| Words | Parts of Speech | Meaning/Definition/Similar Words |
|---|---|---|
| been | past participle | of Be, The past participle of Be. In old authors it is also the pr. tense plural of Be. See 1st Bee. |
| bead | noun | A prayer., A little perforated ball, to be strung on a thread, and worn for ornament; or used in a rosary for counting prayers, as by Roman Catholics and Mohammedans, whence the phrases to tell beads, to at one’s beads, to bid beads, etc., meaning, to be at prayer., Any small globular body, A bubble in spirits., A drop of sweat or other liquid., A small knob of metal on a firearm, used for taking aim (whence the expression to draw a bead, for, to take aim)., A small molding of rounded surface, the section being usually an arc of a circle. It may be continuous, or broken into short embossments., A glassy drop of molten flux, as borax or microcosmic salt, used as a solvent and color test for several mineral earths and oxides, as of iron, manganese, etc., before the blowpipe; as, the borax bead; the iron bead, etc., To ornament with beads or beading., To form beadlike bubbles. |
| beak | noun | The bill or nib of a bird, consisting of a horny sheath, covering the jaws. The form varied much according to the food and habits of the bird, and is largely used in the classification of birds., A similar bill in other animals, as the turtles., The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects, and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera., The upper or projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve., The prolongation of certain univalve shells containing the canal., Anything projecting or ending in a point, like a beak, as a promontory of land., A beam, shod or armed at the end with a metal head or point, and projecting from the prow of an ancient galley, in order to pierce the vessel of an enemy; a beakhead., That part of a ship, before the forecastle, which is fastened to the stem, and supported by the main knee., A continuous slight projection ending in an arris or narrow fillet; that part of a drip from which the water is thrown off., Any process somewhat like the beak of a bird, terminating the fruit or other parts of a plant., A toe clip. See Clip, n. (Far.)., A magistrate or policeman. |
| beal | verb i. | To gather matter; to swell and come to a head, as a pimple. |
| beam | noun | Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use., One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building or ship., The width of a vessel; as, one vessel is said to have more beam than another., The bar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended., The principal stem or horn of a stag or other deer, which bears the antlers, or branches., The pole of a carriage., A cylinder of wood, making part of a loom, on which weavers wind the warp before weaving; also, the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled, as it is woven; one being called the fore beam, the other the back beam., The straight part or shank of an anchor., The main part of a plow, to which the handles and colter are secured, and to the end of which are attached the oxen or horses that draw it., A heavy iron lever having an oscillating motion on a central axis, one end of which is connected with the piston rod from which it receives motion, and the other with the crank of the wheel shaft; — called also working beam or walking beam., A ray or collection of parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body; as, a beam of light, or of heat., Fig.: A ray; a gleam; as, a beam of comfort., One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; — called also beam feather., To send forth; to emit; — followed ordinarily by forth; as, to beam forth light., To emit beams of light. |
| bean | noun | A name given to the seed of certain leguminous herbs, chiefly of the genera Faba, Phaseolus, and Dolichos; also, to the herbs., The popular name of other vegetable seeds or fruits, more or less resembling true beans. |
| bear | verb t. | To support or sustain; to hold up., To support and remove or carry; to convey., To conduct; to bring; — said of persons., To possess and use, as power; to exercise., To sustain; to have on (written or inscribed, or as a mark), as, the tablet bears this inscription., To possess or carry, as a mark of authority or distinction; to wear; as, to bear a sword, badge, or name., To possess mentally; to carry or hold in the mind; to entertain; to harbor, To endure; to tolerate; to undergo; to suffer., To gain or win., To sustain, or be answerable for, as blame, expense, responsibility, etc., To render or give; to bring forward., To carry on, or maintain; to have., To admit or be capable of; that is, to suffer or sustain without violence, injury, or change., To manage, wield, or direct., To behave; to conduct., To afford; to be to; to supply with., To bring forth or produce; to yield; as, to bear apples; to bear children; to bear interest., To produce, as fruit; to be fruitful, in opposition to barrenness., To suffer, as in carrying a burden., To endure with patience; to be patient., To press; — with on or upon, or against., To take effect; to have influence or force; as, to bring matters to bear., To relate or refer; — with on or upon; as, how does this bear on the