bitten ["bIt n] Past participle of bite.. to make something black; to cause some-thing to become black.. to turn something white or lighter; to cause something to become white or lighter
Trang 1bite on something 1 to chew on
something; to grasp something
with the teeth 2 to respond to a
lure
bite one’s nails to be nervous or
anxious; to bite one’s nails from
nervousness or anxiety
bite one’s tongue to struggle not to
say something that one really
wants to say
bite the dust to fall to defeat; to
die
bite the hand that feeds one to
do harm to someone who does
good things for one
bitten ["bIt n] Past participle of
bite
bitter ["bIt #] 1 adj very sharp or
harsh in taste; not sweet, salty, or
sour (Adv: bitterly.) 2 adj [of
wind or weather] extremely cold
(Adv: bitterly.) 3 adj emotionally
painful; distressful (Adv: bitterly.)
4 adj resentful; hateful (Adv:
bit-terly.)
→ take the bitter with the sweet
bizarre [bI "zar] adj very strange;
eccentric; weird (Adv: bizarrely.)
black ["blAk] 1 adj the color of
coal; the color of the darkest
night; the opposite of white
(Comp: blacker; sup: blackest.)
2 adj [of coffee served] without
cream or milk 3 adj evil; wicked.
(Adv: blackly Comp: blacker; sup:
blackest.) 4 adj [of people,
usu-ally of African descent] having
dark-colored skin (Occasionally
capitalized.) 5 adv [of coffee
served] without cream or milk
6 n someone who is of African
descent having dark-colored skin (Sometimes capitalized.)
→ get a black eye
→ give someonea black eye
→ in black and white
→ in the black
→ pitch black
→ thepot calling the kettle black
black and blue bruised; showing
signs of having been physically harmed
black out 1 to pass out; to become unconscious 2 [for lights] to go
out
black something out 1 to cut or
turn out the lights or electric
power 2 to prevent the broadcast
of a specific television or radio program in a specific area
blacken ["blAk @n] 1 tv to make
something black; to cause
some-thing to become black 2 iv to
become very dark or black; to turn black
blackness ["blAk n@s] n the state
of being black (No plural.)
blackout ["blAk aUt] 1 n a
com-plete loss of all electricity or power; a situation of complete darkness, especially caused by a loss of electrical power 2 n a state of not being conscious
blade ["bled] 1 n the flat, sharp-ened edge of a knife or tool 2 n.
the flat, wide part of an oar or
propeller 3 n a long, flat leaf of grass or other plant 4 n the
metal part of an ice skate that makes contact with the ice
blame ["blem] 1 n the
responsibil-ity for causing something that is
bad or wrong (No plural.) 2 tv to
bite on something
46
Trang 2place the responsibility for doing
something wrong on a person
blame someone for something to
hold someone responsible for
something; to name someone as
the cause of something
blame something on someone to
say that something is someone’s
fault; to place the guilt for
some-thing on someone
blank ["blANk] 1 n an empty line
or a space on a form 2 adj
with-out marks; having no writing
(Comp: blanker; sup: blankest.)
3 adj [of a facial expression] not
showing recognition or response
(Adv: blankly Comp: blanker; sup:
blankest.)
→ draw a blank
a blank check freedom or
permis-sion to act as one wishes or thinks
necessary
blank something out 1 to forget
something, perhaps on purpose;
to blot something out of memory
2 to erase something, as on a
computer screen
blanket ["blAN kIt] 1 n a piece of
thick fabric, used to keep someone
warm 2 n a layer of something
that covers something else
(Figu-rative on Q.) 3 tv [for something
as in W] to cover something
→ awet blanket
blare ["blEr] 1 n a loud, harsh
noise 2 iv to make a loud, harsh
noise
blast ["blAst] 1 n a strong, sudden
gust of air; a sudden, heavy wind
2 n the noise and violent gust of
air created by an explosion 3 n.
an explosion 4 tv to blow
some-thing up; to explode somesome-thing
blast off (for someplace) 1 [for a
rocket ship] to take off and head
toward a destination 2 [for
someone] to leave for a destina-tion
blaze ["blez] 1 n a fire; a flame.
