113
Berra, Yogi
Ber·ber /'bɜːbəʳ||'bɜːr-/ n 1 [C] a member of a group of people from northwest Africa who live in the area between Morocco and Tunisia 2 [U] one of the languages spoken by these people
be·reave /bɪ'riːv/ v bereaved or bereft /bɪ'reft/ [T](of) usually pass.] fm1 to take away, especially by death: He was bereaved (of his wife). 1 bereft of all hope
be·reaved /bɪ'riːvd/ adj 1 having lost a close friend or relative because they have recently died: a bereaved mother 2 the bereaved the person or people whose close friend or relative has just died: Our sympathies goes to the bereaved.
be·reave·ment /bɪ'riːvmənt/ n [C;U] the state or an occasion of having been bereaved: saddened by illness and bereavement | a series of bereavements
be·reft /bɪ'reft/ adj formal is very formal, and is usually used in poetry or with abstract nouns: He was bereft of all hope/ideas/emotion/comfort etc
be·ret /'bereɪ||bə'reɪ/ n a round usually woollen cap with a tight headband and a soft full flat top
Ber·ge·rac, Cy·ra·no de /'bɜːəræk||'bɜːr-, 'sɪrənəʊ də sɪ'rænəʊ-/ (1619–55) a French writer and soldier who fought more than 1000 DUELS (=sword fights between two people) and was known for his extremely large nose. His name is also the title of a famous play about his life, written by Edmond Rostand, and several films have been based on this story.
Berg·man, Ing·mar /'bɜːɡmən||'bɜːr-, 'ɪŋmɑːr/ (1918–) a Swedish film maker who is regarded as one of the most important directors in the history of the cinema. His films, which include The Seventh Seal (1956) and Fanny and Alexander (1983), are often about very serious subjects involving characters who experience a lot of emotional suffering.
Bergman, In·grid /'ɪŋɡrd/ (1915–82) a Swedish actress who went to Hollywood in 1939 and became internationally famous by acting in films. She appeared with Humphrey Bogart in the film Casablanca.
ber·i·ber·i /ˌberɪ'berɪ/ n [U] a disease of the nerves caused by lack of VITAMIN B
Be·ring Strait, the /ˌbeərɪŋ 'streɪt/ a narrow passage of water between Asia and North America that connects the Bering Sea to the Arctic Ocean
berk, burk /bɜːk||bɜːrk/ n BrE slang a fool: You might have told me it was a formal affair – I felt a right berk in jeans and tee-shirt.
Berke·ley /'bɜːkli||'bɜːr-/ a city on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay area in California. In the 1960s, many students who studied at the University of California in Berkeley protested against the Vietnam War. Now the people who live and study there are generally considered to be intelligent and not to have traditional values about society.
Berkeley, Busby (1895–1976) a US CHOREOGRAPHER (=someone whose job is to arrange the movements in a dance) who directed the dancing in many films in the 1930s. He is known for his impressive and imaginative style of dances, which were performed by groups of young women. The dancers made complicated patterns and were often filmed from above.
Berke·ley Square /ˌbɜːkli ˈskweəʳ||ˌbɜːr-/ a square in London known in the 17th and 18th centuries as the home of many famous people including Robert Walpole and Clive of India
Ber·ko·witz, David /'bɜːkəvɪts||'bɜːr-/ (1953–) a murderer who called himself Son of Sam. He admitted killing six people and attempting to kill another eight in New York in 1976–77.
Berk·shire /'bɑːkʃəʳ||'bɑːrk-/ a COUNTY in the south of England
Ber·lin /bɜː'lɪn||ˌbɜːr-/ the capital city of Germany. Berlin was divided into East Berlin and West Berlin after World War II. East Berlin was controlled by the COMMUNISTS. Berlin became a united city again when the Berlin Wall was destroyed in 1989 and in 1990 the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) became one country again.
Berlin, Ir·ving /'ɜːvɪŋ||'ɜːr-/ (1888–1989) a US songwriter who wrote many popular songs and successful MUSICALS (=plays or films that use singing and dancing to tell a story). His songs include Alexander's Ragtime Band and White Christmas.
Ber·lin·guer, En·ri·co /ˌbealɪŋ'gwɛəʳ||ˌbeər-, en'ri:kəʊ/ (1922–84) an Italian politician, leader of the Communist Party
Berlin Wall a wall that divided East and West Berlin, which was built in 1961 and destroyed in 1989. The COMMUNIST government of East Germany built the wall in order to prevent people from escaping to West Berlin. When ordinary people started to destroy the wall, this event was shown on television around the world and seemed to represent freedom and the end of the COLD WAR. → see colour photo on page A37
Ber·li·oz, Hec·tor /'beəliəʊz||'beər-, 'hektər/ (1803–69) a French COMPOSER, whose most famous work is the Symphonie Fantastique
Ber·litz /'bɜːlɪts||'bɜːr-/ trademark a company which has many schools all over the world for teaching foreign languages, and which produces phrase books and travel guides for people visiting foreign countries
Ber·lus·co·ni, Sil·vi·o /ˌberlu'skəʊni||ˌbeər-, 'sɪlviəʊ/ (1936–) an Italian BUSINESSMAN and RIGHT-WING politician. He owns a successful and powerful group of television companies, and he started a political party called Forza Italia. In 1994 the party won the elections and he became Prime Minister, but he was forced to leave this position in 1995 because he was charged with dishonest business dealings. In 1998 a court found him guilty of dishonestly offering money to tax officials. He was elected Prime Minister again in 2001.
Ber·mu·da /bə'mjuːdə||bər-/ a group of islands in the West Atlantic Ocean which is a popular place for tourists. Bermuda is a British COLONY, but has its own local government. Population: 64,482 (2003). Capital: Hamilton.
Ber·mu·da 'shorts also Bermudas n [P] short trousers that go down to the knee and are made from thin cloth, often in very bright colours
Ber·mu·da 'Triangle, the an area in the West Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda, Florida, and Puerto Rico where many ships and aircraft are believed to have strangely disappeared without any reason
Ber·na·dette, Saint /ˌbɜːnə'det||-ɜːr-/ also St Bernadette of Lourdes (1844–79) a girl who claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary at LOURDES, which made Lourdes a place of PILGRIMAGE, especially for the sick
Ber·ners-Lee, Tim /ˌbɜːnəz 'liː||ˌbɜːrnərz-, tɪm/ (1955–) a British computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1991. He made his idea freely available to everyone and did not put a PATENT on it.
Bern·hardt, Sa·rah /'bɜːnhɑːt||'bɜːrnhɑːrt, 'seərə/ (1844–1923) a famous French ACTRESS, thought of by many people as one of the best actresses ever
Bern·stein, Carl /'bɜːnstən, -stiːn||'bɜːrn-/ (1944–) a US reporter known especially for discovering and writing about the Watergate SCANDAL in 1972 for the Washington Post with reporter Bob Woodward. He and Woodward won a Pulitzer prize for their work, and they later wrote a book about it, called All the President's Men. It was later made into a film. → see WATERGATE
Bern·stein, Leon·ard /'lenəd||-ərd/ (1918–90) a US musician, famous both as a CONDUCTOR of classical music and as a writer of popular MUSICALS (=plays or films that use singing and dancing to tell a story), including WEST SIDE STORY.
Leonard Bernstein
Ber·ra, Yogi /'berə/ (1925–) a famous US BASEBALL player for the New York Yankees team from 1946 to the 1960s, who was the MVP (=most valuable player) of the AMERICAN LEAGUE in 1951, 1954, and 1956. He later became a COACH, and he is famous for saying 'It ain't over till it's over'.