question?, To have a certain meaning, intent, or effect., To be situated, as to the point of compass, with respect to something else; as, the land bears N. by E., A bier., Any species of the genus Ursus, and of the closely allied genera. Bears are plantigrade Carnivora, but they live largely on fruit and insects., An animal which has some resemblance to a bear in form or habits, but no real affinity; as, the woolly bear; ant bear; water bear; sea bear., One of two constellations in the northern hemisphere, called respectively the Great Bear and the Lesser Bear, or Ursa Major and Ursa Minor., Metaphorically: A brutal, coarse, or morose person., A person who sells stocks or securities for future delivery in expectation of a fall in the market., A portable punching machine., A block covered with coarse matting; — used to scour the deck., To endeavor to depress the price of, or prices in; as, to bear a railroad stock; to bear the market., Alt. of Bere |
| bere | noun | Barley; the six-rowed barley or the four-rowed barley, commonly the former (Hord. vulgare)., To pierce., See Bear, barley. |
| beat | imp. | of Beat, of Beat, To strike repeatedly; to lay repeated blows upon; as, to beat one’s breast; to beat iron so as to shape it; to beat grain, in order to force out the seeds; to beat eggs and sugar; to beat a drum., To punish by blows; to thrash., To scour or range over in hunting, accompanied with the noise made by striking bushes, etc., for the purpose of rousing game., To dash against, or strike, as with water or wind., To tread, as a path., To overcome in a battle, contest, strife, race, game, etc.; to vanquish or conquer; to surpass., To cheat; to chouse; to swindle; to defraud; — often with out., To exercise severely; to perplex; to trouble., To give the signal for, by beat of drum; to sound by beat of drum; as, to beat an alarm, a charge, a parley, a retreat; to beat the general, the reveille, the tattoo. See Alarm, Charge, Parley, etc., To strike repeatedly; to inflict repeated blows; to knock vigorously or loudly., To move with pulsation or throbbing., To come or act with violence; to dash or fall with force; to strike anything, as, rain, wind, and waves do., To be in agitation or doubt., To make progress against the wind, by sailing in a zigzag line or traverse., To make a sound when struck; as, the drums beat., To make a succession of strokes on a drum; as, the drummers beat to call soldiers to their quarters., To sound with more or less rapid alternations of greater and less intensity, so as to produce a pulsating effect; — said of instruments, tones, or vibrations, not perfectly in unison., A stroke; a blow., A recurring stroke; a throb; a pulsation; as, a beat of the heart; the beat of the pulse., The rise or fall of the hand or foot, marking the divisions of time; a division of the measure so marked. In the rhythm of music the beat is the unit., A transient grace note, struck immediately before the one it is intended to ornament., A sudden swelling or reenforcement of a sound, recurring at regular intervals, and produced by the interference of sound waves of slightly different periods of vibrations; applied also, by analogy, to other kinds of wave motions; the pulsation or throbbing produced by the vibrating together of two tones not quite in unison. See Beat, v. i., 8., A round or course which is frequently gone over; as, a watchman’s beat., A place of habitual or frequent resort., A cheat or swindler of the lowest grade; — often emphasized by dead; as, a dead beat., Weary; tired; fatigued; exhausted. |
| beau | noun | A man who takes great care to dress in the latest fashion; a dandy., A man who escorts, or pays attentions to, a lady; an escort; a lover. |
| beck | noun | See Beak., A small brook., A vat. See Back., To nod, or make a sign with the head or hand., To notify or call by a nod, or a motion of the head or hand; to intimate a command to., A significant nod, or motion of the head or hand, esp. as a call or command. |
| bede | verb t. | To pray; also, to offer; to proffer., A kind of pickax. |
| beef | noun | An animal of the genus Bos, especially the common species, B. taurus, including the bull, cow, and ox, in their full grown state; esp., an ox or cow fattened for food., The flesh of an ox, or cow, or of any adult bovine animal, when slaughtered for food., Applied colloquially to human flesh., Of, pertaining to, or resembling, beef. |
| beem | noun | A trumpet. |
| beer | noun | A fermented liquor made from any malted grain, but commonly from barley malt, with hops or some other substance to impart a bitter flavor., A fermented extract of the roots and other parts of various plants, as spruce, ginger, sassafras, etc. |
| beet | noun | A biennial plant of the genus Beta, which produces an edible root the first year and seed the second year., The root of plants of the genus Beta, different species and varieties of which are used for the table, for feeding stock, or in making sugar. |
| bete | verb t. | To mend; to repair., To renew or enkindle (a fire)., To better; to mend. See Beete. |
| bega | noun | See Bigha. |
| behn | noun | The Centaurea behen, or saw-leaved centaury., The Cucubalus behen, or bladder campion, now called Silene inflata., The Statice limonium, or sea lavender. |
