bullfinch
174
Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, in which men ceremo-
nially excite, fight, and often kill bulls. Many people now
think that bullfights are cruel for the animals. —er n
—ing n [U]
bull·finch /'bʊlˌfɪntʃ/ n a small European songbird with a
bright reddish breast and a strong rounded beak
bull·frog /'bʊlfrɒɡ||-frɑːɡ, -frɔːɡ/ n a large-headed American
FROG that makes a loud noise (CROAK)
bull·head·ed /ˌbʊl'hedɪd/ adj often derog (of a person) going
determinedly but stupidly or thoughtlessly after what one
wants —ly adv —ness n [U]
bull·horn /'bʊlhɔːrn||-hɔːrn/ n AmE an instrument shaped like
a widening tube which is powered electrically and held to
the mouth to make the sound of a voice louder → compare
MEGAPHONE
bul·lion /'bʊljən/ n [U] bars of gold or silver: gold bullion
bul·lish /'bʊlɪʃ/ adj 1 tech marked by, tending to cause, or
hopeful of rising prices (as in a STOCK EXCHANGE): There was
a bullish trend in the market. → opposite BEARISH 2 showing
confidence about the future; full of OPTIMISM: He is very
bullish about the prospects for his business. —ly adv
—ness n [U]
'bull ,market n a situation in which prices on the STOCK
MARKET (=the place where business shares are bought and
sold) are going up → compare BEAR MARKET
bull·necked /ˌbʊl'nektɪd/ adj (of a person) with a short and
very thick neck
bul·lock /'bʊlək/ n a male animal of the cattle family which
cannot breed; OX → compare BULL¹, HEIFER, STEER²
Bullock, San·dra /'sændrə/ (1964–) a popular US film
actress. Her films include Speed, A Time to Kill, and While You
Were Sleeping. She is very attractive and usually plays women
who are friendly and ordinary.
'bull ,pen n 1 the area in a BASEBALL field which is used by
PITCHERS to get ready to play 2 the PITCHERS of a BASEBALL
team: The Dodgers have a strong bull pen.
bull·ring /'bʊlˌrɪŋ/ n an ARENA where BULLFIGHTS are held,
surrounded by rows of seats
'Bull ,Run the place in northeast Virginia in the US where
there were two important battles in the AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
which the Union forces lost to Confederate forces. Many
men were killed or hurt in these battles.
'bull ,session n AmE infml a time when a group of people get
together to talk
'bull's-eye n 1 also bull infml — the circular centre of a TARGET
that people try to hit when shooting or playing DARTS: to
score a bull's-eye (=hit this centre) | (fig.) Your last remark
really hit the bull's-eye: it was exactly right. 2 BrE a large hard
round sweet tasting of PEPPERMINT
bull·shit¹ /'bʊlˌʃɪt/ n, interj [U] taboo slang foolish talk; non-
sense
bullshit² v -tt- [I;T] taboo slang to talk nonsense, especially
confidently in order to deceive, persuade, or get admiration
,bull 'terrier n a short-haired dog of English origin which is a
mixture of BULLDOG and TERRIER bred for fighting → see
also PIT BULL TERRIER
bul·ly¹ /'bʊli/ n a person, especially a schoolboy or schoolgirl,
who hurts or intentionally frightens weaker people
bully² v [T(into)] to act like a bully towards, often with the
intention of forcing someone to do something: He bullies all
the other little boys in the playground. | I wanted to stay at
home but they bullied me into going.
bully off phr v [I] to start a game of HOCKEY —'bully-off n
bully³ adj bully for you/him etc humor slang (used to express
approval, often insincerely, of what someone has done)
'bully beef n [U] BrE CORNED BEEF, especially as used in the
army
bul·ly·boy /'bʊlibɔɪ/ n BrE infml a rough man who behaves in
a threatening way: Bullyboy tactics won't work on me – I'm
not scared.
