bayonet
100
bay·o·net¹ /'beɪənt, -net/ n a long knife fixed to the end of
a soldier's gun (RIFLE)
bayonet² v [T] to drive a bayonet into (a person)
bay·ou /'baɪuː||'baɪəu/ n (especially in the SE US) a body of
water with a slow current and many water plants
Bay·reuth /baɪ'rɔɪt/ a town in southern Germany, known
for its regular FESTIVALS of music by Richard WAGNER
Bay·watch /'beɪwɒtʃ||-wɑːtʃ, -wɔːtʃ/ trademark a US tele-
vision programme about a group of LIFEGUARDS (=someone
whose job is to save people who get into difficulties when
they are swimming in the sea) who work on a beach in
California. The actresses and actors are all very attractive
and do not wear much clothing. David Hasselhoff and
Pamela Anderson used to appear in the programme.
,bay 'window n a window built outwards from the wall,
often three-sided, and built up from the ground → compare
BOW WINDOW
ba·zaar /bə'zɑːr/ n 1 (in English-speaking countries) a sale
to collect money for some good purpose: a church/hospital
bazaar 2 (in Eastern countries) a marketplace or a group of
shops
ba·zoo·ka /bə'zuːkə/ n a long light gun that rests on the
shoulder when fired and is used especially against TANKS
BBC, the /ˌbiː biː 'siː/ abbrev. for British Broadcasting Corpo-
ration; a very large television and radio organization based in
the UK which includes ten national radio stations, 40 local
radio stations, eight national television stations, and the
international BBC WORLD SERVICE and BBC WORLDWIDE TELE-
VISION. The television CHANNELS BBC1 and BBC2 can be
received on any television in the UK, but the BBC also
broadcasts on six other DIGITAL television channels in the
UK: BBC3, BBC4, BBC Parliament, BBC News 24, CBBC
Channel, and CBeebies. The BBC is a public service which is
paid for by taxes, not by advertisers.
,BBC 'English n [U] a standard form of pronunciation for
BRITISH ENGLISH, which was traditionally taught to people
learning English in many parts of the world. For many years,
almost all the people who appeared on BBC programmes, for
example reading the news, used this form of pronunciation,
but many different types of British pronunciation can now be
heard on the BBC. → see also RP
,BBC ,World 'Service, the → see WORLD SERVICE
,BBC ,Worldwide 'Television a part of the BBC which
broadcasts television programmes, especially news, to more
than 80 countries
BB gun /'biː biː ɡʌn/ n especially AmE a long gun that uses air
pressure to shoot small metal balls called BBs
In the US, boys often learn how to shoot
with a BB gun because it is less dangerous than other
types of gun. However, BB guns can kill small animals and
birds, and people are sometimes injured by them in
accidents.
BBQ BrE || bbq AmE n written abbrev. for BARBECUE
BBQ sauce /ˌbɑːbɪkju 'sɔːs||ˌbɑr-/ n [U] a sweet, sour, and
hot-tasting SAUCE which is used especially when cooking
meat such as chicken or BEEF
BC¹ /ˌbiː'siː/ abbrev. for before Christ; used after a date to show
that it was before the birth of Christ: The Great Pyramid
dates from around 2600 BC. → compare AD
BC² abbrev. for British Columbia
bcc abbrev. for blind carbon copy; used in an email to show
that you are sending someone a copy of a message that you
have also sent to someone else, and that this person does
not know that other people will also receive the message
BCE /ˌbiː siː 'iː/ abbrev. for before common era; used after a
date to show that it is before the birth of Christ
be¹ /bi; strong biː/ [→see TABLE 5] v [auxiliary verb] 1 [+v-ing]
(used to form the progressive tenses of verbs): Don't disturb
me while I'm working. | She was reading when he called. |
They've been asking a lot of questions. | When will you be
having dinner? (=when is it arranged?) | He's always causing
trouble. 2 [+v-ed] a) (used to form the passive voice of
verbs): Smoking is not permitted. | I was told about it
yesterday. | The house is being painted. | She has been invited
to the party. | The flames could be seen several miles away. |
The police should have been informed about this. b) old use
(used instead of have to form the perfect tenses of some
verbs): Christ is risen from the dead. (=has risen) 3 [+to] usually
