11 letter word starting with b

by
Words Parts of Speech Meaning/Definition/Similar Words
baby farmer One who keeps a baby farm.
baby jumper A hoop suspended by an elastic strap, in which a young child may be held secure while amusing itself by jumping on the floor.
babylonical adjective Pertaining to Babylon, or made there; as, Babylonic garments, carpets, or hangings., Tumultuous; disorderly.
bacchanalia noun pl. A feast or an orgy in honor of Bacchus., Hence: A drunken feast; drunken reveler.
bacciferous adjective Producing berries.
baccivorous adjective Eating, or subsisting on, berries; as, baccivorous birds.
bachelordom noun The state of bachelorhood; the whole body of bachelors.
bachelorism noun Bachelorhood; also, a manner or peculiarity belonging to bachelors.
bacillariae noun pl. See Diatom.
bacilliform adjective Rod-shaped.
backsettler noun One living in the back or outlying districts of a community.
backslidden past participle of Backslide
backsliding present participle & vb. noun of Backslide, Slipping back; falling back into sin or error; sinning., The act of one who backslides; abandonment of faith or duty.
back stairs Stairs in the back part of a house, as distinguished from the front stairs; hence, a private or indirect way.
bactericide noun Same as Germicide.
bacteroidal adjective Resembling bacteria; as, bacteroid particles.
baculometry noun Measurement of distance or altitude by a staff or staffs.
badderlocks noun A large black seaweed (Alaria esculenta) sometimes eaten in Europe; — also called murlins, honeyware, and henware.
bailiffwick noun See Bailiwick.
balaenoidea noun A division of the Cetacea, including the right whale and all other whales having the mouth fringed with baleen. See Baleen.
balanceable adjective Such as can be balanced.
balancement noun The act or result of balancing or adjusting; equipoise; even adjustment of forces.
balancereef noun The last reef in a fore-and-aft sail, taken to steady the ship.
balbucinate verb i. To stammer.
balefulness noun The quality or state of being baleful.
balistraria noun A narrow opening, often cruciform, through which arrows might be discharged.
ball-flower noun An ornament resembling a ball placed in a circular flower, the petals of which form a cup round it, — usually inserted in a hollow molding.
ballotation noun Voting by ballot.
balsamation noun The act of imparting balsamic properties., The art or process of embalming.
bambocciade noun A representation of a grotesque scene from common or rustic life.
bamboozling present participle & vb. noun of Bamboozle
bankrupting present participle & vb. noun of Bankrupt
bantam work Carved and painted work in imitation of Japan ware.
baptismally adverb In a baptismal manner.
baptistical adjective Baptistic.
baptization noun Baptism.
baptizement noun The act of baptizing.
barbacanage noun See Barbicanage., Money paid for the support of a barbican.
barbaresque adjective Barbaric in form or style; as, barbaresque architecture.
barbarities plural of Barbarity
barbarizing present participle & vb. noun of Barbarize
barbarously adverb In a barbarous manner.
barber fish See Surgeon fish.
barbicanage noun Alt. of Barbacanage
barbigerous adjective Having a beard; bearded; hairy.
barefacedly adverb Openly; shamelessly.
bargecourse noun A part of the tiling which projects beyond the principal rafters, in buildings where there is a gable.
bark beetle A small beetle of many species (family Scolytidae), which in the larval state bores under or in the bark of trees, often doing great damage.
barleybrake noun Alt. of Barleybreak
barleybreak noun An ancient rural game, commonly played round stacks of barley, or other grain, in which some of the party attempt to catch others who run from a goal.
barley-bree noun Liquor made from barley; strong ale.
barracouata noun A voracious pikelike, marine fish, of the genus Sphyraena, sometimes used as food., A large edible fresh-water fish of Australia and New Zealand (Thyrsites atun).
barricading present participle & vb. noun of Barricade
barycentric adjective Of or pertaining to the center of gravity. See Barycentric calculus, under Calculus.