2 iv to burn brightly; to burn
with bright flames
blaze down (on someone or some-thing) [for the sun or other hot
light] to burn down on someone
or something
blaze up 1 [for flames] to expand upward suddenly 2 [for trouble,
especially violent trouble] to erupt suddenly
bleach ["blitS] 1 n a substance that
removes color or stains (Plural
only for types and instances.) 2 iv.
to become white or lighter; to turn
white or lighter 3 tv to turn
something white or lighter; to cause something to become white
or lighter
bled ["blEd] past tense and past
par-ticiple ofbleed
bleed ["blid] 1 iv., irreg to lose
blood, as from a wound (Past tense and past participle: bled.)
2 iv., irreg [for color, ink, or dye]
to seep or soak into other colors or dyes
blend ["blEnd] 1 n a mixture.
2 tv to combine something with something else 3 iv to mix well
or attractively with people or things
blend in (with someone or some-thing) to mix well with someone
or something; to combine with someone or something
blend in (with someone or something)
47
Trang 3blend in(to something) to combine
nicely with something; to mix well
with something
blend something in(to something)
to mix something evenly into
something else
blend something together (with
something) to mix something
evenly with something else
bless ["blEs] 1 tv to make someone
or something holy through a
reli-gious ritual 2 tv to ask God to
place favor on the food that is to
be eaten
blessing ["blEs IN] 1 n a prayer
calling for God’s favor or
protec-tion 2 n God’s favor or good
fortune given to someone or
something 3 n approval.
→ thankful for small blessings
blew ["blu] past tense ofblow
blind ["blaInd] 1 adj unable to see;
sightless (Adv: blindly Comp:
blinder; sup: blindest.) 2 adj [of
anger] irrational (Adv: blindly.
Comp: blinder; sup: blindest.)
3 tv to take away someone’s or
something’s sight permanently or
temporarily
→ (as) blind as a bat
→ turn a blind eye to someone or
something
→ up a blind alley
blinds n a kind of window shade
made of horizontal, or sometimes
vertical, slats that can be tilted to
block vision or shut out light
(Treated as plural.)
blink ["blINk] 1 n a quick closing
and opening of the eyes 2 iv [for
a light] to flash on and off quickly
3 tv to close and open one’s eyes
quickly 4 iv [for one’s eyelids] to
close and open quickly 5 tv to
turn a light on and off quickly; to flash a light
blink back one’s tears to fight
back tears; to try to keep from cry-ing
bliss ["blIs] n complete happiness;
joy (No plural.)
blister ["blIs t#] 1 n a bubble of
fluid under the skin, formed by a
burn or irritation 2 iv [for a part
of the skin] to raise up and fill with fluid in response to a burn or irritation 3 tv to cause Q to form on someone or something
blizzard ["blIz #d] n a snowstorm
with strong winds, heavy snow, and possible thunder and light-ning
block ["blak] 1 n a solid piece of
something, such as wood, stone,
or ice 2 n a large, flat piece of
stone or wood on which items are
cut, chopped, or split 3 n the
distance along a street from one
intersection to the next 4 n a
group of seats or tickets for seats that are next to each other, as with the theater, an airline flight, or a sporting event 5 tv to be or get
in the way of something
→ achip off the old block
→ on the block
→ stumbling block
block something off to prevent
movement through something by putting up a barrier; to close a passageway
block something out 1 to lay
something out carefully; to map
out the details of something 2 to
obscure a clear view of something blend in(to something)
48
Trang 4block something (up) to obstruct
something; to stop the flow within
a channel
blond ["bland] 1 adj [of hair] fair
or light in color (Comp: blonder;
sup: blondest.) 2 n someone with
light-colored hair (Blondeis
sometimes used for females.)
blonde ["bland] n a woman or a
girl with light-colored hair (See
also blond.)
blood ["bl^d] n a red fluid moving
through the bodies of animals
(No plural.)
→ blue blood
→ curdle someone’sblood
→ draw blood
→ flesh and blood
→ fresh blood
→ have someone’sblood on one’s
hands
→ in one’sblood
→ in the blood
→ make someone’sblood boil
→ make someone’sblood run cold
→ new blood
blood vessel ["bl^d vEs @l] n a
tube that carries blood through
the bodies of living things
bloodshed ["bl^d SEd] n injury or
death caused by violence (No
plu-ral.)
bloody adj covered with blood.
