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bid 31 bit
shopping on her bicycle. ć He’s learn-
ing to ride a bicycle.
bid
bid /bd/
noun
1. an offer to buy some-
thing at a particular price
ć His bid for
the painting was too low.
2. an attempt
to do something
˽ she made a bid for
power she tried to seize power
í
verb
to
make an offer to buy something at an
auction
ć He bid £500 for the car.
(NOTE: bids – bidding – bid)
big
big /b/
adjective
of a large size ć I don’t
want a small car – I want a big one.
ć
His father has the biggest restaurant in
town.
ć I’m not afraid of him – I’m big-
ger than he is.

ć We had a big order
from Germany.
(NOTE: big – bigger –
biggest)
bike
bike /bak/
noun
a bicycle (
informal
) ć
He goes to school by bike. ć If the
weather’s good, we could go for a bike
ride.
bill
bill /bl/
noun
1. a piece of paper showing
the amount of money you have to pay
for something
ć The total bill came to
more than £200.
ć Ask the waiter for the
bill.
ć Don’t forget to pay your gas bill.
2. same as beak ć The bird was picking
up food with its bill.
3. a proposal
which, if passed by parliament, be-
comes law
ć Parliament will consider

the education bill this week.
ć He has
drafted a bill to ban the sale of guns.
4.
US
a piece of paper money ć a 10-dol-
lar bill
billion
billion /bljən/
noun
1. one thousand
million
ć The government raises bil-
lions in taxes each year.
2. one million
million
(
dated
) 3. a great many ć Bil-
lions of Christmas cards are sent every
year.
(NOTE: In American English billion
has always meant one thousand mil-
lion, but in British English it formerly
meant one million million, and it is still
sometimes used with this meaning.
With figures it is usually written bn:
$5bn
say ‘five billion dollars’.)
bin

bin /bn/
noun
1. a container for putting
rubbish in
ć Don’t throw your litter on
the floor – pick it up and put it in the bin.
2. a container for keeping things in ć a
bread bin
í
verb
to throw something
away into a rubbish bin
ć He just binned
the demand for payment.
(NOTE: bins –
binning – binned)
bind
bind /band/
verb
1. to tie someone’s
hands or feet so they cannot move
ć
They bound her arms with a rope. 2. to
tie something or someone to something
else
ć Bind the sticks together with
strings.
ć They bound him to the chair
with strips of plastic.
3. to force some-

one to do something
ć The contract
binds him to make regular payments.
4.
to put a cover on a book ć The book is
bound in blue leather.
(NOTE: binds –
binding – bound – has bound)
biologist
biologist /ba

ɒlədst/
noun
a scientist
who does research in biology
biology
biology /ba

ɒlədi/
noun
the study of
living things
bird
bird /bd/
noun
1. an animal with wings
and feathers, most of which can fly
2. a
young woman
(

informal
;
usually used
by men and sometimes regarded as
offensive by women
)
birth
birth /bθ/
noun
the occasion of being
born
ć He was a big baby at birth. ˽ by
birth according to the country some-
one’s parents come from
ć He is French
by birth.
˽ to give birth to a baby to
have a baby
ć She gave birth to a boy
last week.
birthday
birthday /bθde/
noun
the date on
which someone was born
ć April 23rd
is Shakespeare’s birthday.
ć My birth-
day is on 25th June.
ć What do you want

for your birthday?
biscuit
biscuit /bskt/
noun
a small flat, usual-
ly sweet, hard cake
(NOTE: The US term
for a sweet biscuit is cookie)
bit
bit /bt/
noun
1. a little piece ć He tied the
bundle of sticks together with a bit of
string.
ć Would you like another bit of
cake?
2. the smallest unit of information
that a computer system can handle
í
verb
 bite ȣ to bits 1. into little pieces
2. very much ć thrilled to bits ȣ to
come
or
fall to bits to fall apart ć The
chair has come to bits.
ȣ to take some-
thing to bits
to take something apart in
order to repair it

ć He’s taking my old
clock to bits.
ȣ a bit a little ć The paint-
ing is a bit too dark.
ć She always plays
that tune a bit too fast.
ć Let him sleep
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bite 32 blanket
a little bit longer. ć Can you wait a bit?
I’m not ready yet.
ć Have you got a
piece of wood a bit bigger than this one?
ȣ for a bit for a short period of time ć
Can you stop for a bit? I’m getting tired.
bite
bite /bat/
verb
1. to cut someone or
something with your teeth
ć The dog
tried to bite the postman.
ć She bit a
piece out of the pie.
2. (
of an insect

) to
make a small hole in your skin which
turns red and itchy
ć She’s been bitten
by a mosquito.
(NOTE: bites – biting –
bit /
bt/ – has bitten /bt(ə)n/) í
noun
1. a small amount of food that you
cut with your teeth in order to eat it
ć
She took a big bite out of the sandwich.
˽ a bite or a bite to eat a small meal 2.
a place on someone’s body where it has
been bitten
bitter
bitter /btə/
adjective
1. not sweet ć
This black coffee is too bitter. 2. angry
because something is not fair
ć She was
very bitter about the way the company
treated her.
3. causing great disappoint-
ment or unhappiness
ć a bitter winter
night
ć a bitter wind coming from the