fml a) (expresses an order or rule): All prisoners are to be
(=must be) in bed by 10 o'clock. | Visitors are to leave when the
bell rings. | You are not to smoke here. b) (shows arrange-
ments for the future): We are to be married in June. | We were
to have gone away last week, but I was ill. c) (shows what
should happen): Whatever am I to tell her (=what should/can
I tell her) when she finds out? | He is more to be (=should be
more) pitied than blamed. d) (shows what cannot or could
not happen): We looked and looked, but the ring was nowhere
to be found. e) (shows what had to happen or did happen):
This discovery was to have a major effect on the treatment of
heart disease. f) (used in conditional sentences that show a
situation that does not or could not exist): If I were to do
that/Were I to do that, what would you say? → see also BEEN
be² v 1 [L] (shows that someone or something is the same as
the subject): [+n] January is the first month of the year. | It's
me. | Lack of money is our biggest problem. | If I were you, I
shouldn't do it. | [+to-v/-ing] The difficulty is to know what to
do/knowing what to do. | [+(that)] The fact is (that) you know
too much. | The biggest problem was that we didn't have
enough time. 2 [+adv/prep] (shows position or time): Where is
he? | He's upstairs/at home/in the office. | How long has she
been here? | The book is on the table. | The concert was last
night. | The party is (=will happen) on Saturday. 3 [L] a)
(shows that someone or something belongs to a group or
has a quality): She's a doctor. | She wants to be (=become) a
doctor when she leaves school. | Snow is white. | Horses are
animals. | These shoes are mine. | We were hungry. | I'm not
ready. | Be careful! It's hot today. | It's as if we'd never ever
started. | A knife is for cutting with. (=that is its purpose) b)
(in short phrases or questions): It's cold, isn't it? | He isn't
leaving, is he? | 'That's not your coat!' 'Yes, it is!' 4 [L] (used
after there to show that something exists): There's a hole in
your trousers. → see THERE (USAGE) 5 be that as it may even
if that is true; in spite of that → see also BEEN
be³ v [I] 1 to exist: Whatever is, is right. 2 (in the INFINITIVE)
to remain untroubled: If the baby's sleeping, let her be. → see
also BEEN 3 to be or not to be, that is the question quote a
phrase from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, probably the most
famous line from all his plays. People sometimes use parts of
the phrase humorously, when a decision must be made.
beach¹ /biːtʃ/ n a shore of the sea or a lake covered by sand
or small stones: They went down to the beach for a swim. |
There are several beautiful sandy beaches along that stretch of
the coast. → see SHORE (USAGE) → we shall fight on the
beaches (FIGHT¹)
beach² v [T] to run or drive (a boat) onto the shore: to beach
our canoe —ed adj: a beached whale
'beach ball n a large light ball, filled with air, for use at the
beach
'Beach Boys, the a US popular music group formed in
1961, whose songs are still popular. Many of their songs were
about young people in California enjoying themselves by
surfing (SURF) and swimming in the sea, having parties, and
driving fast cars. Their songs include California Girls and
Good Vibrations.
'beach buggy also dune buggy n a motor vehicle with
very large tyres for use on sand beaches
beach·chair /'biːtʃ-tʃeər/ n AmE for DECKCHAIR → see pic-
ture at CHAIR
beach·comb·er /'biːtʃˌkəmər/ n 1 a person who searches
along a beach for useful or saleable things 2 a long rolling
wave coming in from the ocean
beach·head /'biːtʃhed/ n an area on the shore of an
enemy's land that has been taken by force and on which an
army may be landed → compare BRIDGEHEAD
beach·wear /'biːtʃweər/ n [U] clothing for the beach
Beach·y Head /ˌbiːtʃi 'hed/ an area of land with very high
cliffs on the south coast of England, known as a place where
people go to kill themselves by jumping off
bea·con /'biːkən/ n 1 a guiding or warning fire on a hill,
tower, or pole 2 a tall object or a light on or near the shore
acting as a guide or warning to sailors 3 (in Britain) a
BELISHA BEACON 4 a RADIO BEACON 5 a flashing light t