basaltiform adjective In the form of basalt; columnar.
base-burner noun A furnace or stove in which the fuel is contained in a hopper or chamber, and is fed to the fire as the lower stratum is consumed.
bashfulness noun The quality of being bashful.
basset horn adjective An instrument blown with a reed, and resembling a clarinet, but of much greater compass, embracing nearly four octaves.
bass-relief noun Some as Bas-relief.
bastardized imp. & past participle of Bastardize
bastinadoes plural of Bastinado, of Bastinado
bathymetric adjective Alt. of Bathymetrical
battologist noun One who battologizes.
battologize verb t. To keep repeating needlessly; to iterate.
bdellometer noun A cupping glass to which are attached a scarificator and an exhausting syringe.
bearishness noun Behavior like that of a bear.
bear’s-foot noun A species of hellebore (Helleborus foetidus), with digitate leaves. It has an offensive smell and acrid taste, and is a powerful emetic, cathartic, and anthelmintic.
beastlihead noun Beastliness.
beastliness noun The state or quality of being beastly.
beatificate verb t. To beatify.
beaucatcher noun A small flat curl worn on the temple by women.
beautifying present participle & vb. noun of Beautify
bedevilling of Bedevil
bedevilment noun The state of being bedeviled; bewildering confusion; vexatious trouble.
bedizenment noun That which bedizens; the act of dressing, or the state of being dressed, tawdrily.
bed-molding noun Alt. of Bed-moulding
bedraggling present participle & vb. noun of Bedraggle
bedrenching present participle & vb. noun of Bedrench
beef-witted noun Stupid; dull.
beetle brow An overhanging brow.
beetlestock noun The handle of a beetle.
beet radish Same as Beetrave.
befittingly adverb In a befitting manner; suitably.
befriending present participle & vb. noun of Befriend
beguilement noun The act of beguiling, or the state of being beguiled.
bejewelling of Bejewel
bel-accoyle noun A kind or favorable reception or salutation.
beleaguered imp. & past participle of Beleaguer
beleaguerer noun One who beleaguers.
belecturing present participle & vb. noun of Belecture
bell bearer A Brazilian leaf hopper (Bocydium tintinnabuliferum), remarkable for the four bell-shaped appendages of its thorax.
bellerophon noun A genus of fossil univalve shells, believed to belong to the Heteropoda, peculiar to the Paleozoic age.
bellicosely adverb In a bellicose manner.
belligerent present participle Waging war; carrying on war., Pertaining, or tending, to war; of or relating to belligerents; as, a belligerent tone; belligerent rights., A nation or state recognized as carrying on war; a person engaged in warfare.
bellipotent present participle Mighty in war; armipotent.
bell pepper A species of Capsicum, or Guinea pepper (C. annuum). It is the red pepper of the gardens.
bell-shaped adjective Having the shape of a wide-mouthed bell; campanulate.
benedictine adjective Pertaining to the monks of St. Benedict, or St. Benet., One of a famous order of monks, established by St. Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century. This order was introduced into the United States in 1846.
benediction noun The act of blessing., A blessing; an expression of blessing, prayer, or kind wishes in favor of any person or thing; a solemn or affectionate invocation of happiness., The short prayer which closes public worship; as, to give the benediction., The form of instituting an abbot, answering to the consecration of a bishop., A solemn rite by which bells, banners, candles, etc., are blessed with holy water, and formally dedicated to God.
benedictive adjective Tending to bless.
benedictory adjective Expressing wishes for good; as, a benedictory prayer.
benefaction noun The act of conferring a benefit., A benefit conferred; esp. a charitable donation.
beneficence noun The practice of doing good; active goodness, kindness, or charity; bounty springing from purity and goodness.
beneficiary adjective Holding some office or valuable possession, in subordination to another; holding under a feudal or other superior; having a dependent and secondary possession., Bestowed as a gratuity; as, beneficiary gifts., A feudatory or vassal; hence, one who holds a benefice and uses its proceeds., One who receives anything as a gift; one who receives a benefit or advantage; esp. one who receives help or income from an educational fund or a trust estate.
