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army officer, played by Phil Silvers, who talks very fast and
loves playing cards and finding ways to make money.
bill¹ /bɪl/ n 1 [(for)] a list of things bought, used, eaten etc,
showing the total amount that must be paid: Could we have
the bill please? | Have you paid the phone bill yet? | The bill for
the repairs came to £650. 2 a written plan for a new law,
which is brought to parliament for it to consider: a debate in
Parliament on the government's new transport bill
CULTURAL NOTE How a bill becomes a law Because US
law is based on the British legal system, the UK and the
US have a similar process for making a bill into a law. In
the US A bill is first presented in the Senate or the House
of Representatives. This is called the First Reading. A
special committee then looks at the details of the bill and
can add suggestions and make changes, after which they
must vote on it. The committee returns the bill to the
House or Senate for the Second Reading, where it is read
carefully, discussed, and sometimes changed. The House
or Senate reads the bill one more time (this is known as
the Third Reading) and then vote on it. If they vote for the
bill, the bill is then sent to the other side of Congress to
be discussed, possibly changed, and voted on. Once
both the Senate and House of Representatives have
agreed on the bill, they send it to the President. If the
President agrees with the bill, he or she signs it and it
becomes a law. If the President does not agree with the
bill, he or she can VETO it (=decide not to sign it). The
Senate or House of Representatives must then discuss
the bill and vote again. If two-thirds of that house votes to
support the bill, they can then send the bill to the other
house for discussion and a vote. If two-thirds of the other
house also votes 'yes', the bill becomes a law, even if the
President does not agree with it. In the UK When a new
bill is first presented to the House of Commons, this is
known as the First Reading. MPs discuss the bill,
sometimes adding suggestions and making changes, and
then the bill is read again. This is called the Second
Reading. Next comes the committee stage, when a
committee examines the details of the bill. This is followed
by more discussion, called the report stage. The
committee returns the bill to the House of Commons for
the Third Reading, after which the House of Commons
sends the bill to the House of Lords where it is also read it
and discussed. The House of Lords can add suggestions,
but they cannot refuse the bill. Once the bill has been
agreed by both sides of Parliament, the King or Queen
gives it the ROYAL ASSENT (=approves it) and it officially
becomes a law.
3 AmE a piece of paper money; NOTE: a five-dollar bill 4 a
printed notice: Stick No Bills (a public warning on a wall,
fence etc) 5 the (old) bill BrE infml the police → see also BILL
OF FARE, BILL OF HEALTH, BILL OF LADING, BILL OF RIGHTS, BILL
OF SALE, fit the bill (FIT¹), foot the bill (FOOT²), top the bill
(TOP³)
bill² v [T] 1 [(for)] especially tech to send a bill to: I can't pay now;
please bill me for it later. 2 [(as) usually pass.] to advertise in
printed notices: It's been billed as the race of the year. |
[+obj+to-v] He's billed to appear as Hamlet. | (fig.) The following
election is being billed (=generally described) as the most
important in 30 years.
bill³ n 1 tech the beak of a bird 2 BrE (usually cap. as part of a place
name) a long narrow piece of land sticking out into the sea:
Portland Bill
bill⁴ v bill and coo infml (of lovers) to kiss and speak softly to
each other
Bill, The a popular British television programme about a
police station in London and the crimes solved by its police
officers
bil·la·bong /'bɪləbɒŋ||-bɔːŋ/ n AustrE a shallow lake or pool
that sometimes dries out
Bill and Ben two characters, whose full names are Bill and
Ben the Flowerpot Men, who appear in a popular British
television programme for young children, first broadcast in
the 1950s and 1960s, and again in the 2000s. Bill and Ben are
little men made out of FLOWERPOTS who live in a garden and
speak a language called 'flobbadob'. In the original series
they had a friend, a tall flower called Little Weed who is called
Weed in the later series.
bill·board /'bɪlbɔːd||-bɔːrd/ n AmE for HOARDING
Billboard a US weekly magazine about popular music, that
lists the best-selling popular songs, albums, and videos
bil·let¹ /'bɪlɪt/ n a house (usually a private home) where
soldiers are put to live for a while
billet² v [T(on)] to provide (a soldier) with a billet: The captain
billeted his men on old Mrs Smith. (=in Mrs Smith's house)
bil·let-doux /ˌbɪleɪ 'duː/ n pl. billets-doux /ˌbɪleɪ 'duːz/
humor or lit a love letter
bill·fold /'bɪlfəʊld/ n AmE for WALLET
bill·hook /'bɪlhʊk/ n a tool consisting of a blade with a
hooked point and a handle, used especially for cutting off
branches of trees and cutting up wood for fires
bil·liards /'bɪljədz||-ərdz/ n [U] any of several games played
on a cloth-covered table (a billiard table) with balls which are
knocked with CUES (=long sticks) against each other or into
pockets at the corners and sides of the table → see also
POOL, SNOOKER —billiard adj [A] billiard balls
Bil·lings·gate /'bɪlɪŋzgeɪt/ a large fish market in east
London. The word 'Billingsgate' was also formerly used to
mean swearing and offensive language, because the people
who worked in the market were known for this.
bil·lion /'bɪljən/ determiner, n, pron pl. billion or billions 1 (the
number) one thousand million; 1,000,000,000; 10⁹ 2 BrE old
use (the number) one million million; 1,000,000,000,000;
10¹² —th determiner, n, pron, adv
bil·lion·aire /ˌbɪljə'neər/ n a person whose money, property
etc is worth one billion dollars, pounds etc
,bill of ex'change also promissory note AmE — n tech a
promise, which must by law be fulfilled, to repay a debt to
someone on a fixed date
,bill of 'fare n pl. bills of fare old-fash a list of dishes to be
served in a restaurant; MENU
,bill of 'goods n [U] AmE infml sell someone a bill of goods
deceive; cheat: The roofers sold me a bill of goods when they
fixed the roof; it leaks even worse than it did before.
,bill of 'health n a clean bill of health a favourable report
on the health of a person or the satisfactory condition of a
machine, organization etc: The school was given a clean bill
of health by the inspector.
,bill of 'lading n pl. bills of lading tech an official document
stating that goods to be shipped have been received, and
giving the conditions under which they will be carried
,bill of 'rights n pl. bills of rights (usually caps.) a written
statement of the most important rights of the citizens of a
country
Bill of Rights, the part of the US CONSTITUTION (=the basic
laws of the country that cannot easily be changed) which is
a list of the rights of US citizens, for example freedom of
speech (=the right to say what you want to say, including
criticizing the government), and freedom of religion. In the
original Bill of Rights (1791), ten rights were listed (=ten
AMENDMENTS), but since then several more have been added
→ see also CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, FIRST
AMENDMENT
,bill of 'sale n pl. bills of sale an official written statement
that something has been sold by one person to another
bil·low¹ /'bɪləʊ/ n [usually pl.] 1 lit a wave, especially a very
large one 2 a rolling mass (as of flame or mist) like a large
wave: billows of smoke —y adj
billow² v [I] 1 to rise and roll in waves 2 [OUT] to swell out
as a sail does: billowing skirts
'bill ,poster also 'bill ,sticker n a person who puts up
advertising POSTERS either as a job or (if unofficially) against
the law
bil·ly /'bɪli/ also bil·ly·can /'bɪlikən/ BrE and AustrE → n a tin
pot for cooking or boiling water when camping
'billy club also nightstick n AmE a short stick carried by
police officer
'billy goat n (used especially by or to children) a male goat →
compare NANNY GOAT