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bob
boar /bɔːr/ n 1 a male pig that is not castrated (CASTRATE) and is kept for breeding → compare HOG¹, SOW² 2 a WILD BOAR
board¹ /bɔːd||bɔːrd/ n 1 [C] a long thin flat piece of cut wood; PLANK → see also FLOORBOARD 2 [C] (often in comb.) a flat piece of hard material used for a particular purpose: Pin the list up on the board. (=the NOTICE BOARD) | Put the bread on the board (=the BREADBOARD) before cutting it. | The teacher wrote a sum on the board. (=the BLACKBOARD or WHITEBOARD) | I want to play chess but I can't find the board. (=the CHESSBOARD) 3 [U] (the cost of) meals: I pay £30 a week for board and lodging/bed and board. → see also BED AND BOARD, HALF BOARD, FULL BOARD; compare LODGINGS 4 [C+sing./pl. v] a) an official body or group that has responsibility for a particular organization or activity: the school's board of governors | a board of advisers/examiners | the English Tourist Board b) also board of directors — a committee of the directors of a company, which is responsible for the management of the company: Mary is the only woman on the board (of directors). | The board is/are meeting tomorrow. | We'll need the approval of the board before we can do that. 5 go by the board (of plans, arrangements etc) to be no longer possible or practical: We had intended to get a new car, but that's gone by the board now that I've lost my job. 6 on board in or on (a ship or public vehicle): go/get on board the train/the aircraft/the ship | As soon as I'm on board I always feel sick. → see BOAT (USAGE), PLANE (USAGE); compare ABOARD 7 take on board to fully understand or accept: The management's offer shows that they have not really taken on board the union's demands. → see also BOARDS, ABOVEBOARD, ACROSS-THE-BOARD, DRAWING BOARD, sweep the board (SWEEP¹)
board² v 1 [T( OVER, UP)] to cover with boards: a boarded floor | Board the windows up. 2 [T] to get into (a ship or public vehicle); go on board: The hijackers boarded the plane at Heathrow Airport. 3 [I+adv/prep;T] to get or supply meals and lodging for payment: She arranged to board some students from the university. | I'm boarding with a friend/at a friend's house.
board sbdy./sthg. ↔ out phr v [T] to arrange for (a person or animal) to live and get food away from home: We'll have to board the cat out while we're on holiday.
board·er /'bɔːdər||'bɔːr-/ n 1 a pupil at a BOARDING SCHOOL 2 a person who pays to live and receive meals at another person's house; LODGER: to take in boarders 3 (in old naval fighting) a man who jumps onto an enemy ship: Stand by to repel boarders!
board game n any game played on a specially made board of wood, card, or stiff paper, e.g. CHESS, Monopoly® etc
board·ing /'bɔːdɪŋ||'bɔːr-/ n [U] boards laid side by side: The windows were covered with boarding.
boarding card n an official card to be given up when a passenger enters an aircraft
board·ing·house /'bɔːdɪŋhaʊs||'bɔːr-/ n a private lodging house, not a hotel, that supplies meals
boardinghouse 'reach n [U] AmE infml the practice of reaching across the dinner table for what one wants, rather than asking for someone to pass it
boarding school n [C;U] a school at which pupils live as well as study. Most British PUBLIC SCHOOLS are boarding schools: a small country boarding school | two daughters at boarding school → compare DAY SCHOOL and see Feature on page A12
Board of Edu'cation n in the US, a group of people who are elected to make decisions about how schools and colleges are managed, and about how children are educated in a particular COUNTY or state
board·room /'bɔːdruːm, -rʊm||'bɔːrd-/ n a room in which the directors of a company hold meetings: Nervous muttering is being heard in boardrooms all over the country. → see also BOARD¹
boards /bɔːdz||bɔːrdz/ n [P] 1 the boards in BASKETBALL the high board behind the basket, which the ball often hits against if it does not go into the basket: Our team played hard defense and did a good job on the boards (=got a lot of REBOUNDS). 2 in ICE HOCKEY the low wooden wall around the ICE RINK where the teams play 3 old-fash or humor the theatre, or the profession of being an actor in the theatre
board·walk /'bɔːdwɔːk||'bɔːrd-/ n a footpath often made of boards, usually beside the sea
boast¹ /bəʊst/ v 1 [([about, of);T+that;əb] derog to talk or state with unpleasant or unreasonable pride: He's always boasting about his children/about how clever his children are. | Don't believe her; she's just boasting. | He boasted that he could speak six languages fluently. 2 [T not in progressive forms] not derog (not of people) to have or contain (something that is unusual or a cause of reasonable pride): The new computer boasts a number of ingenious features.
