she’d be tired after the journey but not a bit of it! l to bits 1 into small pieces JAA5? It;         The book fell to bits in my

hands.         0 She took the engine

to bits, then carefully put it together again.

X #    £F 0 2 (informal) very much ##;

-Hh I love my kids to bits,       6 0 She

was thrilled to bits when I said I’d come.

A1577 B o — more at blind adj., champ v.

bitch /bitJ/ noun, verb

m noun 1 [C] a female dog : a greyhound bitch 2 [C] (slang, disapproving) an offensive way of referring to a woman, especially an unpleasant one ; htK tiftizA: You stupid little bitch! BMW)'AI##3! 0

She can be a real bitch.  3 [sing.]

(slang) a thing that causes problems or difficulties Wff;         Life’s a bitch. A£.M$tIPo 4 [sing.]

~ (about sb/sth) (informal) a complaint about sb/sth or a conversation in which you complain about them W ;         91 :    We’ve been having a bitch about our

boss, ffcCl    —see also son of a

bitch

& verb [V] ~ (about sb/sth) (informal) to make unkind and critical remarks about sb/sth, especially when they are not there

bitch-in* (also bitch-ing) /‘bitjin/ adj. (slang, especially NAmE) very good fltfcFfft;

bitchy /'bitji/ adj. (informal) saying unpleasant and unkind things about other people  ; f±5 W7

: bitchy remarks   ► bitchi-ness noun [U]

bite 0-w /bait/ verb, noun

m verb (bit /bit/, bit-ten /’bitn/)

                 USE TEETH A 1 ~ (into/through/off sth) to use your

teeth to cut into or through sth p£: [VN] She was bitten by the family dog.   0 Stop biting

your nails! £i| 3b ¥ 7 ! 0 [V] She bit into a ripe juicy pear. tfcwfrT P Slf7          0 Does your dog

bite?  0 Come here! I won’t bite! (= you

don’t need to be afraid) M AAWl o He bit off a large chunk of bread./He bit a large chunk of bread off. MT7-A$Mo

                 OF INSECT/SNAKE H K 2 to wound sb by making a small hole or mark in their skin PT; M; P&: [VN] We were badly bitten by mosquitoes. $cC®K7Pg#7fTo 0 [V] Most European spiders don’t bite.

p£A0

                 OF FISH M. 3 [v] if a fish bites, it takes food from the hook of a fishing line and may get caught

                 HAVE EFFECT r 77*^1 4 [V] to have an unpleasant effect

7771liPfn]:  The recession is beginning to bite.

tram be bitten by sth to develop a strong interest in or enthusiasm for sth         He’s

been bitten by the travel bug. ItfeM± TMfflo bite the 'bullet (informal) to start to deal with an unpleasant or difficult situation which cannot be avoided @if AJ&T'j

fwifttfew (mm® ) mu-, tansm

From the custom of giving soldiers a bullet to bite on during a medical operation without anaesthetic. M i

bite the ‘dust (informal) 1 to fail, or to be defeated or destroyed Aik; ® f T   ®       ^ :

Thousands of small businesses bite the dust every year. # ffcWIHtW/.MkikMfrJo 2 (humorous) to die ft bite the hand that 'feeds you to harm sb who has helped you or supported you §fSA; & # 01 JR. bite your lip to stop yourself from saying sth or from showing an emotion U f± iS; flfij 1W iJlE H bite off more than you can chew to try to do too much, or sth that is too difficult ®        ft 7; ^ g M A bite your

tongue to stop yourself from saying sth that might upset sb or cause an argument, although you want to speak       ( HAfft/An tB ) : I didn’t believe her

explanation but I bit my tongue.      IS

1 etc. could have bitten my/his/ her 'tongue out/off used when sb says sth stupid or embarrassing and immediately wishes they had not