important —'L'MIr;      —more

at bird, busy adj.

the Beeb /bi:b/ noun [sing.] an informal name for the

bbc mmrm&n (     i ■

beech /biitj/ noun 1 [C, U] (also beech tree) a tall forest tree with smooth grey bark, shiny leaves and small nuts lLi A#: forests planted with beech

0                  beech hedges ill IA M 0 The great beeches towered up towards the sky. — Uj|itAA„ — see also copper beech 2 (also ' beech-wood /'biitjwud/) [U] the wood of the beech tree ih-fiPAII

beef /bi:f/ noun, verb

& noun 1 [U] meat that comes from a cow A |£]: roast/ minced beef j$ A ; # A ^ o beef and dairy cattle |£] A #3 A — see also corned beef 2 [C] (informal) a complaint  A3S:  What’s his latest beef?

* verb [V] ~ (about sb/sth) (informal) to complain a lot about sb/sth          A3tA3I IdiliM beef sth-up

(.informal) to make sth bigger, better, more interesting, etc. $MA (          Mill )

beefburger /'bi:fb3:ga(r); NAmE -b3:rg-/ noun (BrE)

= HAMBURGER

beefcake /‘birfkeik/ noun [u] (slang) men with big muscles, especially those that appear in sex shows and magazines (       +

beefeater /'bi:fi:ta(r)/ noun a guard who dresses in a traditional uniform at the Tower of London

(nmmm >

beefsteak /'biifsteik/ noun [C, u] = steak(I)

,beef 'tea noun [U] (BrE) a hot drink made by boiling beef in water. It used to be given to people who were sick, Aim Al« (         )

,beef to'mato (also .beefsteak to'mato especially in NAmE) noun a type of large tomato A ^1    ( —

#AAM )

beefy /'biifi/ adj. (beefier, beefiest) (informal) (of a person or their body AIA#) big or fat MAW; flCfff W: beefy men/arms/thighs fflAtWA / S&If / AM bee-hive /'biihaiv/ noun 1 = hive(1) 2 a hairstyle for women, with the hair piled high on top of the head

'bee-keeper noun a person who owns and takes care of bees #4# A ► bee-keeping noun [U] bee-line /'biilain/ noun fT»T71 make a beeline for sth/ sb (informal) to go straight towards sth/sb as quickly as you can          @S#(6]^A

Be-el-ze-bub /bi'elzibAb/ noun a name for the Devil

mb

been /bi:n; bin; NAmE bin/ obe — see also go v. 'been-to noun (WAfrE) a person who returns to his or her home in Africa after studying, working, etc. in a foreign country. People are often identified as been-tos because they have a different accent. (   Pf

M      S0A

beep /bi:p/ noun, verb

®noun a short high sound such as that made by a car horn or by electronic equipment ( $r

£&#) ) WiA

« verb 1 [V] (of an electronic machine AlJltl) to make a short high sound A ft ; % ft P: The micro- wave beeps to let you know when it has finished.

ft ##^1181^0 2 when a car horn, etc. beeps or when you beep it, it makes a short noise ( fgfAAWtyUf )         : [V] The car behind started

beeping at us.        jWBA0 o [VN] He

beeped his horn at the cyclist.   AftfJAf£i$|BA0

3 [VN] (NAmE) = bleep(2)

beep-er /'bi:pa(r)/ noun (especially NAmE) = bleeper beer 0-w /bia(r); NAmEbtr/ noun

1                  [U, C] an alcoholic drink made from malt and

flavoured with hops. There are many types of beer. Pf ®: a barrel/bottle/glass of beer —/ — HE / — If P$® 0 beers brewed in Germany     o a beer

glass P$®ff o Are you a beer drinker?

 [C] a glass, bottle or can of beer — If ( ^ — US , — Wl ) P$M : Shall we have a beer? Cl A If M BE ?