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B2B /ˌbiː tə ˈbiːz/ adj abbrev. for business to business; used to refer to business activities between companies, especially using the Internet
bub /bʌb/ n AmE slang → BUDDY
bub·ble¹ /ˈbʌbəl/ n 1 a hollow ball of air or gas in a liquid (or sometimes in a solid): When water boils, bubbles rise to the surface. | The children amused themselves by blowing bubbles with the soap solution. | She examined the crystal carefully for bubbles. → compare FOAM¹ 2 something which is unsteady, risky, or unlikely to last: the bubble of real-estate speculation | News of the defeat quickly burst the bubble of our self-confidence.
bubble² v [I+adv/prep] 1 to form, produce, or rise as bubbles: The gas bubbled to the surface of the water. 2 [(AWAY)] to make the sound of bubbles rising in liquid: We could hear the pot bubbling (away) quietly on the fire. 3 [(OVER)] to be full of life, high spirits, happiness etc: She was bubbling over with happiness and enthusiasm. | bubbling wit 4 AmE for BURBLE
ˌbubble and 'squeak n [U] BrE a meal that consists of potatoes and CABBAGE that have already been cooked and are then cooked together in fat
'bubble bath n [C;U] a soap which makes BUBBLES in the water of a bath
'bubble gum n [U] CHEWING GUM that can be blown into bubbles. In the US, bubblegum is especially connected with young children: a magazine aimed at the bubble-gum set
'bubble pack n a BLISTER PACK
'bubble wrap also 'bubble pack n [U] a sheet of plastic covered with bubbles of air, used for wrapping and protecting things
bub·bly¹ /'bʌbli/ adj 1 full of bubbles 2 full of life and high spirits; VIVACIOUS: a bubbly personality
bubbly² n [U] old-fash infml for CHAMPAGNE
bu·bon·ic plague /ˌbjuˌbɒnɪk ˈpleɪg||ˈbuːbəː/ n [U] a disease (common in former times) that spreads quickly from rats to people, produces swellings under the arms and elsewhere, and usually causes death → see also BLACK DEATH
buc·ca·neer /ˌbʌkənɪər/ n a sea-robber; PIRATE
Bu·chan·an, James /ˈbjuːˌkænən/ (1791–1868) the 15th President of the US (1857–61)
Buchanan, Patrick (1938–) a US politician, JOURNALIST, and television COMMENTATOR. He has tried to become president several times, and he is considered to be very RIGHT-WING.
Bu·cha·rest /ˌbuːkəˈrest||ˈbuːkərest/ the capital and largest city of Romania
Buch·wald, Art /ˈbʌkwɔːld/ (1925–) a US writer known especially for his humorous newspaper articles on political subjects
buck¹ /bʌk/ n 1 (pl. bucks or buck), doe fem. — [C] the male of certain animals, especially the deer, the rat, and the rabbit → compare DOE 2 (pl. bucks or buck) [C] an ANTELOPE 3 [the] infml responsibility for making a decision: I don't know enough about it to decide, so I'll pass the buck to you. | 'The Buck Stops Here' (sign on the American President Harry S Truman's desk) 4 [C] infml, especially AmE a dollar: 600 bucks | to make a quick/fast buck (=make money quickly and usually easily) 5 [C] old use infml a fine well-dressed young man in early 19th-century England: Regency bucks
buck² v 1 [I] (especially of a horse) to jump up with all four feet off the ground → compare REAR² 2 [T[OFF]] (especially of a horse) to throw off (a rider) by doing this: The wild horse bucked its first rider (off). 3 [I] AmE (especially of a car or truck) to move in a sharp up-and-down way: The car bucked and stalled. 4 [T] infml to oppose in a direct manner; RESIST: It's no use trying to buck the system. | The growth of the company has bucked the recessionary trend in the industry.
buck up phr v infml 1 [T[buck sthg. ↔ up]] BrE to try to improve: You'd better buck up your ideas (=improve your behaviour, work harder etc) if you want to pass that exam. 2 [I] BrE to hurry up: If you don't buck up we'll be late. 3 [I;T(= buck sbdy. up)] to (cause to) become happier or more cheerful; CHEER up: Buck up! Lots of people fail their driving test first time. → see also BUCKED
Buck, Pearl S. (1892–1978) a US writer who lived for many years in China until 1931 and wrote several novels about that country. She won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938.