→ cry bloody murder
→ scream bloody murder
bloom ["blum] 1 iv [for a plant] to
produce flowers or blossoms 2 iv.
[for a flower bud] to open
→ in bloom
blossom ["blas @m] 1 n a flower.
2 iv to produce flowers; to
bloom 3 iv [for a flower bud] to
open
→ in blossom
blot ["blat] 1 n a spot or smeared area of ink 2 tv to remove an
excess amount of moisture by placing an absorbent paper over it and pressing 3 tv to dry or clean something by placing an absorb-ent paper over it and pressing
blot someone or something out to
forget someone or something by covering up memories or by trying
to forget
blouse ["blaUs] n a woman’s shirt blow ["blo] 1 iv., irreg [for wind or
air] to be in motion (Past tense: blew;past participle: blown.) 2.
iv., irreg [for something] to be
lifted by or carried in the air or
wind 3 iv., irreg [for a
sound-producing device, such as a horn]
to make sound 4 iv., irreg [for a fuse] to burn out 5 tv., irreg to exhale air or smoke 6 tv., irreg to
sound a whistle or a horn,
trum-pet, or similar instrument 7 n.
a hard hit or knock; a punch or sock
blow a fuse to burn outa fuse
blow away [for something light] to
be carried away by the wind
blow in [for something] to cave in
to the pressure of moving air
blow itself out [for a storm or a
tantrum] to lose strength and stop; to subside
blow off 1 [for something] to be
carried off of something by
mov-ing air 2 [for a valve or other
pressure-maintaining device] to
be forced off or away by high pressure
blow off steam Go to let off steam
blow off steam
49
Trang 5blow one’s nose to drive mucus
and other material from the nose
using air pressure
blow one’s own horn Go to toot
one’sown horn
blow over [for something, such as
a storm] to diminish; to subside
blow someone or something away
[for the wind] to carry someone or
something away
blow someone or something down
[for a rush of air] to knock
some-one or something over
blow someone or something over
[for the wind] to move strongly
and upset someone or something
blow someone or something up 1.
to destroy someone or something
by explosion 2 to exaggerate
something [good or bad] about
someone or something
blow something out to extinguish a
flame by blowing air on it
blow something out of (all)
pro-portion to cause something to be
unrealistically proportioned
rela-tive to something else
blow something up 1 to inflate
something 2 to enlarge a
photo-graph
blow the whistle (on someone) to
report someone’s wrongdoing to
someone (such as the police) who
can stop the wrongdoing
blow up 1 [for something] to
explode 2 [for someone] to have
an outburst of anger
blown ["blon] Past participle of
blow
blue ["blu] 1 n the color of a clear
sky on a bright day; the color of a
deep, clear ocean (Plural only for types and instances.) 2 the adj
use of Q (Comp: bluer; sup:
bluest.) 3 adj sad (Adv: bluely.
Comp: bluer; sup: bluest.)
→ between the devil and the deep blue sea
→ black and blue
→ burn with a low blue flame
→ like a bolt out of the blue
→ once in a blue moon
→ out of a clear blue sky
→ out of the blue
→ talk a blue streak
→ talk until oneis blue in the face
blue blood the blood (heredity) of
a noble family; aristocratic ances-try
the blues 1 n sadness; depression.
(Sometimes treated as singular See also get the blues.) 2 n a type
of music, similar to slow jazz (Sometimes treated as singular.)
bluff ["bl^f] 1 n a steep hill or cliff with a wide front 2 n a harmless
deception; a trick that will not
result in harm 3 tv to deceive
someone or some creature; to mis-lead someone or some creature into doing something
blunder ["bl^n d#] 1 n a stupid mistake; a clumsy error 2 iv to
make a stupid mistake
blunt ["bl^nt] 1 adj without a
sharp edge or point (Adv: bluntly Comp: blunter; sup: bluntest.)