Arctic
ć Losing her job was a bitter
blow.
bitterly
bitterly /btəli/
adverb
strongly ć He
bitterly regrets what he said.
bitterness
bitterness /btənəs/
noun
1. a bitter
taste
2. angry feelings ć His bitterness
at being left out of the England team
was very obvious.
black
black /blk/
adjective
1. having a very
dark colour, the opposite to white
ć a
black and white photograph
ć He has
black hair.
2. belonging to a race of peo-
ple with dark skin, whose families are
African in origin
blackboard
blackboard /blkbɔd/

noun
a dark
board which you can write on with
chalk, especially on the wall of a class-
room
(NOTE: now often called a ‘chalk-
board’)
blade
blade /bled/
noun
1. a sharp cutting part
ć the blades of a pair of scissors ć Be
careful – that knife has a very sharp
blade.
2. a thin leaf of grass 3. one of the
long flat parts that spin round on some
aircraft engines or to keep a helicopter
in the air
blame
blame /blem/
noun
criticism for having
done something wrong
ć I’m not going
to take the blame for something I didn’t
do.
˽ to get the blame for something to
be accused of something
ć Who got the
blame for breaking the window? – Me,

of course!
˽ to take the blame for
something to accept that you were re-
sponsible for something bad
í
verb
˽ to
blame someone for something, to
blame something on someone to say
that someone is responsible for some-
thing
ć Blame my sister for the awful
food, not me.
ć He blamed the accident
on the bad weather.
˽ I don’t blame
you I think you’re right to do that
ć I
don’t blame you for being annoyed,
when everyone else got a present and
you didn’t.
˽ you have only yourself to
blame no one else is responsible for
what happened
ć You have only yourself
to blame if you missed the chance of a
free ticket.
˽ to be to blame for to be re-
sponsible for something
ć The manager

is to blame for the bad service.
blank
blank /blŋk/
adjective
not containing
any information, sound or writing, e.g.
ć She took a blank piece of paper and
drew a map.
ć Have we got any blank
videos left?
í
noun
an empty space, es-
pecially on a printed form, for some-
thing to be written in
ć Just fill in the
blanks on the second page – age, occu-
pation, etc.
ȣ to go blank to be unable
to remember something
ć I went blank
when they asked what I was doing last
Tuesday.
ć When he asked for my work
phone number, my mind just went blank.
blank out
phrasal verb
1. to cross out
or cover a piece of writing
ć The sur-

name had been blanked out.
2. to try to
forget something deliberately
ć She
blanked out the days or the memory of
the days immediately after the car
crash.
blanket
blanket /blŋkt/
noun
1. a thick cover
which you put over you to keep warm
ć
He woke up when the blankets fell off
the bed.
ć She wrapped the children up
in blankets to keep them warm.
2. a
thick layer
ć a blanket of leaves ć A
blanket of snow covered the fields.
ć
The motorway was covered in a blanket
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blankly 33 blow
of fog. 3. a barrier to protect something

ć a blanket of secrecy í
adjective
af-
fecting everything or everyone
ć a blan-
ket ban on smoking
blankly
blankly /blŋkli/
adverb
not showing
any reaction or emotion
ć When the
teacher asked him about his homework
he just stared at her blankly.
blast
blast /blɑst/
noun
1. an explosion ć
Several windows were shattered by the
blast.
2. a strong current of wind ć an
icy blast from the north
3. a sharp loud
sound from a signal or whistle
ć Three
blasts of the alarm means that passen-
gers should go on deck.
í
verb
to de-

stroy with a bomb or bullets
ć The bur-
glars blasted their way into the safe.
ć
They blasted their way out of the police
trap.
blaze
blaze /blez/
verb
to burn or shine strong-
ly
ć The fire was blazing. ć The sun
blazed through the clouds.
í
noun
a
large bright fire
ć The house was
burned down in the blaze.
bleed
bleed /blid/
verb
to lose blood ć His
chin bled after he cut himself shaving.
ć
He was bleeding heavily from his
wound.
(NOTE: bleeds – bleeding –
bled /
bled/)

blend
blend /blend/
noun
something, especial-
ly a substance, made by mixing differ-
ent things together
ć different blends of
coffee
í
verb
1. to mix things together
ć Blend the eggs, milk and flour togeth-
er.
2. (
of colours
) to go well together ć
The grey curtains blend with the pale
wallpaper.
bless
bless /bles/
verb
to make something holy
by prayers
ć The church was blessed by
the bishop.
(NOTE: blesses – blessing
– blessed /
blest/) ȣ to be blessed
with
to experience happiness or good

things
ć They were blessed with two
healthy children.
ȣ bless you said
when someone sneezes
blew
blew /blu/ past tense of blow
blind
blind /bland/
adjective
not able to see ć
He went blind in his early forties.
(NOTE: Some people avoid this word as
it can cause offence and prefer terms
such as visually impaired or partially
sighted.)
í
verb
to make someone un-
able to see, especially for a short time
ć
She was blinded by the bright lights of
the oncoming cars.
blindness
blindness /blandnəs/
noun
the state
of not being able to see
ć The disease
can cause blindness.