| belk | verb t. | To vomit. |
| bell | noun | A hollow metallic vessel, usually shaped somewhat like a cup with a flaring mouth, containing a clapper or tongue, and giving forth a ringing sound on being struck., A hollow perforated sphere of metal containing a loose ball which causes it to sound when moved., Anything in the form of a bell, as the cup or corol of a flower., That part of the capital of a column included between the abacus and neck molding; also used for the naked core of nearly cylindrical shape, assumed to exist within the leafage of a capital., The strikes of the bell which mark the time; or the time so designated., To put a bell upon; as, to bell the cat., To make bell-mouthed; as, to bell a tube., To develop bells or corollas; to take the form of a bell; to blossom; as, hops bell., To utter by bellowing., To call or bellow, as the deer in rutting time; to make a bellowing sound; to roar. |
| belt | noun | That which engirdles a person or thing; a band or girdle; as, a lady’s belt; a sword belt., That which restrains or confines as a girdle., Anything that resembles a belt, or that encircles or crosses like a belt; a strip or stripe; as, a belt of trees; a belt of sand., Same as Band, n., 2. A very broad band is more properly termed a belt., One of certain girdles or zones on the surface of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, supposed to be of the nature of clouds., A narrow passage or strait; as, the Great Belt and the Lesser Belt, leading to the Baltic Sea., A token or badge of knightly rank., A band of leather, or other flexible substance, passing around two wheels, and communicating motion from one to the other., A band or stripe, as of color, round any organ; or any circular ridge or series of ridges., To encircle with, or as with, a belt; to encompass; to surround., To shear, as the buttocks and tails of sheep. |
| bema | noun | A platform from which speakers addressed an assembly., That part of an early Christian church which was reserved for the higher clergy; the inner or eastern part of the chancel., Erroneously: A pulpit. |
| bent | of Bend, imp. & p. p. of Bend., Changed by pressure so as to be no longer straight; crooked; as, a bent pin; a bent lever., Strongly inclined toward something, so as to be resolved, determined, set, etc.; — said of the mind, character, disposition, desires, etc., and used with on; as, to be bent on going to college; he is bent on mischief., The state of being curved, crooked, or inclined from a straight line; flexure; curvity; as, the bent of a bow., A declivity or slope, as of a hill., A leaning or bias; proclivity; tendency of mind; inclination; disposition; purpose; aim., Particular direction or tendency; flexion; course., A transverse frame of a framed structure., Tension; force of acting; energy; impetus., A reedlike grass; a stalk of stiff, coarse grass., A grass of the genus Agrostis, esp. Agrostis vulgaris, or redtop. The name is also used of many other grasses, esp. in America., Any neglected field or broken ground; a common; a moor. | |
| bend | verb t. | To strain or move out of a straight line; to crook by straining; to make crooked; to curve; to make ready for use by drawing into a curve; as, to bend a bow; to bend the knee., To turn toward some certain point; to direct; to incline., To apply closely or with interest; to direct., To cause to yield; to render submissive; to subdue., To fasten, as one rope to another, or as a sail to its yard or stay; or as a cable to the ring of an anchor., To be moved or strained out of a straight line; to crook or be curving; to bow., To jut over; to overhang., To be inclined; to be directed., To bow in prayer, or in token of submission., A turn or deflection from a straight line or from the proper direction or normal position; a curve; a crook; as, a slight bend of the body; a bend in a road., Turn; purpose; inclination; ends., A knot by which one rope is fastened to another or to an anchor, spar, or post., The best quality of sole leather; a butt. See Butt., Hard, indurated clay; bind., same as caisson disease. Usually referred to as the bends., A band., One of the honorable ordinaries, containing a third or a fifth part of the field. It crosses the field diagonally from the dexter chief to the sinister base. |
| bene | noun | See Benne., A prayer; boon., Alt. of Ben |
| berg | noun | A large mass or hill, as of ice. |
| berm | noun | Alt. of Berme |
| best | adjective | Having good qualities in the highest degree; most good, kind, desirable, suitable, etc.; most excellent; as, the best man; the best road; the best cloth; the best abilities., Most advanced; most correct or complete; as, the best scholar; the best view of a subject., Most; largest; as, the best part of a week., Utmost; highest endeavor or state; most nearly perfect thing, or being, or action; as, to do one’s best; to the best of our ability., In the highest degree; beyond all others., To the most advantage; with the most success, case, profit, benefit, or propriety., Most intimately; most thoroughly or correctly; as, what is expedient is best known to himself., To get the better of. |
| bevy | noun | A company; an assembly or collection of persons, especially of ladies., A flock of birds, especially quails or larks; also, a herd of roes. |