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black
bite sthg. ⇔ back phr v [T] infml to prevent yourself from
saying (something that would cause offence or something
that is supposed to be secret): Peter was about to tell the
secret, but he bit his words back.
bite² n 1 [C] an act of biting or a piece removed by biting:
The cat gave its owner a playful bite. | I took a bite out of the
apple. 2 [S] infml something to eat: I haven't had a bite (to
eat) all day. 3 [C;U] a wound made by biting: My face is
covered with insect bites! | He was taken to the hospital to be
treated for snake bite. 4 [C] an act of taking food from a
fisherman's hook (by a fish): Sometimes I sit for hours
without getting a bite. 5 [S;U] sharpness or bitterness: This
cheese has no flavour. | I like cheese with more bite in it. | a
political satire without much bite to it 6 another/a second
bite at the cherry BrE a second chance to do or get
something one wants
bite-sized also 'bite-size adj [A] small enough to put into
your mouth to eat: sushi served in convenient bite-size
pieces
bit-ing /'baɪtɪŋ/ adj sharply painful to the body or mind: a
cold and biting wind | biting remarks —ly adv: a bitingly
cold wind
bit-map /'bɪtmæp/ n tech a computer image or picture consist-
ing of an arrangement of BITs on the screen
bit of 'fluff n BrE old-fash slang a young woman, especially one
who is sexually attractive
bit of 'rough n BrE humor a man who is from a lower social
class than the woman that he is having a sexual relationship
with
bit part n a small unimportant character played by an actor
in a play or film
bit player n 1 someone who is not important and who has
very little influence in a particular situation: Although he
was NRC chairman, Hervey was strictly a bit player in gov-
ernment. 2 an actor who plays BIT PARTS
bit-ten /'bɪtn/ past participle of BITE
bit-ter¹ /'bɪtər/ adj 1 having a sharp biting taste, like beer or
black coffee without sugar → compare SWEET, SOUR 2 (of
cold, wind etc) very sharp and biting; HARSH: It's really bitter
out there today. 3 causing pain or grief; hard to accept: the
bitter truth | It was a bitter disappointment/a bitter blow
when we found out they had been cheating us all along. | I
must warn you – and I speak from bitter experience – not to
do business with those people. 4 filled with or caused by
hate, anger, unfulfilled expectation, or other unpleasant
feelings: bitter enemies | bitter tears | bitter opposition to the
government's policies | He's still very bitter about the way she
treated him. 5 a bitter pill (to swallow) something very
unpleasant that one has to accept: The defeat was a bitter
pill to swallow. 6 to the bitter end infml to the end in spite of
all unpleasant difficulties; until no more effort is possible: to
struggle on to the bitter end —ly adv: bitterly cold | bitterly
disappointing —ness n [U]
bitter² n [U] BrE bitter beer: A pint of bitter, please. → see also
BITTERS
bit-tern /'bɪtən||-ərn/ n pl. bitterns or bittern a brown Euro-
pean waterbird with long legs which makes a deep hollow
sound
bit-ters /'bɪtəz||-ərz/ n [U+sing./pl. v] a bitter usually alcoholic
mixture of plant products for mixing into drinks
bit-ter-sweet /'bɪtəswi:t◌ || -tər-/ adj 1 pleasant, but mixed
with sadness: bittersweet memories of childhood 2 of or
being a type of chocolate made with very little sugar
bit-ty /'bɪti/ adj BrE infml, often derog 1 having too many differ-
ent parts that do not seem to be connected to each other: I
thought the film was rather bitty. —tiness n [U] 2 little
bitty/itty bitty AmE infml very small: He ripped the letter into
tiny bitty pieces.
bi-tu-men /'baɪtʃəmən||bǐ'tju:-/ n [U] any of various sticky
substances (such as ASPHALT or TAR), used especially in
road-making —minous /bǐ'tju:mɪnəs||bǐ'tu:-/ adj
bi-valve /'baɪvælv/ n tech any SHELLFISH with two shells
joined together, such as an OYSTER
biv-ou-ac¹ /'bɪvu-æk/ n a camp without tents
bivouac² v -ck- [I] to spend the night in the open without
tents: The climbers bivouacked halfway up the mountain.