bul·rush, bullrush /'bʊlrʌʃ/ also cattail AmE — n a tall
grasslike waterside plant
bul·wark /'bʊlwɑːk||-wɔːrk/ n 1 [often pl.] a strong wall built
for defence, often made of earth: (fig.) Our people's support is
a bulwark against the enemy. 2 also bulwarks pl. — the wall
round the edge of a ship
bum¹ /bʌm/ n slang, especially BrE the part of the body on which
a person sits; BUTTOCKS
bum² n AmE and AustrE derog slang 1 [C] a wandering person who
lives by begging; TRAMP 2 [the S] AustrE the life of wandering
and begging: John lost his job and went on the bum. 3 [C]
someone who spends a lot of time on the stated activity or
amusement: a beach bum 4 [C] someone who is considered
worthless, lazy, or unable to do their job
bum³ v -mm- [T(off)] slang to get by begging; SCROUNGE: Can I
bum a cigarette (off you)?
bum around/about phr v slang 1 [I] to spend time lazily
without any clear purpose: I didn't do anything last summer,
I just bummed around. 2 [I;T(= bum around/about sthg.)] to spend
time travelling for amusement: He's been bumming around
(on) the continent for a few months.
bum⁴ adj [A] slang bad or worthless: He gave me some bum
advice about buying a car.
bum·bag /'bʌmbæg/ n BrE a small bag for money, keys etc
which you wear in front of your body on a belt around your
waist; FANNY PACK AmE
bum·ble /'bʌmbəl/ v [I] slang 1 [(ON, about)] especially BrE to
speak so that the words are hard to hear clearly: He kept
bumbling on about his operation, but I didn't really under-
stand all the details. 2 [(ABOUT, AROUND)] to move or behave in
an awkward or unskilful way
bum·ble·bee /'bʌmbəlbiː/ n a large hairy bee which makes
a loud noise when flying
bum·bling /'bʌmblɪŋ/ adj behaving in a careless way and
making a lot of mistakes: a kind bumbling man with a gentle
smile
bumf, bumph /bʌmf/ n [U] BrE derog slang written material,
often printed information or advertisements, that is uninter-
esting, unnecessary, or unwanted
bum·mer /'bʌmər/ n infml an unpleasant experience which
makes one sad: It was a real bummer standing in line for so
long and still not getting tickets to the concert.
bump¹ /bʌmp/ v 1 [I+adv/prep;T] to hit or knock against
(something, especially something solid and heavy) with
force or violence: The car bumped the tree. | The ball bumped
down the stairs. | The two cars bumped into each other. | I
bumped my knee against/on the table. 2 [I+adv/prep] to move
along in an uneven way, like a wheeled vehicle going over
bumps: The cart bumped along the track. | (fig.) The circulation
of the magazine has been bumping along for some time at
around 30,000. 3 things that go bump in the night humor
GHOSTS MONSTERS etc that make strange noises at night
bump into sbdy. phr v [T] infml to meet by chance: I bumped
into an old college friend in the restaurant.
bump sbdy. ⇔ off phr v [T] slang to kill; murder
bump sthg. ⇔ up phr v [T] infml to increase, especially to a
desired level: You need a good result to bump up your
average. | to bump up production/the price
bump² n 1 (the sound of) a sudden forceful blow, like
something heavy hitting a hard surface: We heard a bump in
the next room. | He fell off the bed and landed on the floor with
a bump. 2 a raised round swelling, often caused by a blow: a
bump on his knee 3 a raised uneven area on a surface: She
had to drive slowly because of the bumps in the road.
bump·er¹ /'bʌmpər/ n 1 a bar fixed on the front or back of
a car to protect the car when it knocks against anything: The
traffic was bumper-to-bumper (=very close together) all the
way home. → see picture at CAR 2 AmE for BUFFER
bumper² adj [A] of unusually large size or amount: a bumper
crop/harvest/edition/pay increase
'bumper car n [usually pl.] a small electric car which people
drive while trying to hit other cars in an enclosed space in an
AMUSEMENT PARK; DODGEMS
'bumper ,sticker n AmE a small sign on the BUMPER of a car
with a humorous, political, or religious message → compare
CAR STICKER
bump·kin /'bʌmpkɪn/ also country bumpkin n derog infml
an awkward foolish person from the country (rather than
the city)