beneficiate verb t. To reduce (ores).
beneficient adjective Beneficent.
benefitting present participle & vb. noun of Benefit
benevolence noun The disposition to do good; good will; charitableness; love of mankind, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness., An act of kindness; good done; charity given., A species of compulsory contribution or tax, which has sometimes been illegally exacted by arbitrary kings of England, and falsely represented as a gratuity.
benightment noun The condition of being benighted.
benzoinated adjective Containing or impregnated with benzoin; as, benzoinated lard.
beplastered imp. & past participle of Beplaster
bepommeling present participle & vb. noun of Bepommel
bequeathing present participle & vb. noun of Bequeath
bereavement noun The state of being bereaved; deprivation; esp., the loss of a relative by death.
berthierite noun A double sulphide of antimony and iron, of a dark steel-gray color.
beseechment noun The act of beseeching or entreating earnestly.
besiegement noun The act of besieging, or the state of being besieged.
beslavering present participle & vb. noun of Beslaver
besmirching present participle & vb. noun of Besmirch
besottingly adverb In a besotting manner.
bespangling present participle & vb. noun of Bespangle
bespattered imp. & past participle of Bespatter
bespeckling present participle & vb. noun of Bespeckle
bespreading present participle & vb. noun of Bespread
besprinkled imp. & past participle of Besprinkle
besprinkler noun One who, or that which, besprinkles.
bestialized imp. & past participle of Bestialize
betrothment noun The act of betrothing, or the state of being betrothed; betrothal.
betrustment noun The act of intrusting, or the thing intrusted.
bewildering present participle & vb. noun of Bewilder, Causing bewilderment or great perplexity; as, bewildering difficulties.
bewitchment noun The act of bewitching, or the state of being bewitched., The power of bewitching or charming.
bezoartical adjective Having the qualities of an antidote, or of bezoar; healing.
biacuminate adjective Having points in two directions.
biangulated adjective Biangular.
biblicality noun The quality of being biblical; a biblical subject.
bibliograph noun Bibliographer.
bibliolater noun Alt. of Bibliolatrist
bibliolatry noun Book worship, esp. of the Bible; — applied by Roman Catholic divines to the exaltation of the authority of the Bible over that of the pope or the church, and by Protestants to an excessive regard to the letter of the Scriptures.
bibliomancy noun A kind of divination, performed by selecting passages of Scripture at hazard, and drawing from them indications concerning future events.
bibliomania noun A mania for acquiring books.
bibliopegic adjective Relating to the binding of books.
bibliophile noun A lover of books.
bibliopolic adjective Alt. of Bibliopolar
bibliopolar adjective Of or pertaining to the sale of books.
bibliotheca noun A library.
bibliotheke noun A library.
bibracteate adjective Furnished with, or having, two bracts.
bicalcarate adjective Having two spurs, as the wing or leg of a bird.
bicarbonate noun A carbonate in which but half the hydrogen of the acid is replaced by a positive element or radical, thus making the proportion of the acid to the positive or basic portion twice what it is in the normal carbonates; an acid carbonate; — sometimes called supercarbonate.
bicentenary adjective Of or pertaining to two hundred, esp. to two hundred years; as, a bicentenary celebration., The two hundredth anniversary, or its celebration.
bicephalous adjective Having two heads.
bicolligate verb t. Having the anterior toes connected by a basal web.
biconjugate adjective Twice paired, as when a petiole forks twice.
bicorporate adjective Double-bodied, as a lion having one head and two bodies.
bicuspidate adjective Having two points or prominences; ending in two points; — said of teeth, leaves, fruit, etc.
bifariously adverb In a bifarious manner.
bifoliolate adjective Having two leaflets, as some compound leaves.
bifurcation noun A forking, or division into two branches.
big-bellied adjective Having a great belly; as, a big-bellied man or flagon; advanced in pregnancy.