(NOTE: Some peo-
ple avoid this term as it can cause of-
fence and prefer visual impairment.)
blink
blink /blŋk/
noun
to close your eyes and
open them again very quickly
ć The
sudden flash of light made him blink.
í
verb
(
of lights
) to go on and off ć The
alarm light is blinking.
block
block /blɒk/
noun
1. a large building ć
They live in a block of flats. 2. a large
piece
ć Blocks of ice were floating in the
river.
3. something that prevents some-
thing happening
ć a block on making
payments
˽ to put a block on some-
thing to stop something happening

4.
same as blockage 1 5.
US
a section of
buildings surrounded by streets
ć He
lives two blocks away.
í
verb
to prevent
something from passing along some-
thing
ć The pipe is blocked with dead
leaves.
ć The crash blocked the road for
hours.
blockage
blockage /blɒkd/
noun
1. something
which prevents movement
ć There’s a
blockage further down the drain.
2. the
state of being blocked
blood
blood /bld/
noun
the red liquid that
flows around the body

blossom
blossom /blɒs(ə)m/
noun
1. the mass
of flowers that appears on trees in the
spring
ć The hedges are covered with
hawthorn blossom.
ć The trees are in
full blossom.
2. a single flower í
verb
to
produces flowers
ć The roses were blos-
soming round the cottage door.
blouse
blouse /blaυz/
noun
a woman’s shirt
blow
blow /bləυ/
verb
1. (
of air or wind
) to
move
ć The wind had been blowing
hard all day.
2. to push air out from your

mouth
ć Blow on your soup if it’s too
hot.
(NOTE: blows – blowing – blew –
has blown)
˽ to blow your nose to
blow air through your nose into a hand-
kerchief, especially if you have a cold
ć
She has a cold and keeps having to blow
her nose.
í
noun
1. a knock or hit with
the hand
ć He received a blow to the
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blue 34 bodyguard
head in the fight. 2. a shock, which
comes from bad news
ć The election re-
sult was a blow to the government.
blow away
phrasal verb
1. to go away
by blowing ć His hat blew away. 2. to

make something go away by blowing
ć
The wind will blow the fog away.
blow down
phrasal verb
1. to make
something fall down by blowing ć Six
trees were blown down in the storm.
2.
to fall down by blowing ć The school
fence has blown down.
blow off
phrasal verb
to make some-
thing go away by blowing
ć The wind
blew his hat off.
blow out
phrasal verb
to make some-
thing go out by blowing
ć She blew out
the candles on her birthday cake.
blow over
phrasal verb
1. (
of a storm
or a difficult situation
) to end ć We hope
the argument will soon blow over.

2. to
knock something down by blowing
ć
The strong winds blew over several
trees.
blow up
phrasal verb
1. to make some-
thing get bigger by blowing into it
ć He
blew up balloons for the party.
ć Your
front tyre needs blowing up.
2. to de-
stroy something by making it explode
ć
The soldiers blew up the railway bridge.
3. to make a photograph bigger ć The
article was illustrated with a blown-up
picture of the little girl and her stepfa-
ther.
blue
blue /blu/
adjective
of the colour of the
sky
ć He wore a pale blue shirt. ć They
live in the house with the dark blue door.
í
noun

the colour of the sky ć Is there
a darker blue than this available?
ȣ out
of the blue
suddenly ć Out of the blue
came an offer of a job in Australia.
blues
blues /bluz/
plural noun
sad songs from
the southern US
ć Bessie Smith, the
great blues singer.
blunder
blunder /blndə/
noun
a big mistake,
often one that causes a lot of embarrass-
ment
ć A dreadful blunder by the goal-
keeper allowed their opponents to
score.
blunt
blunt /blnt/
adjective
1. not sharp ć He
tried to cut the meat with a blunt knife.
2. almost rude ć His blunt manner often
upset people.
bluntly

bluntly /blntli/
adverb
in a direct way
that may upset people
blurred
blurred /bld/
adjective
not clearly seen
ć The paper printed a blurred photo-
graph of the suspect.
blush
blush /blʃ/
verb
to go red in the face be-
cause you are ashamed or embarrassed
ć She blushed when he spoke to her.
board
board /bɔd/
noun
1. a long flat piece of
something such as wood
ć The floor of
the bedroom was just bare boards.
2. a
blackboard or chalkboard
ć The teacher
wrote on the board.
boast
boast /bəυst/
verb

1. to have something
good
ć The house boasts a large garden
and pond.
ć The town boasts an 18-hole
golf course.
2. to say how good or suc-
cessful you are
í
noun
the act of talking
about things that you are proud of
ć
Their proudest boast is that they never
surrendered.
boat
boat /bəυt/
noun
a small vehicle that
people use for moving on water
ć They
sailed their boat across the lake.
ć They
went to Spain by boat.
ć When is the
next boat to Calais?
ȣ in the same
boat
in the same difficult situation ć
Don’t expect special treatment – we’re

all in the same boat.
body
body /bɒdi/
noun
1. the whole of a per-
son or of an animal
ć He had pains all
over his body.
(NOTE: The plural is bod-
ies.) 2.
the main part of an animal or
person, but not the head and arms and
legs
ć She had scars on the arms and
upper part of her body.
(NOTE: The plu-
ral is bodies.) 3.
the body of a dead per-
son or animal
ć The dead man’s body
was found in the river.
ć Bodies of in-
fected cows were burnt in the fields.
4.
the main structure of a vehicle ć The
factory used to make car bodies.
5. the
main part of something
ć You’ll find the
details in the body of the report.