boast² n 1 derog an act of boasting 2 not derog a cause for being proud: It is one of their proudest boasts that they have halved the death rate from typhoid.
boast·er /'bəʊstər/ n derog someone who tends to boast
boast·ful /'bəʊstfəl/ adj derog (of a person or their words) full of self-praise —ly adv →-ness n [U]
boat¹ /bəʊt/ n 1 (often in comb.) a small open vehicle for travelling across water: a small fishing/sailing/rowing boat | a police patrol boat | We'll cross the river by boat/in a boat. | We had to take to the boats (=get into the ship's lifeboats) because the ship was sinking. → see also FLYING BOAT, NARROW BOAT 2 infml any ship: Are you going to America by boat or by air? 3 [(usually in comb.)] a boat-shaped dish for serving liquid food at meals: a sauceboat | a gravy boat → see also miss the boat (MISS¹), push the boat out (PUSH¹), rock the boat (ROCK¹), in the same boat (SAME¹)
Boats are usually smaller than ships, but the word can be used informally of a large passenger ship: There were over 2000 passengers on the ship/boat. When you are in control of a boat, you row a rowing boat (BrE) /rowboat (AmE), sail a sailing boat (BrE) /sailboat (AmE), and sail or pilot other kinds of boat. When you direct the course of a boat you steer or pilot it. As a passenger you travel by boat, or on a particular boat. At the beginning of your journey you get in(to) a very small boat, but with a bigger boat you get on (to) it, go on board or embark (formal). At the end of your journey you get out of a very small boat, but with a larger boat you get off it or disembark (formal). → see also DRIVE¹ (USAGE), TRANSPORT (USAGE), VESSEL (USAGE)
boat² v [I] to use a small boat for pleasure: Let's go boating on the lake.
boat·er /'bəʊtər/ n 1 a stiff hat made of STRAW
CULTURAL NOTE Boaters are often thought of in connection with rich young men at university in Britain in the early part of the 20th century.
2 a person in a boat, especially a boat used for pleasure: boaters enjoying the lake on a Sunday afternoon
'boat hook n a long pole with an iron hook on the end, used to pull or push a small boat
boat·house /'bəʊthaʊs/ n pl. -houses /-haʊzɪz/ a small building by the water in which boats are kept
boat·man /'bəʊtmən/ n pl. -men /-mən/ a man who has small boats for hire, or who rows or sails small boats for pay
'boat people n [P] people who escape from bad conditions in their country in small boats, hoping to find safety in other countries. Since the late 1970s, many boat people have left Vietnam in this way.
'Boat Race, the (in the UK) a rowing race on the River Thames, held every year between teams from Oxford University and Cambridge University. The Boat Race is a popular national event and is shown on television.
boat·swain, bosun /'bəʊsʌn/ n a chief seaman on a ship, who calls the men to work and looks after the boats, ropes, and other equipment: Are we ready to sail, boatswain?
'boat train n a train that takes people to or from ships in port
boat·yard /'bəʊtjɑːd||-jɑːrd/ n an area where boats are built and repaired
bob¹ /bɒb||bɑːb/ v -bb- 1 [I+adv/prep;T+obj+adv/prep] to (cause to) move up or down quickly or repeatedly: The small boat was bobbing on the rough water of the lake. | a little bird