biglandular adjective Having two glands, as a plant.
bilaciniate adjective Doubly fringed.
bilamellate adjective Alt. of Bilamellated
biliousness noun The state of being bilious.
bill broker One who negotiates the discount of bills.
billet-doux noun A love letter or note.
bill holder A person who holds a bill or acceptance., A device by means of which bills, etc., are held.
billsticker noun One whose occupation is to post handbills or posters in public places.
bimarginate adjective Having a double margin, as certain shells.
bimetallism noun The legalized use of two metals (as gold and silver) in the currency of a country, at a fixed relative value; — in opposition to monometallism.
bimetallist noun An advocate of bimetallism.
bindheimite noun An amorphous antimonate of lead, produced from the alteration of other ores, as from jamesonite.
bindingness noun The condition or property of being binding; obligatory quality.
binocularly adverb In a binocular manner.
biodynamics noun The doctrine of vital forces or energy.
biographize verb t. To write a history of the life of.
biographies plural of Biography
biomagnetic adjective Relating to biomagnetism.
bipartition noun The act of dividing into two parts, or of making two correspondent parts, or the state of being so divided.
bipectinate adjective Alt. of Bipectinated
bipupillate adjective Having an eyelike spot on the wing, with two dots within it of a different color, as in some butterflies.
bipyramidal adjective Consisting of two pyramids placed base to base; having a pyramid at each of the extremities of a prism, as in quartz crystals.
biquadratic adjective Of or pertaining to the biquadrate, or fourth power., A biquadrate., A biquadratic equation.
birdcatcher noun One whose employment it is to catch birds; a fowler.
bird cherry A shrub (Prunus Padus ) found in Northern and Central Europe. It bears small black cherries.
bird pepper A species of capsicum (Capsicum baccatum), whose small, conical, coral-red fruit is among the most piquant of all red peppers.
bird’s-beak noun A molding whose section is thought to resemble a beak.
bird’s-foot noun A papilionaceous plant, the Ornithopus, having a curved, cylindrical pod tipped with a short, clawlike point.
bird’s nest noun Alt. of Bird’s-nest
bird’s-nest noun The nest in which a bird lays eggs and hatches her young., The nest of a small swallow (Collocalia nidifica and several allied species), of China and the neighboring countries, which is mixed with soups., An orchideous plant with matted roots, of the genus Neottia (N. nidus-avis.)
bird-witted adjective Flighty; passing rapidly from one subject to another; not having the faculty of attention.
birostrated adjective Having a double beak, or two processes resembling beaks.
bisulphuret noun See Bisulphide.
bitter spar A common name of dolomite; — so called because it contains magnesia, the soluble salts of which are bitter. See Dolomite.
bittersweet adjective Sweet and then bitter or bitter and then sweet; esp. sweet with a bitter after taste; hence (Fig.), pleasant but painful., Anything which is bittersweet., A kind of apple so called., A climbing shrub, with oval coral-red berries (Solanum dulcamara); woody nightshade. The whole plant is poisonous, and has a taste at first sweetish and then bitter. The branches are the officinal dulcamara., An American woody climber (Celastrus scandens), whose yellow capsules open late in autumn, and disclose the red aril which covers the seeds; — also called Roxbury waxwork.
bituminated imp. & past participle of Bituminate
bituminized imp. & past participle of Bituminize
bivouacking present participle & vb. noun of Bivouac
blackballed imp. & past participle of Blackball
black death A pestilence which ravaged Europe and Asia in the fourteenth century.
black-faced adjective Having a black, dark, or gloomy face or aspect.
black friar A friar of the Dominican order; — called also predicant and preaching friar; in France, Jacobin. Also, sometimes, a Benedictine.
blackmailed imp. & past participle of Blackmail
blackmailer noun One who extorts, or endeavors to extort, money, by black mailing.
blacksalter noun One who makes crude potash, or black salts.
black salts Crude potash.