(NOTE:
The plural is bodies.) 6.
the thickness
of hair
ć The shampoo will give your
hair body.
(NOTE: no plural)
bodyguard
bodyguard /bɒdiɑd/
noun
1. a per-
son who guards someone
ć The man
was stopped by the president’s body-
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boil 35 booking
guards. 2. a group of people who guard
someone
ć He has a bodyguard of six
people or a six-man bodyguard.
boil
boil /bɔl/
verb
1. (
of water or other
liquid

) to form bubbles and change into
steam or gas because of being heated
ć
Put the egg in when you see that the wa-
ter’s boiling.
ć Don’t let the milk boil. 2.
to heat a liquid until it changes into
steam
ć Can you boil some water so we
can make tea?
3. to cook food such as
vegetables or eggs in boiling water
ć
Boil the potatoes in a large pan. í
noun
an infected swelling ć He has a boil on
the back of his neck.
boiling
boiling /bɔlŋ/
adjective
1. which has
started to boil (i.e. for water, at 100°C)
ć Put the potatoes in a pan of boiling
water.
2. also boiling hot very hot ć It
is boiling in this room.
bolt
bolt /bəυlt/
noun
1. a long piece of metal

with a screw, fastened with a round
piece of metal called a nut
ć The legs of
the table are secured to the top with
bolts.
2. a long piece of metal which you
slide into a hole to lock a door
ć She
pulled back the bolts.
3. ˽ to make a
bolt for it to run away
ć When the
guards weren’t looking two prisoners
tried to make a bolt for it.
í
verb
1. to
run fast suddenly
ć The horse bolted. 2.
to run away from someone or something
ć When the boys saw him coming, they
bolted.
3. to fasten something with a
bolt
ć He bolted the door when he went
to bed.
ć The tables are bolted to the
floor.
ȣ to make a bolt for something
to rush towards something ć At the end

of the show everyone made a bolt for the
door.
ȣ to make a bolt for it to run
away from someone or something
ć
When the guards weren’t looking two
prisoners tried to make a bolt for it.
bomb
bomb /bɒm/
noun
a weapon which ex-
plodes, and can be dropped from an air-
craft or placed somewhere by hand
ć
The bomb was left in a suitcase in the
middle of the station.
ć They phoned to
say that a bomb had been planted in the
main street.
ć Enemy aircraft dropped
bombs on the army base.
í
verb
to drop
bombs on something
ć Enemy aircraft
bombed the power station.
bombing
bombing /bɒmŋ/
noun

an occasion
when someone attacks a place with a
bomb or bombs
ć bombings in centre of
major cities
ć a bombing raid by enemy
aircraft
bone
bone /bəυn/
noun
one of the solid pieces
in the body, which make up the skeleton
ć He fell over and broke a bone in his
leg.
ć Be careful when you’re eating fish
– they have lots of little bones.
bonfire
bonfire /bɒnfaə/
noun
a fire made out-
doors
bonnet
bonnet /bɒnt/
noun
1. the metal cover
over the front part of a car, covering the
engine
ć He lifted up the bonnet and
looked at the steam pouring out of the
engine.

2. a hat with strings that tie un-
der the chin
bonus
bonus /bəυnəs/
noun
1. extra money ć
Sales staff earn a bonus if they sell more
than their target.
2. an advantage ć It
was a bonus that the plane arrived ear-
ly, as we were able to catch an earlier
bus home.
(NOTE: The plural is bonus-
es.)
˽ added bonus an additional ad-
vantage
ć I prefer this job and it’s an
added bonus that I can walk to work.
bony
bony /bəυni/
adjective
1. thin, so that
the bones can be seen easily
ć She was
riding a bony horse.
ć He grabbed her
arm with his bony hand.
2. (
of fish
) with

many bones
ć I don’t like kippers,
they’re usually too bony.
(NOTE: bonier
– boniest)
book
book /bυk/
noun
1. sheets of printed pa-
per attached together, usually with a
stiff cover
ć I’m reading a book on the
history of London.
ć He wrote a book
about butterflies.
2. sheets of paper to
write or draw on, attached together in a
cover.
ı exercise book, notebook,
sketchbook
í
verb
to reserve a place,
a seat, a table in a restaurant or a room
in a hotel
ć We have booked a table for
tomorrow evening.
˽ to book someone
on or onto a flight to order a plane tick-
et for someone else