2 adj to the point; frank; not
sub-tle (Adv: bluntly Comp: blunter;
sup: bluntest.) 3 tv to make
some-thing dull; to make somesome-thing less sharp
board ["bord] 1 n a flat, thin piece
of wood; a plank 2 n a flat piece
of wood or other rigid material, blow one’s nose
50
Trang 6used for a specific purpose 3 n.
daily meals [when associated with
one’s lodging] (No plural Treated
as singular.) 4 n a group of
peo-ple who manage a company or
other organization 5 n a flat,
sturdy piece of material on which
a game is played 6 tv to get on a
ship, bus, train, or plane 7 iv to
receive meals and living space in
exchange for money or work
→ back to the drawing board
→ bulletin board
boast ["bost] 1 n a bragging
state-ment 2 iv to brag or exaggerate.
3 tv [for something] to offer or
have a particular characteristic
boat ["bot] n a floating means of
transportation, smaller than a
ship, that carries people and cargo
→ in the same boat
→ rock the boat
bob ["bab] 1 n a quick
up-and-down movement 2 iv to move up
and down quickly, as with
some-thing floating on water 3 tv to
cut something, especially hair,
short
body ["bad i] 1 n the whole
physi-cal structure of a living creature or
plant 2 n a dead human or
ani-mal; a corpse 3 n the main part
of something 4 n a collection of
people or things taken as a group;
a group; a collection 5 n a large
mass of something; an object
→ keep body and soul together
bog down to become encumbered
and slow down; to slow down
boggle someone’s mind to
over-whelm someone; to mix up
someone’s thinking; to astound
someone
boil ["boIl] 1 n a painful sore place surrounding an infection 2 n the
condition of something that boils
as in T (No plural.) 3 tv to
make a liquid so hot that it
bub-bles and turns into vapor 4 tv to
cook something by putting it in a liquid that is very hot as in T
5 iv [for a liquid] to become so
hot that it bubbles and turns into
vapor 6 iv [for something] to
cook in a liquid that is very hot as
in T
→ have a low boiling point
→ make someone’sblood boil
boil down to something 1 [for a
liquid] to be condensed to
some-thing by boiling 2 [for a complex
situation] to be reduced to its essentials
boil over [for a liquid] to overflow
while being boiled
boil something out (of something)
to remove something from some-thing by boiling
bold ["bold] 1 adj confident; sure
of oneself; courageous (Adv:
boldly Comp: bolder; sup: boldest.)
2 adj without shame; rude; not
shy (Adv: boldly Comp: bolder;
sup: boldest.) 3 adj [of printing]
darker and thicker (Comp: bolder; sup: boldest.)
bolt ["bolt] 1 n a metal pin or rod,
with threads, used to connect or
attach things 2 n a rod that fas-tens a door, window, or gate 3 n.
a flash or streak of lightning 4 n.
a sudden, quick movement; an unexpected, quick movement
5 n a roll of cloth 6 tv to fasten
two or more objects together with
Q 7 tv to lock a door, gate, or
bolt
51
Trang 7window by sliding a metal W into
place 8 iv to run away from
someone or something; to move
away from someone or something
quickly and suddenly
→ like a bolt out of the blue
→ nuts and bolts (of something)
bomb ["bam] 1 n an explosive
weapon or device 2 tv to attack
an area by dropping Q on it from
planes 3 tv to use Q to cause
damage or injury to someone or
something
bond ["band] 1 n a link or
some-thing in common that brings
together two people or two groups
of people 2 n something that
causes two objects to stick
together 3 n an agreement in
which someone or a company
promises, as an investment, to pay
back a certain sum of money by a
particular date 4 iv [for an
adhe-sive or paint] to become firmly
attached
bone ["bon] 1 n any one of the
many parts of an animal’s
skele-ton 2 n the hard substance of
which Q is made (No plural.)