black snake noun Alt. of Blacksnake
black vomit A copious vomiting of dark-colored matter; or the substance so discharged; — one of the most fatal symptoms in yellow fever.
bladderwort noun A genus (Utricularia) of aquatic or marshy plants, which usually bear numerous vesicles in the divisions of the leaves. These serve as traps for minute animals. See Ascidium.
blamelessly adverb In a blameless manner.
blameworthy adjective Deserving blame; culpable; reprehensible.
blancmanger noun A sort of fricassee with white sauce, variously made of capon, fish, etc.
blandishing present participle & vb. noun of Blandish
blaspheming present participle & vb. noun of Blaspheme
blasphemous adjective Speaking or writing blasphemy; uttering or exhibiting anything impiously irreverent; profane; as, a blasphemous person; containing blasphemy; as, a blasphemous book; a blasphemous caricature.
blastematic adjective Connected with, or proceeding from, the blastema; blastemal.
blastocoele noun The cavity of the blastosphere, or segmentation cavity.
blastophore noun That portion of the spermatospore which is not converted into spermatoblasts, but carries them.
blastostyle noun In certain hydroids, an imperfect zooid, whose special function is to produce medusoid buds. See Hydroidea, and Athecata.
bleacheries plural of Bleachery
blemishless adjective Without blemish; spotless.
blemishment noun The state of being blemished; blemish; disgrace; damage; impairment.
blennorrhea noun An inordinate secretion and discharge of mucus., Gonorrhea.
blessedness noun The state of being blessed; happiness; felicity; bliss; heavenly joys; the favor of God.
blightingly adverb So as to cause blight.
blindfolded imp. & past participle of Blindfold
bloatedness noun The state of being bloated.
blockheaded adjective Stupid; dull.
blond metal A variety of clay ironstone, in Staffordshire, England, used for making tools.
bloodflower noun A genus of bulbous plants, natives of Southern Africa, named Haemanthus, of the Amaryllis family. The juice of H. toxicarius is used by the Hottentots to poison their arrows.
bloodguilty adjective Guilty of murder or bloodshed.
bloodletter noun One who, or that which, lets blood; a phlebotomist.
blood money Money paid to the next of kin of a person who has been killed by another., Money obtained as the price, or at the cost, of another’s life; — said of a reward for supporting a capital charge, of money obtained for betraying a fugitive or for committing murder, or of money obtained from the sale of that which will destroy the purchaser.
bloodstroke noun Loss of sensation and motion from hemorrhage or congestion in the brain.
bloodsucker noun Any animal that sucks blood; esp., the leech (Hirudo medicinalis), and related species., One who sheds blood; a cruel, bloodthirsty man; one guilty of bloodshed; a murderer., A hard and exacting master, landlord, or money lender; an extortioner.
bloodybones noun A terrible bugbear.
bloody flux The dysentery, a disease in which the flux or discharge from the bowels has a mixture of blood.
bloody hand A hand stained with the blood of a deer, which, in the old forest laws of England, was sufficient evidence of a man’s trespass in the forest against venison., A red hand, as in the arms of Ulster, which is now the distinguishing mark of a baronet of the United Kingdom.
blossomless adjective Without blossoms.
blue bonnet noun Alt. of Blue-bonnet
blue-bonnet noun A broad, flat Scottish cap of blue woolen, or one wearing such cap; a Scotchman., A plant. Same as Bluebottle., The European blue titmouse (Parus coeruleus); the bluecap.
blue-veined adjective Having blue veins or blue streaks.
bluff-bowed adjective Built with the stem nearly straight up and down.
blunderbuss noun A short gun or firearm, with a large bore, capable of holding a number of balls, and intended to do execution without exact aim., A stupid, blundering fellow.
blunderhead noun A stupid, blundering fellow.
boatmanship noun The art of managing a boat.
boat-shaped adjective See Cymbiform.
bogtrotting adjective Living among bogs.