ć I’ve booked you
on the 10 o’clock flight to New York.
booking
booking /bυkŋ/
noun
an arrangement
to have something such as a seat, hotel
room or a table in a restaurant kept for
you
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boom 36 bottled
boom
boom /bum/
noun
1. a sudden increase
in the amount of money being earned in
a country or region, or by a business
ć
The economy is improving and everyone
is forecasting a boom for next year.
2. a
loud deep noise, like the sound of an ex-
plosion
ć There was such a loud boom
that everyone jumped.
í

verb
1. to in-
crease
ć The economy is booming. ć
Sales to Europe are booming. 2. to make
a loud deep noise
ć His voice boomed
across the square.
boot
boot /but/
noun
a strong shoe which
covers your foot and your ankle or the
lower part of your leg
ć long black rid-
ing boots
ć walking boots ć ankle boots
boot up
phrasal verb
1. to make a com-
puter start
2. (
of a computer
) to be start-
ed up and made ready for use
border
border /bɔdə/
noun
1. an imaginary
line between countries or regions

ć
They crossed the border into Switzer-
land.
ć The enemy shelled several bor-
der towns.
ć He was questioned by the
border guards.
2. a pattern around the
edge of something
ć I don’t like the pink
border on the scarf.
3. a patch of soil at
the side of a path or an area of grass
where flowers or bushes are planted
í
verb
to be along the edge of something
ć The path is bordered with rose bushes.
ć The new houses border the west side
of the park.
border on
phrasal verb
same as bor-
der
verb
bore
bore /bɔ/
noun
a dull person who is not
very interesting

ć I don’t want to sit next
to him, he’s such a bore.
í
verb
to make
a hole in something
ć Bore three holes
close together.
bored
bored /bɔd/
adjective
not interested in
what is happening
ć You get very bored
having to do the same work every day.
ć
I’m bored – let’s go out to the club.
boredom
boredom /bɔdəm/
noun
the state of
being bored
boring
boring /bɔrŋ/
adjective
not interesting
ć I don’t want to watch that TV pro-
gramme – it’s boring.
born
born /bɔn/

verb
to come out of your
mother’s body and begin to live
ć He
was born in Scotland.
ć She was born in
1989.
ć The baby was born last week.
borne
borne /bɔn/ past participle of bear
borrow
borrow /bɒrəυ/
verb
1. to take some-
thing for a short time, usually with the
permission of the owner
ć She bor-
rowed three books from the school li-
brary.
ć He wants to borrow one of my
CDs.
2. to take money for a time, usual-
ly from a bank
ć Companies borrow
from banks to finance their business.
ć
She borrowed £100,000 from the bank
to buy a flat. Compare
lend
boss

boss /bɒs/
noun
the person in charge, es-
pecially the owner of a business
ć If you
want a day off, ask the boss.
ć I left be-
cause I didn’t get on with my boss.
(NOTE: The plural is bosses.)
both
both /bəυθ/
adjective
,
pronoun
two peo-
ple or things together
ć Hold onto the
handle with both hands.
ć Both my
shoes have holes in them.
ć Both her
brothers are very tall.
ć She has two
brothers, both of them in Canada.
ć She
and her brother both go to the same
school.
ć I’m talking to both of you.
bother
bother /bɒðə/

noun
trouble or worry ć
We found the shop without any bother. ć
It was such a bother getting packed that
we nearly didn’t go on holiday.
í
verb
1. to make someone feel slightly angry,
especially by disturbing them
ć It both-
ers me that everyone is so lazy.
ć Stop
bothering me – I’m trying to read.
2. ˽
to bother to do something to take the
time or trouble to do something
ć Don’t
bother to come with me to the station –
I can find my way easily.
bottle
bottle /bɒt(ə)l/
noun
1. a tall plastic or
glass container for liquids, usually with
a narrow part at the top
ć He opened two
bottles of red wine.
ć She drank the wa-
ter straight out of the bottle.
ć He

bought his wife a bottle of perfume on
the plane.
2. confidence (
informal
) ć He
hasn’t got the bottle to do it.
í
verb
to
put in bottles
ć The wine is bottled in
Germany.
ć Only bottled water is safe
to drink.
bottled
bottled /bɒt(ə)ld/
adjective
sold in bot-
tles
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bottom 37 brain
bottom
bottom /bɒtəm/
noun
1. the lowest
point

ć The ship sank to the bottom of
the sea.
ć Turn left at the bottom of the
hill.
ć Is there any honey left in the bot-
tom of the jar?
2. the far end ć Go down
to the bottom of the street and you will
see the station on your left.
ć The shed
is at the bottom of the garden.
3. the part
of the body on which you sit
ć Does my
bottom look big in these trousers?
í
plural noun
bottoms the lower part of a
set of clothes
ć He was wearing just his
track suit bottoms.
í
adjective
lowest ć
The jam is on the bottom shelf. ć He was
standing on the bottom rung of the lad-
der.
bought
bought /bɔt/ past tense and past partici-
ple of

buy
bounce
bounce /baυns/
noun
1. a movement of
something such as a ball when it hits a
surface and moves away again
ć He hit
the ball on the second bounce.
2. energy
ć She’s always full of bounce. í
verb
to
spring up and down or off a surface
ć
The ball bounced down the stairs. ć He
kicked the ball but it bounced off the
post.
ć In this game you bounce the ball
against the wall.
bound
bound /baυnd/
noun
a big jump í
ad-
jective
1. very likely ć They are bound
to be late.
2. obliged ć He felt bound to
help her.

