black-berry-mg /'blaekbariiq; NAmE -beriirj/ noun [U] the act of picking blackberries H ^_: Shall we go

blackberrying?

black-bird /'blaekb3:d; NAmE -b3:rd/ noun 1 a European bird: the male is black with a yellow beak and the female is brown with a brown beak ( # I f t M, Wt 4 ^133 M %, #t -§r ^ fe ) 2 a black N American bird, larger than the European blackbird, related to the STARLING Hil (JSLTdfclttfH) black-board /’blaekbo:d; NAmE -boird/ (also chalkboard especially in NAmE) noun a large board with a smooth black or dark green surface that teachers write on with a piece of chalk : to write on the black

board &— compare whiteboard ,black 'box noun 1 (also 'flight recorder) a small machine in a plane that records all the details of each flight and is useful for finding out the cause of an accident IsFr2 [usually sing.] (tech

nical Ai#) a complicated piece of equipment, usually electronic, that you know produces particular results, but that you do not completely understand A fli ( -$•

.black 'bun noun [C, U] a Scottish cake wrapped in pastry, eaten at New Year )

.black 'butter noun a sauce made by cooking butter

() mnm,

the ‘Black Country noun [sing.] an area in the West Midlands of England where there used to be a lot of heavy industry JlC^lEXik

M )

black-cur-rant /'blaek.kArant; .blaek'k-; NAmE -,k3:r-; -'k3:r-/ noun a small black berry that grows in bunches on a garden bush and can be eaten X: blackcurrant jam 0 a blackcurrant bush H

the .Black 'Death noun [sing.] the name used for the very serious infectious disease (called bubonic plague), which killed millions of people in Europe and Asia in the 14th century ( 14

US )

.black 'diamond noun 1 [c] (erf, informal) a lump of coal 2 [U, C] a dark form of diamond ; $1

3 [C] (NAmE) a slope that is difficult to ski down ₃K- $it ( ) : a black diamond run

the black e conomy (BrE) {NAmE the .underground

e'conomy) noun [sing.] business activity or work that is done without the knowledge of the government or other officials so that people avoid paying tax on the money they earn £gi^^'$r;

.black em powerment (also .black eco.nomic empowerment) noun [U] in southern Africa, a policy which aims to give black people the chance to earn more money, own more property, etc., and have a greater role in the economy than they did before

black en /'blaekan/ verb 1 to make sth black; to become black ( {<£ ) SH: [VN] Their faces were blackened with soot. o Smoke had blackened the walls.

[also V] o note at burn 2 [VN] ~ sb’s name/reputation/character to say unpleasant things that give people a bad opinion of sb ik H; Eft;

IF • • • # : He accused the newspaper of trying to

blacken his name.

.Black 'English noun [U] any of various forms of English spoken by black people, especially a form spoken in US cities ( ) MA3£i§

.black ‘eye noun an area of dark skin (called a bruise), that can form around sb’s eye when they receive a blow

on it ( ) mnm

black-face /'blaekfeis/ noun 1 [C] a type of sheep with a black face Jiffi A; II|2[U]a dark substance used by actors to make their skin look dark ( M fa ffi ) M

m, J&&ft£fl