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stiff hair, nylon etc, fixed to a handle: a clothesbrush | a toothbrush | a hairbrush | a paintbrush 2 [C usually sing.] an act of brushing: I'll just give my coat/hair a quick brush. 3 [C usually sing.] a quick light touch: He felt the brush of her silk dress against him as she passed. 4 [(with)] a short usually unpleasant meeting or argument with someone; ENCOUNTER: I had a brush with the law. (=with the police) 5 [C] tech the tail of a fox -> see also tarred with the same brush (TAR^2)
brush^2 v 1 [T] to clean or smooth with a brush: to brush one's coat/the floor/one's teeth/one's hair 2 [T+obj+adv/prep] to remove (as if) with a brush: to brush away a fly with your hand | to brush crumbs off the table | to brush one's coat clean | to brush someone/yourself down (=to clean someone's/your clothes with a brush) 3 [I+adv/prep;T] to touch against lightly or carelessly in passing: The light wind gently brushed his cheek. | He brushed past the reporters without making any comment. -> see SWEEP (USAGE)
brush sbdy./sthg. <-> aside phr v [T] to refuse to pay attention to; DISREGARD: to brush difficulties/opposition/objections aside
brush sbdy. <-> off phr v [T] to refuse to listen to, talk to, or accept the friendship of: The President brushed off their pleas for him to reconsider his decision. -> see also BRUSH-OFF
brush (sthg. <->) up phr v [I+on;T] to improve your knowledge of (something known but partly forgotten) by study: I must brush up (on) my French before I go to Paris.
—brush-up n
brush^3 n [U] 1 small branches broken off from trees or bushes 2 (land covered by) small rough trees and bushes
Brush, Basil -> see BASIL BRUSH
brush-off n [the S] infml a clear refusal to be friendly or to listen; rude dismissal: I wanted to speak to her, but she gave me the brush-off. -> see also BRUSH OFF
brush-wood /'brʌʃwd/ n [U] -> BRUSH^3
brush-work /'brʌʃwɜːk||-wɜːrk/ n [U] the method of putting on paint with a brush, especially the characteristic style of an ARTIST in doing this: vigorous brushwork
brusque /bruːsk, brʌsk||brʌsk/ adj quick and rather impolite; CURT: a brusque person/manner/refusal —>ly adv
—>ness n [U]
Brus-sels /'brʌsəlz/ the capital city of Belgium, in the centre of the country, from which the business of the European Union and NATO is run
**CULTURAL NOTE** In the UK, politicians and newspaper writers who do not like the European Union sometimes use the name Brussels to mean the officials of the European Union, when they are criticizing them for making too many complicated rules about things that they should not be involved in.
Brussels 'sprout also sprout n [usually pl] a vegetable that is a small tight round bunch of leaves like a very small CABBAGE and grows in groups on the sides of a high stem
bru-tal /'bruːtl/ adj showing a complete lack of kind or sensitive human feelings; very cruel or severe: brutal violations of human rights | a brutal attack/attacker | a brutal dictatorship | the brutal (=unpleasantly correct) truth —>ly adv —>ity /bruː'tælɪti/ n [C;U] the brutality/brutalities of war
bru-tal-ize also -ise BrE /'bruːtəl-aɪz/ v [T] 1 to make brutal or unfeeling: people who have been brutalized by poverty and disease 2 to treat brutally: He brutalized the children.
—ization /,bruːtəl-aɪ'zeɪʃən||-ə-/ n [U]
brute^1 /bruːt/ n 1 sometimes humor a rough cruel insensitive person, especially a man: an unfeeling brute | a great brute of a man | You brute! 2 sometimes derog an animal, especially a large one: Does that great brute of yours bite? | The horse broke its leg when it fell and the poor brute had to be destroyed.
brute^2 adj [A no comp.] like (that of) an animal in being unreasonable, cruel, or very strong: brute force/strength
Bru-te /'bruːteɪ/ Et tu, Brute? and you, Brutus? quote a phrase from Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, used by Caesar when he realizes that even his good friend Brutus has betrayed (BETRAY) him and is going to kill him -> see also CAESAR, JULIUS
brut-ish /'bruːtɪʃ/ adj derog cruel and not sensitive to people's feelings: brutish ignorance —>ly adv
Bru-ton, John /'bruːtən/ (1947-) an Irish politician, leader of the Fine Gael Party and PRIME MINISTER of the Republic of Ireland from 1994 to 1997. In 1995 Mr Bruton and the British Prime Minister, John Major, began the process that led to peace talks in Northern Ireland.