ć He is bound by the contract
he signed last year.
3. tied up ć a bundle
of old letters bound with pink ribbon
ć
The burglars left him bound hand and
foot.
í
verb
to make a big jump, or
move fast suddenly
ć She bounded into
the room.
ć He bounded out of his chair.
ć The dog bounded into the bushes. ȣ
bound for on the way to ć a ship bound
for the Gulf
boundary
boundary /baυnd(ə)ri/
noun
an imagi-
nary line or physical barrier separating
two things
ć Their behaviour crossed
the boundary between unkindness and
cruelty.
ć The white fence marks the
boundary between the two gardens.
bow
bow /baυ/

noun
1. the act of bending
your body forwards as a greeting or sign
of respect
ć He made a deep bow to the
audience.
˽ to take a bow to stand on a
stage and bend forwards to thank the au-
dience
ć The actors took their bows one
after the other.
2. the front part of a ship
í
verb
1. to bend your body forward as
a greeting or sign of respect
ć He bowed
to the queen.
2. to bend your head for-
wards
ć She bowed her head over her
books.
bowl
bowl /bəυl/
noun
1. a wide, round con-
tainer for something such as food or wa-
ter
ć Put the egg whites in a bowl and
beat them.

2. the food or liquid con-
tained in a bowl
ć He was eating a bowl
of rice.
ć A bowl of hot thick soup is just
what you need in this cold weather.
í
verb
1. (
especially in cricket
) to throw a
ball to a batsman
˽ to bowl someone
(out) to throw the ball to someone and
hit his or her wicket
2. (
in a game of
bowls
) to roll a bowl along the ground to
try to get close to the target
box
box /bɒks/
noun
1. a container made of
wood, plastic, cardboard or metal, with
a lid
ć The cakes came in a cardboard
box.
2. a container and its contents ć He
took a box of matches from his pocket.

ć
He gave her a box of chocolates for her
birthday.
í
verb
to fight by punching,
especially when wearing special thick
gloves
ć He learnt to box at a gym in the
East End.
boxing
boxing /bɒksŋ/
noun
a sport in which
two opponents fight each other in a
square area wearing special thick gloves
boy
boy /bɔ/
noun
1. a male child ć A boy
from our school won the tennis match.
ć
I knew him when he was a boy. 2. a son
ć Her three boys are all at university. 3.
˽ the boys men who are friends, or who
play sport together
(
informal
)
boyfriend

boyfriend /bɔfrend/
noun
a young or
older man that someone is having a ro-
mantic relationship with
ć She’s got a
new boyfriend.
ć She brought her boy-
friend to the party.
bra
bra /brɑ/
noun
a piece of women’s un-
derwear worn to support the breasts
bracelet
bracelet /breslət/
noun
a piece of jew-
ellery worn around your wrist or arm
brain
brain /bren/
noun
1. the nerve centre in
the head, which controls all the body
2.
intelligence ˽ to use your brain to
think sensibly
˽ she’s got brains, she’s
got a good brain she’s intelligent
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brainy 38 break
brainy
brainy /breni/
adjective
very intelligent
(
informal
) (NOTE: brainier – brainiest)
brake
brake /brek/
noun
a part of a vehicle
used for stopping or making it go more
slowly
ć Put the brake on when you go
down a hill.
ć The brakes aren’t work-
ing!
í
verb
to slow down by pressing a
vehicle’s brakes
ć The driver of the lit-
tle white van braked, but too late to
avoid the dog.
branch

branch /brɑntʃ/
noun
1. a thick part of
a tree, growing out of the main part
ć
He hit his head against a low branch. 2.
a local office of an organisation ć He’s
the manager of our local branch of
Lloyds Bank.
ć The store has branches
in most towns in the south of the coun-
try.
3. one part of something larger ć
Genetics is a branch of biology. ć I’m
not in contact with the Irish branch of
my family.
4. a section of a road, railway
line or river that leads to or from the
main part
í
verb
to divide into two or
more parts
brand
brand /brnd/
noun
a product with a
name, made by a particular company
ć
a well-known brand of soap í

verb
to
describe someone or something public-
ly as bad
ć He was branded as a thief. ć
The minister was publicly branded a
liar in the newspaper.
brand name
brand name /brnd nem/
noun
the
official name of a product
brand-new
brand-new /brnd nju/
adjective
completely new
brass
brass /brɑs/
noun
1. a shiny yellow
metal used for making things such as
some musical instruments and door han-
dles
ć The doctor has a brass name
plate on his door.
2. musical instru-
ments made of brass, such as trumpets
or trombones
ć the brass section of the
orchestra