bohemianism noun The characteristic conduct or methods of a Bohemian.
bollandists noun pl. The Jesuit editors of the “Acta Sanctorum”, or Lives of the Saints; — named from John Bolland, who began the work.
bombardment noun An attack upon a fortress or fortified town, with shells, hot shot, rockets, etc.; the act of throwing bombs and shot into a town or fortified place.
bombastical adjective Characterized by bombast; high-sounding; inflated.
bombilation noun A humming sound; a booming.
bombination noun A humming or buzzing.
bombycinous adjective Silken; made of silk., Being of the color of the silkworm; transparent with a yellow tint.
bonapartean adjective Of or pertaining to Napoleon Bonaparte or his family.
bonapartism noun The policy of Bonaparte or of the Bonapartes.
bonapartist noun One attached to the policy or family of Bonaparte, or of the Bonapartes.
bonchretien noun A name given to several kinds of pears. See Bartlett.
bookbindery noun A bookbinder’s shop; a place or establishment for binding books.
bookbinding noun The art, process, or business of binding books.
bookkeeping noun The art of recording pecuniary or business transactions in a regular and systematic manner, so as to show their relation to each other, and the state of the business in which they occur; the art of keeping accounts. The books commonly used are a daybook, cashbook, journal, and ledger. See Daybook, Cashbook, Journal, and Ledger.
book muslin A kind of muslin used for the covers of books., A kind of thin white muslin for ladies’ dresses.
bookselling noun The employment of selling books.
bookshelves plural of Bookshelf
boottopping noun The act or process of daubing a vessel’s bottom near the surface of the water with a mixture of tallow, sulphur, and resin, as a temporary protection against worms, after the slime, shells, etc., have been scraped off., Sheathing a vessel with planking over felt.
boragineous adjective Relating to the Borage tribe; boraginaceous.
boroughhead noun See Headborough.
botanologer noun A botanist.
botanomancy noun An ancient species of divination by means of plants, esp. sage and fig leaves.
botheration noun The act of bothering, or state of being bothered; cause of trouble; perplexity; annoyance; vexation.
bottle-nose noun A cetacean of the Dolphin family, of several species, as Delphinus Tursio and Lagenorhyncus leucopleurus, of Europe., The puffin.
bottlescrew noun A corkscrew.
bourgeoisie noun The French middle class, particularly such as are concerned in, or dependent on, trade.
boustorphic adjective Boustrophedonic.
boutonniere noun A bouquet worn in a buttonhole.
bouts-rimes noun pl. Words that rhyme, proposed as the ends of verses, to be filled out by the ingenuity of the person to whom they are offered.
bow-compass noun An arcograph., A small pair of compasses, one leg of which carries a pencil, or a pen, for drawing circles. Its legs are often connected by a bow-shaped spring, instead of by a joint., A pair of compasses, with a bow or arched plate riveted to one of the legs, and passing through the other.
bowie knife A knife with a strong blade from ten to fifteen inches long, and double-edged near the point; — used as a hunting knife, and formerly as a weapon in the southwestern part of the United States. It was named from its inventor, Colonel James Bowie. Also, by extension, any large sheath knife.
bowl-legged adjective Having crooked legs, esp. with the knees bent outward.
bowstringed imp. & past participle of Bowstring, Furnished with bowstring., Put to death with a bowstring; strangled.
boyle’s law See under Law.
brabblement noun A brabble.
brachelytra noun pl. A group of beetles having short elytra, as the rove beetles.
brachiopoda noun A class of Molluscoidea having a symmetrical bivalve shell, often attached by a fleshy peduncle.
brachyceral adjective Having short antennae, as certain insects.
brachyptera noun pl. A group of Coleoptera having short wings; the rove beetles.
brachyurous adjective Of or pertaining to the Brachyura.
bracteolate adjective Furnished with bracteoles or bractlets.
braggadocio noun A braggart; a boaster; a swaggerer., Empty boasting; mere brag; pretension.