buck-a-roo /ˌbʌkəˈruː/ n AmE (used especially in children's stories) a COWBOY (=man who looks after cattle)
buck-board /ˈbʌkbɔːd||-bɔːrd/ n (especially in the US in the 19th century) a light four-wheeled vehicle pulled by a horse
bucked /bʌkt/ adj [F(by, at)] BrE infml made more cheerful or pleased: We were bucked by/at the good news.
buck-et¹ /'bʌkɪt/ n 1 an open metal, plastic, or wooden container with a handle for carrying liquids. Young children on a holiday by the sea in Britain and the US often have a bucket and spade BrE/ sand pail AmE for building sandcastles. 2 [(of)] also buck-et-ful /-fʊl/ — the quantity held by a bucket: She poured a bucket/two bucketfuls of water over me. | (fig.) The rain came down in buckets. (=it rained very hard) → see also kick the bucket (KICK) 3 a drop in the bucket a small amount which is not enough: The money budgeted is a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed.
bucket² v [I] 1 [(DOWN)] BrE infml to rain very hard: It's been/The rain's been bucketing down all day. 2 [+adv/prep] to move very roughly and irregularly: The car bucketed down the steep road.
Bucket, Hyacinth /buːˈkeɪ/ a female character in a humorous British television programme called Keeping Up Appearances. She always keeps her house very clean and tidy and is a typical example of an English SNOB (=someone who thinks social class is very important and is eager to be accepted by people of a higher social class). She pronounces her name to sound like 'bouquet' (=an arrangement of flowers) instead of like 'bucket'.
'bucket seat n a round-backed separate seat for one person in a car, especially a racing or sports car, or an aircraft
'bucket shop n infml, especially BrE a business that obtains large quantities of tickets for air travel and sells them to the public at a low price
Buck·ing·ham Pa·lace /ˌbʌkɪŋəm ˈpælɪs/ also the Palace the official home of the British royal family in London containing almost 600 rooms. Since 1995, some parts of the building have been open to tourists. The name of the Palace is sometimes used to mean the officials who are in charge of organizing the Queen's public life: Buckingham Palace announced today that Her Majesty would be visiting Japan next year.
Buck·ing·ham·shire /ˈbʌkɪŋəmɛr/ a COUNTY in central southern England
buck·le¹ /'bʌkəl/ n a metal fastener used for joining the two ends of a belt or STRAP for fastening a shoe, bag etc, or for decoration → see picture at FASTENER
buckle² v 1 [I;T] [(ON, UP, TOGETHER)] to (cause to) fasten with a buckle: He buckled (up) his belt tightly. | The two ends buckle (together) at the back. | He buckled on his sword. | She buckled herself into her seat. → opposite UNBUCKLE 2 to (cause to) become bent or wavy through heat, pressure etc: The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. | The wheel buckled. | (fig.) to buckle under the attack and run away
buckle down phr v [[(to)]] to begin to work seriously (at): buckle down to work/to writing the book
buckle to phr v [[I]] BrE to begin to work seriously: If we buckle to, we'll soon get the job done.
Buck·ley, William F. /'bʌkli/ (1925–) a well-known political writer who started the CONSERVATIVE magazine the National Review in 1955, and is still its EDITOR. He has also written the novels Marco Polo, If You Can (1981) and See You Later, Alligator (1985).
buck 'naked adj AmE, infml (of a person) completely NAKED
buck·ram /'bʌkræm/ n [U] stiff cloth used, especially in former times, for covering books, stiffening clothes etc
Buck's Fizz, buck's fizz /ˌbʌks ˈfɪz/ n [C;U] a mixture of CHAMPAGNE and orange juice, or a glass of this
buck-shee /ˌbʌkˈʃiː/ adj, adv BrE old-fash slang free; without payment
buck·shot /'bʌkʃɒt||-ʃɑːt/ n [U] middle-sized lead shot used especially for hunting
buck·skin /'bʌkˌskɪn/ n [U] strong soft yellowish leather made from the skin of a deer or goat
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