ć He has composed several
pieces of music for brass.
brave
brave /brev/
adjective
not afraid of do-
ing unpleasant or dangerous things
ć It
was very brave of him to dive into the
river to rescue the little girl.
(NOTE:
braver – bravest)
í
verb
to accept un-
pleasant or dangerous conditions in or-
der to achieve something
ć We braved
the Saturday crowds in the supermarket
because we needed bread and milk.
bravely
bravely /brevli/
adverb
in a brave way
bravery
bravery /brevəri/
noun
the ability to
do dangerous or unpleasant things with-
out being afraid

ć We admired her brav-
ery in coping with the illness.
ć He won
an award for bravery.
bread
bread /bred/
noun
food made from flour
and water baked in an oven
ć Can you
get a loaf of bread from the baker’s?
ć
She cut thin slices of bread for sand-
wiches.
breadth
breadth /bredθ/
noun
1. a measurement
of how wide something is
ć The breadth
of the piece of land is over 300m.
2. the
fact of being full or complete
ć His an-
swers show the breadth of his knowl-
edge of the subject.
ȣ the length and
breadth of something
everywhere in
a place

ć We walked the length and
breadth of the field but found no mush-
rooms.
break
break /brek/
verb
1. to make something
divide into pieces accidentally or delib-
erately
ć He dropped the plate on the
floor and broke it.
ć She broke her leg
when she was skiing.
ć Break the choc-
olate into four pieces.
2. to divide into
pieces accidentally
ć The clock fell on
the floor and broke.
3. to fail to carry out
the terms of a contract or a rule
ć The
company has broken its agreement.
˽ to
break a promise not to do what you had
promised to do
ć He broke his promise
and wrote to her again.
4. ˽ to break it
or to break the news to someone to tell

someone bad news
ć We will have to
break it to her as gently as possible.
(NOTE: Do not confuse with brake.
Note also breaks – breaking – broke
/
brəυk/ – has broken /brəυkən/.) í
noun
1. a short pause or rest ć There
will be a 15-minute break in the middle
of the meeting.
˽ without a break with-
out stopping
ć They worked without a
break.
˽ to take a break to have a short
rest
ć We’ll take a break now, and start
again in fifteen minutes.
2. a short holi-
day
ć a winter break ȣ to break your
journey
to stop travelling for a while
before going on
ć We’ll break our jour-
ney in Edinburgh.
break down
phrasal verb
1. (

of a ma-
chine
) to stop working ć The lift has
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breakable 39 breeze
broken down again. ć The car broke
down and we had to push it.
2. to show
all the items that are included in a total
separately
ć Can you break down this
invoice into travel costs and extras?
3.
to become upset and start crying ć
When she got her results she just broke
down.
4. to separate a substance into
small parts, or to become separated
ć
Enzymes break down the food. 5. to fail
ć Their relationship quickly broke
down when he lost his job.
ć The discus-
sions seem likely to break down over the
amount of money being offered.
break in

phrasal verb
1. ˽ to break in,
to break into a building to use force to
get into a building
ć Burglars broke
into the office during the night.
2. to in-
terrupt something that is happening
ć
I’m sorry to break in, but I need to speak
to Mr McGregor urgently.
break into
phrasal verb
to start doing
something
ć When they saw the photos,
they broke into laughter.
break off
phrasal verb
1. to make
something come off by breaking
ć He
broke a piece off his pie and gave it to
the dog.
2. to come off by breaking ć
The handle broke off the cup in the dish-
washer.
ć Several branches broke off in
the wind.
3. to stop something suddenly

ć He broke off in the middle of his story.
ć They broke off the discussions. ˽ to
break it off to end a relationship
ć They
were going to get married, but she
broke it off.
break out
phrasal verb
1. to start ć
War broke out between the countries in
the area.
2. to escape ć Three prisoners
broke out of jail.
break up
phrasal verb
1. to divide into
pieces
ć The oil tanker was breaking up
on the rocks.
2. (
of a meeting
) to end ć
The meeting broke up at 3 p.m.
breakable
breakable /brekəb(ə)l/
adjective
that
can break easily
breakdown
breakdown /brekdaυn/

noun
1. a sit-
uation in which someone cannot contin-
ue to live normally any more because
they are mentally ill or very tired
2. a
situation in which a machine or vehicle
stops working
ć We had a breakdown
on the motorway.
ć A breakdown truck
came to tow us to the garage.
breakfast
breakfast /brekfəst/
noun
the first
meal of the day
ć I had a boiled egg for
breakfast.
ć She didn’t have any break-
fast because she was in a hurry.
ć The
hotel serves breakfast from 7.30 to 9.30
every day.
breast
breast /brest/
noun
1. one of two parts
on a woman’s chest which produce milk
2. meat from the chest part of a bird ć