3 tv to remove Q from meat
before cooking it
→ all skin and bones
→ chilled to the bone
→ cut somethingto the bone
→ feel somethingin one’sbones
→ have a bone to pick (with
someone)
→ know somethingin one’sbones
→ nothing but skin and bones
→ work one’sfingers to the bone
a bone of contention the subject
or point of an argument; an
unset-tled point of disagreement
bonfire ["ban faI#] n a large,
con-trolled outdoor fire
bonnet ["ban @t] n a cloth hat for
women or girls; any hat for women or girls
→ have a bee in one’sbonnet
→ put a bee in someone’sbonnet
bonus ["bon @s] 1 n something extra 2 the adj use of Q book ["bUk] 1 n a stack of pages, held within a cover 2 n a
subdi-vision of a longer written work
3 n a set of objects that are held together under a cover 4 tv to
process a charge against someone who has been arrested for com-mitting a crime 5 tv to reserve space in advance for something, such as a play, an airplane flight, a room in a hotel, or a table in a restaurant 6 tv to reserve the services of a performer in advance
→ have one’snose in a book
→ know someone or somethinglike a book
→ anopen book
→ read someonelike a book
→ take a leaf out of someone’sbook
→ use every trick in the book
book someone through (to some-place) to make transportation
arrangements for someone that involve a number of changes and transfers
bookcase ["bUk kes] n a set of
shelves for books
bookkeeper ["bUk kip #] n
some-one who keeps track of the accounts of a company or an organization
bookkeeping ["bUk kip IN] n the
job of keeping track of the accounts of a company or an bomb
52
Trang 8organization (No plural.)
booklet ["bUk l@t] n a thin book; a
pamphlet
bookmark ["bUk mark] n
some-thing placed between the pages of
a book to keep the reader’s place
books n the records of the money
spent and earned by a company or
organization (Treated as plural,
but not countable.)
bookshelf ["bUk SElf] n., irreg a
horizontal board for holding and
displaying books, as in a bookcase
(Plural: bookshelves.)
bookshelves ["bUk SElvz] plural of
bookshelf.
bookshop ["bUk Sap] n a store
where books are sold
bookstore ["bUk stor] n a store
where books are sold
boom ["bum] 1 n a large, echoing
noise made when something
explodes or crashes 2 n a time of
strong economic growth 3 n a
large, horizontal pole or beam
used for support or in the lifting of
a weight 4 iv to make a large,
echoing noise like an explosion or
a crash
→ lower the boom on someone
boom out [for a loud sound] to
sound out like thunder
boost ["bust] 1 n an upward push;
an upward movement 2 tv to
push someone or something
upward from beneath 3 tv to
increase something; to raise
some-thing
boot ["but] 1 n a heavy shoe, often
waterproof 2 tv to kick someone
or something 3 tv to start a
com-puter, causing it to make a series of
checks and set up its operating sys-tem
→ quake in one’sboots
→ shake in one’sboots
boot someone out (of something)
to force someone to leave some-thing or someplace
boot (something) up to start up a
computer
booth ["buT] 1 n., irreg a seating
area in a restaurant having bench seats with backs, placed on two sides of the table or around the table (Plural: ["buDz] or ["buTs].)
2 n., irreg a small, enclosed
space, such as the enclosure
con-taining a public telephone 3 n.,
irreg a display table or
area—pos-sibly enclosed—at a fair or a market
border ["bor d#] 1 n a decorated
area at the edge of something, and
the edge itself 2 n the dividing
line between two countries, states,
or other political units 3 tv to
adjoin or be next to a particular area
border (up)on something 1 [for
something] to touch upon a
boundary 2 [for some activity or
idea] to be very similar to some-thing else
borderline ["bor d# laIn] n the
line that marks a border—not clearly on either side of the border
→ on the borderline
bore ["bor] 1 past tense ofbear
2 tv to drill a hole in something.
3 tv to make someone tired by being dull 4 iv to drill; to make a hole 5 n someone or something
that is boring; someone or some-thing that is dull
bore
53
Trang 9boredom ["bor d@m] n a state or
condition where one is bored and
finds everything dull and
uninter-esting
→ die of boredom
boring ["bor IN] adj dull; not
enter-taining; causing people to lose
interest and perhaps become
sleepy (Adv: boringly.)
born ["born] 1 a past participle of
bear 2 adj possessing a certain
quality or character since birth; by
birth; natural (Prenominal only.)
3 adj having a particular place of
birth or national heritage
(Usu-ally in hyphenated combinations.)