braggardism noun Boastfulness; act of bragging.
brainsickly adverb In a brainsick manner.
bramble net A net to catch birds.
branchiness noun Fullness of branches.
branchiopod noun One of the Branchiopoda.
brand goose A species of wild goose (Branta bernicla) usually called in America brant. See Brant.
brandishing present participle & vb. noun of Brandish
brand spore One of several spores growing in a series or chain, and produced by one of the fungi called brand.
branglement noun Wrangle; brangle.
brankursine noun Bear’s-breech, or Acanthus.
brattishing noun See Brattice, n., Carved openwork, as of a shrine, battlement, or parapet.
brazenfaced adjective Impudent; shameless.
brazil wood The wood of the oriental Caesalpinia Sapan; — so called before the discovery of America., A very heavy wood of a reddish color, imported from Brazil and other tropical countries, for cabinet-work, and for dyeing. The best is the heartwood of Caesalpinia echinata, a leguminous tree; but other trees also yield it. An inferior sort comes from Jamaica, the timber of C. Braziliensis and C. crista. This is often distinguished as Braziletto , but the better kind is also frequently so named.
breadbasket noun The stomach.
breadthless adjective Without breadth.
breadthways ads. Breadthwise.
breadthwise ads. In the direction of the breadth.
breakfasted imp. & past participle of Breakfast
breast-deep adjective Deep as from the breast to the feet; as high as the breast.
breast-high adjective High as the breast.
breastplate noun A plate of metal covering the breast as defensive armor., A piece against which the workman presses his breast in operating a breast drill, or other similar tool., A strap that runs across a horse’s breast., A part of the vestment of the high priest, worn upon the front of the ephod. It was a double piece of richly embroidered stuff, a span square, set with twelve precious stones, on which were engraved the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. See Ephod.
breastwheel noun A water wheel, on which the stream of water strikes neither so high as in the overshot wheel, nor so low as in the undershot, but generally at about half the height of the wheel, being kept in contact with it by the breasting. The water acts on the float boards partly by impulse, partly by its weight.
breechblock noun The movable piece which closes the breech of a breech-loading firearm, and resists the backward force of the discharge. It is withdrawn for the insertion of a cartridge, and closed again before the gun is fired.
breechcloth noun A cloth worn around the breech.
brestsummer noun See Breastsummer.
brewsterite noun A rare zeolitic mineral occurring in white monoclinic crystals with pearly luster. It is a hydrous silicate of aluminia, baryta, and strontia.
bric-a brac noun Miscellaneous curiosities and works of decorative art, considered collectively.
bricklaying noun The art of building with bricks, or of uniting them by cement or mortar into various forms; the act or occupation of laying bricks.
brickleness noun Brittleness.
bridgeboard noun A notched board to which the treads and risers of the steps of wooden stairs are fastened., A board or plank used as a bridge.
bridge-ward noun A bridge keeper; a warden or a guard for a bridge., The principal ward of a key.
bridle iron A strong flat bar of iron, so bent as to support, as in a stirrup, one end of a floor timber, etc., where no sufficient bearing can be had; — called also stirrup and hanger.
brightening present participle & vb. noun of Brighten
brilliantly adverb In a brilliant manner.
brinishness noun State or quality of being brinish.
bristletail noun An insect of the genera Lepisma, Campodea, etc., belonging to the Thysanura.
bristliness noun The quality or state of having bristles.
brittleness noun Aptness to break; fragility.
broad gauge A wider distance between the rails than the “standard” gauge of four feet eight inches and a half. See Gauge.
broadspread adjective Widespread.
brochantite noun A basic sulphate of copper, occurring in emerald-green crystals.
broken wind The heaves.
bromatology noun The science of aliments.
brome grass A genus (Bromus) of grasses, one species of which is the chess or cheat.
bronchocele noun See Goiter.
bronchotome noun An instrument for cutting into the bronchial tubes.
bronchotomy noun An incision into the windpipe or larynx, including the operations of tracheotomy and laryngotomy.