We bought some chicken breasts to make
a stir-fry.
breath
breath /breθ/
noun
air which goes into
and out of the body through the nose or
mouth
ć We could see our breath in the
cold air.
˽ out of breath, gasping for
breath having difficulty in breathing
ć
He was out of breath after running all
the way to the station.
˽ to hold your
breath to keep air in your lungs, e.g. in
order to go under water
ć She held her
breath under water for a minute.
˽ to
take a deep breath to breathe in as
much air as you can
ȣ to take some-
one’s breath away
to surprise some-
one very much
ć The beautiful view just
took our breath away.
ȣ under your

breath
quietly ć He swore under his
breath.
ȣ don’t hold your breath
don’t expect it to happen ć He said he’ll
pay us next month, but don’t hold your
breath!
breathe
breathe /brið/
verb
to take air into the
lungs or let it out
ć Relax and breathe in
and then out slowly.
˽ to breathe deep-
ly to take a lot of air into the lungs
˽
breathing down someone’s neck al-
ways watching and judging what some-
one is doing
breathless
breathless /breθləs/
adjective
finding
it difficult to breathe
breed
breed /brid/
noun
a group of animals or
plants specially developed with features

that make it different from others of the
same type
í
verb
1. to produce young
animals
ć Rabbits breed very rapidly. 2.
to keep animals which produce young
ones
ć They breed sheep for the meat
and the wool.
(NOTE: breeds – breed-
ing – bred /
bred/)
breeze
breeze /briz/
noun
a slight wind ć A
cool breeze is welcome on a hot day like
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brick 40 brown
this. í
verb
to walk around looking very
pleased with yourself
ć He breezed into

the meeting carrying a cup of coffee.
breeze through
phrasal verb
to do
something without any difficulty
ć She
breezed through the tests in an hour.
brick
brick /brk/
noun
a hard block of baked
clay used for building
bride
bride /brad/
noun
a woman who is get-
ting married or has just married
bridge
bridge /brd/
noun
1. a road or path
built over a road or river so that you can
walk or drive from one side to the other
2. a connection or helpful link between
two things
ć A shared interest can be a
bridge between old and young.
brief
brief /brif/
adjective

short ć He wrote a
brief note of thanks.
ć The meeting was
very brief.
ȣ in brief in a few words, or
without giving details
ć We have food
for only a few days; in brief, the situa-
tion is very serious.
briefcase
briefcase /brifkes/
noun
a case for
carrying papers or documents
briefly
briefly /brifli/
adverb
1. for a short time
2. in a few words, or without giving de-
tails
bright
bright /brat/
adjective
1. full of light or
sunlight
ć a bright day ć a bright room
˽ bright sunshine or sunlight strong
clear light from the sun
2. (
of a colour

)
very strong ć They have painted their
front door bright orange.
3. a young
person who is bright is intelligent
ć
Both children are very bright. ć She’s
the brightest student we’ve had for
many years.
4. clear and sunny ć There
will be bright periods during the after-
noon.
5. happy and pleasant ć She gave
me a bright smile.
brightly
brightly /bratli/
adverb
1. in a strong
clear light or colour
ć A children’s book
with brightly painted pictures.
ć The
streets were brightly lit for Christmas.
2. cheerfully ć She smiled brightly as
she went into the hospital.
brightness
brightness /bratnəs/
noun
1. strong
clear light

2. strong colour
brilliant
brilliant /brljənt/
adjective
1. extreme-
ly clever
ć He’s the most brilliant stu-
dent of his year.
ć She had a brilliant
idea.
2. (
of light
) strong and clear ć She
stepped out into the brilliant sunshine.
3. very good (
informal
) ć The way the
information is displayed on this website
is brilliant.
bring
bring /brŋ/
verb
to come with someone
or something to this place
ć She brought
the books to school with her.
ć He
brought his girlfriend home for tea.
ć
Are you bringing any friends to the par-

ty?
(NOTE: brings – bringing –
brought /
brɔt/)
bring up
phrasal verb
1. to look after
and educate a child
ć He was born in
the USA but brought up in England.
ć
He was brought up by his uncle in Scot-
land.
2. to mention a problem ć He
brought up the question of the noise.
brink
brink /brŋk/
noun
the brink the time
when something is about to happen
˽ on
the brink of (doing) something about
to achieve something
ć The company is
on the brink of collapse.
ć She was on
the brink of a nervous breakdown.
British
British /brtʃ/
adjective

relating to the
United Kingdom
ć a British citizen ć
the British army ć The British press re-
ported their death in a plane crash in
Africa.
ć The ship was flying a British
flag.
broad
broad /brɔd/
adjective
very wide ć a
broad river
ı breadth
broadcast
broadcast /brɔdkɑst/
noun
a radio or
TV programme
ć The broadcast came
live from the award ceremony.
broke
broke /brəυk/
adjective
with no money
(
informal
) í past tense of break
broken
broken /brəυkən/

adjective
1. in pieces
ć She tried to mend the broken vase. 2.
not working ć We can’t use the lift be-
cause it’s broken.
brooch
brooch /brəυtʃ/
noun
a piece of jewel-
lery fixed onto clothes with a pin
(NOTE:
The plural is brooches.)
brother
brother /brðə/
noun
a boy or man who
has the same mother and father as some-
one else
ć My brother John is three
years older than me.
ć She came with
her three brothers.
brought
brought /brɔt/ past tense and past parti-
ciple of
bring
brown
brown /braυn/
adjective
1. with a colour

like earth or wood
ć She has brown hair
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