| bagpipe |
(often pl.) a musical instrument, played esp. in Scotland, consisting of a double-reed melody pipe and one or more drone pipes that protrude from a flexible leather bag that is inflated through a blowpipe by the breath or by bellows. The pipes are traditionally made of wood. |
| ballistic missile |
a long-range missile that reaches its target by falling freely at extremely high speed along a precalculated trajectory. |
| barium sulfate |
an opaque insoluble white powder that is used as a pigment in paints and a filler for plastics and textiles, and is swallowed as a diagnostic aid in x-ray examination of the stomach and intestines. |
| bark3 |
a sailing ship with between three and five masts, all but one of which are square-rigged. |
| barkentine |
a ship with three or more masts, square-rigged on the foremast, and fore-and-aft rigged on the others. |
| bassoon |
a large low-pitched woodwind instrument consisting of a long doubled wooden tube fitted with a slender curved metal tube that terminates in a double-reed mouthpiece. |
| basso-relievo |
see "bas-relief." |
| bean curd |
a soft, protein-rich food made from puréed soy beans; tofu. |
| begum |
a high-ranking Muslim woman, often a widow. |
| biofeedback |
a method for self-regulation of presumably involuntary bodily functions, such as heartbeat rate, with the aid of electronic monitors that display visual representations of such functions. |
| bombardier |
one who operates the bombsight and bomb-release mechanism in a bomber aircraft. |
| boogie |
strongly rhythmic rock-'n'-roll with a fast tempo, often in a blues form. [2/3 definitions] |
| boss1 |
(slang) first-rate. [1/7 definitions] |
| box supper |
a social and fund-raising occasion at which the participants bid for donated box lunches. |
| bremsstrahlung |
electromagnetic radiation, such as x-rays, produced by the sudden deceleration or acceleration of an electron caused by its approach to an atomic nucleus. |
| brig |
a two-masted sailing vessel with square-rigged sails. [1/2 definitions] |
| brigantine |
a two-masted sailing vessel with square-rigged sails on the front mast and a fore-and-aft mainsail. |
| Brussels sprout |
this cabbage-related plant that grows multiple heads along its tall stem. [1/2 definitions] |
| bush-league |
(informal) pertaining to a second-rate group or sphere of activity. [2 definitions] |
| bush leaguer |
someone whose performance is mediocre or second-rate. [1/2 definitions] |
| business college |
a school that offers instruction in business-related skills, such as typing, bookkeeping, and business administration. |