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Baal any of various local deities, usu. fertility gods, worshiped by certain ancient Semitic peoples. [2 definitions]
baba au rhum a light, porous cake, usu. made with yeast and sometimes containing raisins or other dried fruit, that is soaked with rum before serving.
Babbitt the title character and protagonist of Sinclair Lewis's early twentieth-century novel, who is smug, conventional, and resolutely middle-class. [2 definitions]
babbitt see "Babbitt metal." [2 definitions]
Babbitt metal a soft white metal alloy of tin, copper, and antimony that is used as a lining to reduce friction in bearings.
babble to speak incoherently or with meaningless sounds. [8 definitions]
babe a recently born or very young person; baby. [4 definitions]
babe in the woods a naive or inexperienced person, esp. one who can be easily exploited.
Babel according to the Old Testament, a tower built by the descendants of Noah, which was to reach heaven, a plan frustrated by God, who made communication among workmen impossible by creating a confusion of languages.
Babe Ruth U.S. professional baseball player, celebrated for his ability to hit home runs and for generating public interest in the sport of baseball; born George Herman Ruth (b.1895--d.1948).
Babi see "Babism."
babirusa a wild pig of the East Indies, the male of which has tusks that grow up through the snout and curve backward toward the eyes.
Babism a nineteenth-century Persian religion that forbade alcohol, polygamy, selling or buying slaves, and begging.
baboon any of various large African and Arabian monkeys that live on the ground and have long doglike snouts.
babu a Hindu form of address that is the equivalent of Mr. or Sir, used in eastern India as a term of respect.
babushka a woman's scarf, usu. triangle-shaped, that is worn on the head and tied under the chin.
baby a newly-born or very young child in the first stages of development; infant. [12 definitions]
baby beef a beef animal of twelve to twenty months, fattened for use as meat.
baby boom the dramatic population increase in the United States during the decade following World War II.
baby boomer a person born in the United States during the decade following World War II, in which the population increased dramatically.
baby carriage a small, four-wheeled carriage used to push a baby around in; perambulator.