bender /’benda(r)/ noun {slang) a period of drinking a lot of alcohol or taking a lot of drugs ( — i&Nl'BHHJ ) £E A#®#: to go on a bender

bendy /'bendi/ adj. (BrE, informal) 1 that can be bent easily J§ ^ ®   ; J| #r ET371 flexible 2 with many

bends         a bendy road xESftJilgg-

be neath <H* /bl'ni:0/ prep, (formal)

1                  in or to a lower position than sb/sth; under sb/sth

£ (      ) -Tffi; * (    ) -TA:          They found the

body buried beneath a pile of leaves. itiri'M.M F

- - ft W Of T ffi o O The boat sank beneath the waves. 7$Sl£A'?l#$:70 2 not good enough for sb (

A i# ) 7 ^ Iff :      He considers such jobs beneath him.

o They thought she had married beneath her (= married a man of lower social status).      ).

► beneath adv:  Her careful make-up hid the signs of

age beneath.

Benedic tine /.bem'diktin/ noun a member of a Chris­tian group of monks or nuns following the rules of St Benedict        ) ► Bene-dic-tine adj. .

a Benedictine monastery

bene dic tion /.bem'dikjn/ noun [C, U] {formal) a Chris­tian prayer of blessing (        ) WS, uw

benefaction ^bem'faekjn/ noun [C] (formal) a gift, usually of money, that is given to a person or an organ­ization in order to do good H jiff; if} it bene-fac-tive /.bem'faektiv/ adj. (grammar ifp}£) relating to the person or thing that benefits from the action of the verb, for example ‘for you’ in ‘I bought this for you’

benefactor /'benifaekt0(r)/ noun (formal) a person who gives money or other help to a person or an organiza­tion such as a school or charity Ml A; JIlfcA; f^UlA benefice /'bemfis/ noun the paid position of a Chris­tian priest in charge of a parish (         ) A#

beneficent /bi'nefisnt/ adj. (formal) giving help; showing kindness A W ^   ; 'if I#          Pm

generous ► beneficence /bi'nefisns/ noun [U] benefi cial /.bem'fijl/ adj. ~ (to sth/sb) improving a situation; having a helpful or useful effect A M (ft; W

ffl^ N); A ffl (ft HTH ADVANTAGEOUS, FAVOURABLE:      A

good diet is beneficial to health.

OHS DETRIMENTAL

bene fi ciary /.bem'fijari; NAmE -'fijieri/ noun (pi. -ies) ~ (of sth) 1 a person who gains as a result of sth ^ #;  Who will be the main beneficiary of the

cuts in income tax?

2                  a person who receives money or property when sb dies ilr^^A

belief it thm /‘bemfit/ noun, verb m noun 1 [U, C] an advantage that sth gives you; a helpful and useful effect that sth has it ; M&h; I’ve

had the benefit of a good education. t# ^ 7 i± H. Iff He W o <> The new regulations will be of benefit to everyone concerned.          0

It will be to your benefit to arrive early. fij0 0 He couldn’t see the benefit of arguing any longer, it It 7 tB 7l #■ ife T A 7 ft" ^ Iff o 0 the benefits of modern medicine     o It was good to see her

finally reaping the benefits (= enjoying the results) of all her hard work.

IA — see also cost-benefit, fringe benefit 2 [U, C] (BrE) money provided by the government to people who need financial help because they are unemployed, ill/sick, etc. mm ( *eiA^Jif*(ft*hDj

^ ) —see also child benefit, housing benefit, sickness benefit 3 [C, usually pi.] an advantage that you get from a company in addition to the money that you earn; money from an insurance company (

W)»J,        im&-.

The insurance plan will provide substantial cash benefits to your family in case of your death.  S.

mm—see also fringe benefit 4 [C] an event such as a performance, a