Bb

B/bi:/ noun, symbol

• noun (also b) {pi. Bs, B’s, b’s /biizfl 1 [C, U] the second letter of the English alphabet 2

¹Butter’ begins with (a) B/‘B’. * butter b ff Ao

2 B [C, U] (music if) the 7th note in the scale of C MAJOR *Bt(C AlTOffl 7 ) 3 B [C, U] the

second highest mark/grade that a student can get for a piece of work ( g.: She got (a) B

in/for History. 4 B [U] used to

represent the second of two or more possibilities ( % ) Sgn'h Shall we go for plan A or plan B? 5 B [U]

used to represent a person, for example in an imagined situation or to hide their identity (

A ) Zj, Let’s pretend A meets B in the

park. — see also B-road

IETO1 see A n.

m symbol used in Britain before a number to refer to a particular secondary road *B WXfa (

JS&fS# ) : the B1224 to York B1224

b. abbr. (in writing ^:}$ born Emily Clifton,

b. 1800 mmm • tmxm, isoo^

B2B /,bi: ta 'bi:/ abbr. business-to-business BA (BrE) (NAmE B.A.) /,bi: 'ei/ noun the abbreviation for ‘Bachelor of Arts’ (a first university degree in an arts subject) Bachelor of Arts,

) _: to be/have/do a BA &X¥±; &X&±.¥

fi; O (BrE) Darren Green BA •

fa#

baa /ba:/ noun the sound made by sheep or lambs ( ^ nij^ ) ► baa verb [V] (baa ing, baaed or baa’d)

'baa-lamb noun a child’s word for a lamb ( JLSffiio )

baba /'ba:ba:/ noun 1 a small cake, often with rum poured over it (

Mil 2 (IndE, EAfrE) a father (often also used as a title or form of address for any older man, showing respect)

i&m, mm < ) 3 (mdE) a hoi_y

man S?r (ft A; 5 A 4 (IndE) (used especially as a form of address AM#$FPf) a small child SS;

Bab bitt /'baebit/ noun (NAmE) a person who is satisfied with a narrow set of values and thinks mainly about possessions and making money Etb#3^A^J (

mnmmn) MFrom

the name of the main character in the novel Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis. • AiJ4l#r(ft/M.ft «Efcfc#> 4¹

babble /'baebl/ noun, verb

a noun [sing.] 1 the sound of many people speaking at the same time Pf (ft A P : a babble of voices AP^Q

2 talking that is confused or silly and is difficult to

understand # M 4^ it Ift i£; W in : I can’t listen to

his constant babble. (ft Bi it ₀

3 the sounds a baby makes before beginning to say

actual words ( #jJL ) P — see also psycho

babble

m verb 1 - (away/on) to talk quickly in a way that is difficult to understand ^il^itifei#; [V]

They were all babbling away in a foreign language. jMl % S iftll iff o 0 I realized I was babbling like an idiot. [also V

speech, VN] 2 [V] to make the sound of water flowing over rocks, like a stream a

babbling brook

babby /’baebi/ noun (pi. -ies) (BrE, dialect) a baby WJL babe /beib/ noun 1 (old use) a baby 2 (slang) a word used to address a young woman, or your wife, husband or lover, usually expressing affection but sometimes considered offensive if used by a man to a woman he does not know ( iiAMiio ^

mzm ) S5UL, 'OJFFJL:

What’re you doing tonight, babe? 4* ife# ft 'A ,