→ not born yesterday
born with a silver spoon in one’s
mouth born with many
advan-tages; born to a wealthy family;
already showing the signs of great
wealth at birth
borne ["born] a past participle of
bear
borrow ["bar o] 1 tv to ask for,
accept, and use something from
someone with the intention of
returning or replacing it 2 tv to
take something, such as a custom,
trait, or idea, and use it as one’s
own
boss ["bOs] n someone who is in
charge of other people’s work or of
other workers
boss someone around to order
someone around
botch something up to mess
some-thing up; to do a bad job of
something
both ["boT] 1 adj one and one
other; the two [people or things]
(See also eachand every.) 2 pron.
one thing or person and another thing or person; the two things or people
→ burn the candle at both ends
→ cut both ways
→ have a foot in both camps
→ play both ends (against the middle)
→ with both hands tied behind one’sback
bother ["baD #] 1 n something
that is time-consuming or
annoy-ing to do 2 tv to annoy someone
or something; to upset someone or
something 3 tv to interrupt or
disturb someone
bottle ["bat @l] 1 n a container,
usually glass or plastic, with an opening at the end of a short or long neck 2 n the contents of Q
3 tv to put something in Q,
usu-ally for future use or sale
bottle something up (inside (someone)) [for someone] to keep
serious emotions within and not express them
bottleneck ["bat l nEk] n a narrow
or crowded passage, like the neck
of a bottle
bottom ["bat @m] 1 n the lowest
level of something; the deepest
point of something 2 n the
underside of something; the
low-est surface of something 3 n.
land underneath water; the ground
under a body of water 4 n the
part of the body on which one sits;
the buttocks 5 adj relating to the
lowest part of something; relating
to the underneath part of some-thing
→ (as) soft as a baby’s bottom
→ at the bottom of the ladder
→ from the bottom of one’sheart boredom
54
Trang 10→ from top to bottom
→ get to the bottom of something
→ hit bottom
→ learn somethingfrom the bottom
up
→ scrape the bottom of the barrel
bottom out finally to reach the
lowest or worst point
bought ["bOt] past tense and past
participle ofbuy
boulder ["bol d#] n a huge stone.
boulevard ["bUl @ vard] n a wide
city street, usually lined with trees
bounce ["baUns] 1 n the return
movement of an object when it
hits a surface 2 iv to spring up or
away after hitting a surface 3 tv.
to toss someone upward gently,
causing an upward movement as
in W 4 tv to cause something to
hit against a surface and spring
back
bounce off ((of ) something) to
rebound from something
bounce out (of something) to
rebound out of or away from
something
bounce something off (of )
some-one or something 1 to make
something rebound off someone
or something 2 to try an idea or
concept out on someone or a
group (Figurative.)
bound ["baUnd] 1 past tense and
past participle ofbind 2 adj tied
up; fastened; glued into covers
3 iv to jump; to leap forward; to
bounce up 4 n an upward jump;
a forward jump
→ by leaps and bounds
bound hand and foot with hands
and feet tied up
boundary ["baUn dri] n a border; a
line that marks the edge of a thing
or a place
bouquet [bo "ke] n an
arrange-ment of cut flowers; a grouping of cut flowers that can be held in one hand
bout ["baUt] 1 n an attack of a dis-ease 2 n a specific contest or
event, especially a boxing match
bow 1 ["bo] n a pretty knot,
usu-ally with two or more large loops
2 ["bo] n a weapon that shoots arrows 3 ["bo] n a stick with
strings of hair stretched from end
to end, used to play a stringed instrument, such as a violin
4 ["baU] n an act of bending the
body to show respect or in
response to applause 5 ["baU] n.
the front part of a ship or a boat
6 ["bo] iv to bend into a curve,
similar to W; to form a curve
7 ["baU] iv to bend the body
when greeting or honoring
some-one 8 ["bo] tv to cause
something to bend into a curve, like the curve of W; to cause something straight to form a curve
bow and scrape ["baU ] to be
very humble and subservient
bow out (of something) ["baU ]
to withdraw from something
bowel ["baU @l] n the upper or
lower intestine; the upper and lower intestine
bowel movement ["baUl muv
m@nt] n an act of expelling or get-ting rid of feces
bowel movement
55