Bru-tus, Mar-cus /'bruːtəs, 'maɪkəsəl'maɪn-/ (?85-42 BC) a Roman politician who was the chief member of the PLOT to murder Julius Caesar -> see also Et tu, Brute? (BRUTE)
Bry-ant, Ko-be /'braɪənt, 'kəʊbi/ (1978-) a US BASKETBALL player who began playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996, even though he did not play basketball in college first. He is considered to be one of the best players in the NBA.
Bryant, Paul 'Bear' (1913-83) a US college football COACH (=teacher) who set a record for winning the most games
Bryce Can-yon Na-tion-al Park /,braɪs ,kænjən ,næʃənəl 'paɪk||-'paɪrk/ a large park in the US state of Utah, known for its scenery of unusually shaped pink and white rock -> see colour photo on page A43
Bryl-creem /'brɪlkrim/ trademark a type of oil used on hair, usually by men, to make it smooth. It was popular especially in the 1950s and 1960s but is now thought old-fashioned.
—Brylcreem v: Brylcreemed hair
Bryn-ner, Yul /'brɪnər, juːl/ (1915-85) an American actor, born in Russia, who was known especially for having no hair. He played the King in The King and I on stage and on film, and was the leader in the film The Magnificent Seven.
Bry-son, Bill /'braɪsən/ (1951-) a US writer who lived in the UK for many years, and is known for his intelligent and humorous travel books, including The Lost Continent and Notes from a Small Island. Bryson also wrote the popular science book A Short History of Nearly Everything.
BS /,biː 'es/ n AmE Bachelor of Science; a first university degree in a science subject
BSc /,biː es 'siː/ n BrE Bachelor of Science; a first university degree in a science subject: Barbara Stone, BSc -> compare BA
BSE /,biː es 'iː/ n [U] abbrev. for bovine spongiform encephalitis; a serious disease that affects cows and gradually destroys their brain. Its non-technical name is 'mad cow disease'. It is possible that humans who eat meat from cows with BSE may develop a similar brain disease called CJD. Because of this risk, many British cattle were destroyed during the 1990s because they were believed to have been infected with BSE.
BSI, the /,biː es 'aɪ/ British Standards Institution; an organization which sets standards for units of measurement, clothes sizes etc, and safety standards for electrical and other goods used in Britain
B-side /'biː saɪd/ n the side of a POP record that has the less important song on it. The side with the main song is called the A-SIDE.
BSkyB /,biː skaɪ 'biː/ trademark British Sky Broadcasting, another name for SKY TV (=a television company)
BST /,biː es 'tiː/ n [U] 1 abbrev. for British Summer Time 2 abbrev. for bovine somatotropane; a HORMONE which is sometimes fed to cows in order to increase the amount of milk they give. The use of BST has been criticized because its effect on humans over a long period of time is not known.
BT /,biː 'tiː/ abbrev. for BRITISH TELECOM
BTEC /'biːtek/ n [C;U] abbrev. for Business and Technical Education Council; a range of examinations that are done by students in England and Wales at different levels in a variety of subjects relating to work. BTEC courses are usually done after the age of 17: a BTEC Diploma in Art and Design
btu, BTU /,biː tiː 'juː/ n abbrev. for British thermal unit; a unit that measures the amount of heat that a piece of equipment can produce: a gas boiler with an output of 80,000 btu an hour
BTW, btw written abbrev. for by the way; used especially in email or TEXT MESSAGES on MOBILE PHONES