beauties of our
city 3 [C] infml someone or something very good (or bad); a
perfect example: That apple is a real beauty. | That black eye
you got in the fight is a beauty! 4 [the (of)] the advantage (of
something); a particularly good quality that makes some-
thing special or valuable: The beauty (of my idea) is that it
would cost so little! 5 a thing of beauty is a joy for ever
quote a phrase from a poem by John Keats 6 Beauty is in the
eye of the beholder saying different people have different
opinions about what is beautiful 7 Beauty is only skin
deep saying a person may be attractive, but they may also be
an unpleasant person underneath
Beauty and the 'Beast an old story about a beautiful
young girl called Beauty, who is forced to live with a frighten-
ing creature called the Beast. She dreams about a beautiful
prince, but the Beast loves her and she gradually begins to
care about him too. He continually asks her to marry him,
and when she finally agrees, he magically becomes the
beautiful prince that he used to be. This story has often been
made into films, including one by Walt Disney, and in the UK
many PANTOMIMES are based on it.
'beauty contest n a competition in which young women
are judged on how attractive they look, and the winner
becomes a BEAUTY QUEEN
CULTURAL NOTE Beauty contests became much less
popular in the 1980s and 1990s, and many people
disapprove of the idea that women should be judged on
their appearance.
'beauty mark n
AmE for BEAUTY SPOT
'beauty parlour also 'beauty salon, /I'l'.. .,./, 'beauty
shop AmE - n a place where women are given beauty
treatments for the face, hair etc
'beauty queen n the winner of a competition in which
women are judged for their beauty
'beauty sleep n [U] usually humor sleep during the early part of
the night, believed to be the best for beauty
'beauty spot n 1 a place known for the beauty of its
scenery 2 also beauty mark AmE a dark-coloured mark on the
skin
Beau·voir, Si·mone de /'bəuvwa:l'bəu'vwa:ı, si'mən
də/ (1908-86) a French writer who had an important influence
on the development of FEMINISM and was also interested in
the ideas of EXISTENTIALISM. Her most famous book is The
Second Sex, but she also wrote several novels. She was for
many years in a relationship with Jean-Paul SARTRE.
bea·ver¹ /'bi:və/ n 1 [C] a water and land animal of the rat
family with a broad flat tail and valuable fur. Beavers build
DAMS across streams.
CULTURAL NOTE People think of beavers as working very
hard.
2 [U] the skin of this animal: a beaver coat -> see also EAGER
beaver² v
beaver away phr v []at)] infml, especially BrE to work hard,
especially at a desk job: We watched him beavering away at
his complicated calculations.
Bea·ver·brook, Lord /'bi:vəbrukk| vər-/ (1879-1964) a pow-
erful and successful British businessman and politician, who
was born in Canada. He owned The Daily Express and other
newspapers, and also had several important positions in the
British government.
Bea·vis & Butt-head /bi:vjes en 'bʌthed/ the two main
characters in a CARTOON that was originally shown on MTV.
Beavis and Butthead are TEENAGE friends who make rude and
stupid comments about the music VIDEOS they are watching.
They laugh a lot in a silly way, and they enjoy insulting each
other. The programme is criticized by some parents, who
think it encourages stupid behaviour.
be·bop /'bi:bɒp||-ba:p/ n [U] BOP
be·calmed /bi'ka:md||-'ka:md, -'ka:lmd/ adj (of a sailing
ship) unable to move because there is no wind
be·cause /bi'kɒz, bi'kə:z||bri'kɔ:rz, bikəz/ conj 1 for this
reason that: I do it because I like it. | She got the job because
she was the best candidate. | "Why can't I go?" "Because you're
too young. 2 because of by reason of; as a result of: I came
back because of the rain. -> see also REASON (USAGE) 3 because
it's there quote a phrase originally used by the mountain
climber George Mallory when asked to explain why he
wanted to climb Mount Everest, and now sometimes used
humorously as an answer when someone is asked why they
want to do something very difficult or dangerous
bé·cha·mel sauce /beIʃəmel 'sɔ:s/ n [C,U] a thick white
SAUCE made with butter, flour, and cream
Be·cher's Brook /bitʃəz 'bruki-tʃəz/- a very difficult
part of the Grand National (=a famous horse race in the UK
in which the horses have to jump over high fences). Many
horses fall when they try to jump over Becher's Brook.
beck¹ /bæk/ n at someone's/one's beck and call
always
ready to do anything someone/one asks
beck² n NEngE a stream, especially a small hill stream
Beck·en·bau·er, Franz /'bekə,baʊər, frænts/ (1945-) a
German football player who was the CAPTAIN when West
Germany won the World Cup in 1974. He was manager of
the West German team when they won the World Cup in
1990. In 1994 he was elected president of Bayern Munich
football club.
Beck·er, Bor·is /'bekə, 'bɒris||'ba:-/ (1967-) a German
tennis player, who became the youngest person to win the
men's SINGLES competition at Wimbledon when he was 17.
He won many other major tennis competitions, including
the US Open and the Australian Open. He became the Davis
Cup manager for Germany in 1999.
Bec·ket, Saint Thomas à /'bekit/ (1118-70) an English
priest who became the Archbishop of Canterbury. He had a
serious argument with the king, Henry II, who is believed to
have said, 'Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?' As a
result, Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by
some of the king's soldiers.
Bec·kett, Sam·u·el /'bekɪt, 'sæmjʊəl/ (1906-89) an Irish
writer of plays, novels, and poetry who lived in France and
is famous for his play Waiting for Godot. In 1969 he won the
Nobel Prize for Literature.
Beckham,
David
/'bekəm/ (1975-) a British
football player who played
for Manchester United until
2003 when he moved to the
Spanish club Real Madrid.
He became captain of the
England national team in
2001, and is one of the
richest and most famous
footballers in the world. He
is a well-known CELEBRITY,
and appears in many
magazines, advertisements,
and POSTERS. His wife, Victo-
ria, is a pop singer and used
to be a member of the Spice
Girls, and is known as Posh
Spice. The couple are referred
to in the British press as
'Posh 'n' Becks'.
Victoria and David
Beckham
Beckham, Victoria (1974-) a British POP singer who was
called Posh Spice when she was a member of the Spice Gir