biv-vy bag /'bɪvi bæɡ/ also 'bivouac ,bag infml — n a small
tent with no poles for one person
bi-week-ly /baɪ'wi:kli/ adv, adj appearing or happening a)
every two weeks; FORTNIGHTLY: a biweekly magazine b)
twice a week; SEMIWEEKLY
biz /bɪz/ n [S] infml a particular type of business, especially one
connected with entertainment: the music biz
bi-zarre /bǐ'zɑ:r/ adj noticeably odd or strange: his bizarre
appearance/behaviour | This is one of the most bizarre mur-
der cases we have ever dealt with. —ly adv
Björk /bjɜ:kl||bjɜ:rk/ (1966–) an Icelandic female singer and
songwriter, who makes popular music in many different
styles, and uses her voice in new and unusual ways. She also
appeared in the film Dancer in the Dark.
blab /blæb/ v -bb- [I] infml to tell a secret, especially about
criminal activity, sometimes unintentionally
blab-ber /'blæbə/ v [| (ON)] infml to talk foolishly or too much:
I wish she'd stop blabbering (on) about her job.
blab-ber-mouth /'blæbəmaʊθ||-ər-/ n derog slang a person
who tells secrets by talking too much
black¹ /blæk/ adj 1 of the colour of night; completely with-
out light: black shoes | black clouds | her thick black hair | (fig.)
Go wash your hands – they're black! (=(very dirty) 2 a) (of a
person) of a dark-skinned race, especially of the Negro race:
a black American b) of or for black people: black Africa |
He's trying to win the black vote. → see (USAGE); compare
WHITE¹ 3 (of coffee) without milk or cream: I'll have my
coffee black, please. → opposite WHITE 4 very bad, threaten-
ing, or hopeless: According to the latest sales figures, things
look very black for us. | black despair | She painted a black
picture of the company's prospects. → see also BLACK COM-
EDY, BLACK HUMOUR 5 full of anger, hate, or evil: He gave me
a black look. | (lit) a black-hearted villain | (lit) his black
deeds 6 especially BrE not approved of, or not to be handled, by
members of a trade union during a STRIKE: a black cargo |
black labour 7 you can have any colour so long as it's
black quote a phrase used by Henry Ford when he was asked
what colours were available for a particular kind of
car 8 not as black as one is painted not as bad as people
say you are → see also BLACKLY, BLACK AND WHITE, PITCH-
BLACK and see Feature on page A7 —ness n [U]
USAGE Compare black, coloured, and Negro. Black is
the word which is preferred by many black people.
Coloured and especially Negro are now considered by
many black people to be offensive. In the US, many black
people prefer to be called African-Americans in formal
situations such as in newspapers or government
statements.
black² n 1 [U] the colour that is black; the darkest colour:
After her husband died, she dressed in black for a year. | Put
some more black (=black colouring) round your eyes. → see
Feature on page A7
CULTURAL NOTE In the US and UK, people traditionally
wear black clothes when they go to a funeral, as a sign of
sadness. In some old stories and films, especially
WESTERNS, the bad character wears black clothes, and
the good character wears white clothes.
2 [C] a person of a dark-skinned race: There were both blacks
and whites at the meeting. 3 in the black having money in a
bank account: Our account is (nicely) in the black this month.
→ opposite IN THE RED
black³ v [T] 1 to make black: to black shoes | to black
someone's eye by hitting them 2 BrE (especially of a trade
union) to refuse to work with (goods, a company etc):
They've blacked his ships because he refuses to recognize the
union.
black out v 1 [T{black sthg. ⇔ out}] to darken so that no light
is seen: During the war the cities were all blacked out. | The
whole country was blacked out because of the power
strike. 2 [I] to lose consciousness; faint: After the accident he
blacked out and couldn't remember what happened. 3 [T{black
sthg. ⇔ out}] prevent (news or information) from becoming
publicly known; SUPPRESS: They blacked out all reports of
the anti-government demonstration. | (fig.) He blacked the terri-
ble accident out of his mind. → see also BLACKOUT