brotherhood noun The state of being brothers or a brother., An association for any purpose, as a society of monks; a fraternity., The whole body of persons engaged in the same business, — especially those of the same profession; as, the legal or medical brotherhood., Persons, and, poetically, things, of a like kind.
browbeating present participle & vb. noun of Browbeat, The act of bearing down, abashing, or disconcerting, with stern looks, supercilious manners, or confident assertions.
brush wheel A wheel without teeth, used to turn a similar one by the friction of bristles or something brushlike or soft attached to the circumference., A circular revolving brush used by turners, lapidaries, silversmiths, etc., for polishing.
brusqueness noun Quality of being brusque; roughness joined with promptness; bluntness.
brutalities plural of Brutality
brutalizing present participle & vb. noun of Brutalize
bryological adjective Relating to bryology; as, bryological studies.
buck-basket noun A basket in which clothes are carried to the wash.
bucket shop An office or a place where facilities are given for betting small sums on current prices of stocks, petroleum, etc.
buck’s-horn noun A plant with leaves branched somewhat like a buck’s horn (Plantago Coronopus); also, Lobelia coronopifolia.
bude burner A burner consisting of two or more concentric Argand burners (the inner rising above the outer) and a central tube by which oxygen gas or common air is supplied.
buffel duck A small duck (Charitonetta albeola); the spirit duck, or butterball. The head of the male is covered with numerous elongated feathers, and thus appears large. Called also bufflehead.
buke muslin See Book muslin.
bulbiferous noun Producing bulbs.
bulbo-tuber noun A corm.
bullen-nail noun A nail with a round head and short shank, tinned and lacquered.
bull-necked adjective Having a short and thick neck like that of a bull.
bull’s-nose noun An external angle when obtuse or rounded.
bunch grass A grass growing in bunches and affording pasture. In California, Atropis tenuifolia, Festuca scabrella, and several kinds of Stipa are favorite bunch grasses. In Utah, Eriocoma cuspidata is a good bunch grass.
buprestidan noun One of a tribe of beetles, of the genus Buprestis and allied genera, usually with brilliant metallic colors. The larvae are usually borers in timber, or beneath bark, and are often very destructive to trees.
bureaucracy noun A system of carrying on the business of government by means of departments or bureaus, each under the control of a chief, in contradiction to a system in which the officers of government have an associated authority and responsibility; also, government conducted on this system., Government officials, collectively.
burghership noun The state or privileges of a burgher.
burghmaster noun A burgomaster., An officer who directs and lays out the meres or boundaries for the workmen; — called also bailiff, and barmaster.
burglarious adjective Pertaining to burglary; constituting the crime of burglary.
burgomaster noun A chief magistrate of a municipal town in Holland, Flanders, and Germany, corresponding to mayor in England and the United States; a burghmaster., An aquatic bird, the glaucous gull (Larus glaucus), common in arctic regions.
burlesquing present participle & vb. noun of Burlesque
burnettized imp. & past participle of Burnettize
burnstickle noun A stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).
burrel shot A mixture of shot, nails, stones, pieces of old iron, etc., fired from a cannon at short range, in an emergency.
bursiculate adjective Bursiform.
bushfighter noun One accustomed to bushfighting.
bushwhacker noun One accustomed to beat about, or travel through, bushes., A guerrilla; a marauding assassin; one who pretends to be a peaceful citizen, but secretly harasses a hostile force or its sympathizers.
butterflies plural of Butterfly
buttressing present participle & vb. noun of Buttress
butyraceous adjective Having the qualities of butter; resembling butter.
butyrometer noun An instrument for determining the amount of fatty matter or butter contained in a sample of milk.
by-drinking noun A drinking between meals.
by-election noun An election held by itself, not at the time of a general election.
by-interest noun Self-interest; private advantage.
bysmottered p.adjective Bespotted with mud or dirt.
byssiferous adjective Bearing a byssus or tuft.