Words beginning with B

155 words

• backbone — the main support or strongest part of something
• backdrop — the general situation in which events take place
• backlash — a strong public reaction against a decision or policy
• backlog — an accumulation of work still waiting to be done
• backtrack — to go back on an earlier statement or decision
• backwardness — the state of being less developed than others
• baffle — to confuse someone completely
• bail — temporary release of an accused person on conditions set by a court
• bailout — emergency financial help given to a failing institution
• balance — an even distribution that keeps opposing things stable
• balk — to hesitate or refuse to go ahead with something
• ballot — the system or paper by which votes are cast in secret
• ban — an official order forbidding something
• banal — dull and unoriginal because it has been repeated too often
• bane — a cause of great harm or misery
• banish — to send someone away from a place as a punishment
• bankrupt — declared unable to pay one’s debts
• bankruptcy — the legal state of being unable to repay debts
• bar — to formally forbid someone from doing something
• barometer — something that shows changes in a situation or in public opinion
• barrage — a rapid, heavy series of questions or criticism
• barren — unable to produce crops or yield results
• barricade — a temporary barrier put up to block a road or a crowd
• barrier — anything that prevents progress or access
• barring — except for
• barter — exchange of goods for other goods without using money
• baseless — not supported by any fact or evidence
• baseline — a starting measurement against which later change is compared
• basis — the reason or foundation on which something rests
• bastion — a place or group that strongly defends a party or a principle
• batch — a group of people or items dealt with together
• bear — to tolerate, or to carry a burden or a cost
• bearing — relevance to or influence on a matter
• bedrock — the essential principle on which something is built
• befall — to happen to someone, usually something unpleasant
• beget — to cause something to arise, especially more of the same
• behalf — in the interest of, or as the representative of, someone
• behest — an order or urgent request from someone in authority
• belated — coming much later than it should have
• beleaguered — under heavy pressure or attack from many sides
• belie — to give a false impression of something
• belittle — to make someone or something seem less important than it is
• belligerent — aggressive and eager to quarrel or fight
• bench — the judge or set of judges hearing a case
• benchmark — a standard against which performance is measured
• benefactor — a person who gives money or help to a cause
• beneficial — producing a good or helpful result
• beneficiary — a person who receives help or money from a scheme
• benefit — an advantage or payment received from a scheme
• benevolence — the quality of being kind and wishing to help others
• benevolent — wishing to do good to others
• benign — gentle in effect, causing no harm
• bequeath — to leave property to someone in a will
• bequest — property or money left to someone in a will
• berate — to scold someone angrily and at length
• bereaved — having recently lost a close relative to death
• bereft — completely lacking something that was once available
• beset — to trouble persistently from all sides
• besides — in addition to something already mentioned
• besiege — to surround a place and press hard upon it
• bestow — to give an honour or gift formally
• betray — to break the trust placed in one
• betrayal — the act of breaking trust
• betterment — improvement in the condition of a person or place
• beverage — a drink other than plain water, especially one sold commercially
• bewilder — to confuse someone badly
• bias — an unfair leaning towards or against someone
• bicameral — having two houses in a legislature
• bid — an offer of a price to carry out work or to buy something
• bifurcate — to divide something into two parts
• bigotry — stubborn intolerance of other beliefs or communities
• bilateral — involving two countries or two parties
• bilingual — using or able to use two languages
• bill — a draft law placed before a legislature
• binding — legally obliging one to obey
• biodegradable — able to be broken down naturally by living organisms
• biodiversity — the variety of plant and animal life in a habitat
• biosphere — the part of the earth in which living things exist
• bipartisan — supported by two opposing political parties
• blanket — applying to every case without exception
• blasphemy — speech that insults what a religion holds sacred
• blatant — done openly and without shame
• bleak — offering little hope of improvement
• blight — something that spoils or damages badly
• bloated — unnecessarily large and inefficient
• bloc — a group of states or parties acting together
• blockade — the sealing off of a place to stop the movement of goods or people
• blueprint — a detailed plan of how something is to be done
• blunder — a serious and careless mistake
• blunt — saying things plainly, without softening them
• boast — to speak with excessive pride about oneself
• bogus — false, though made to look genuine
• bolster — to strengthen or give support to something
• bombastic — using grand words with little real substance
• bonafide — genuine and made in good faith
• bond — a certificate of debt issued to raise money
• bondage — the state of being held as a slave or in forced labour
• boom — a period of rapid growth in an economy or a sector
• boon — something that brings great benefit
• boost — to increase or improve something
• borne — carried or endured; the past participle of bear
• bottleneck — a point at which progress is blocked or slowed
• bound — legally or morally obliged to do something
• boundary — a line that marks the limit of an area
• bounty — a reward offered by an authority for a service
• boycott — a refusal to take part in something as a protest
• bracket — a defined range or category, especially of income or age
• brackish — slightly salty, as where fresh water meets the sea
• brand — to label someone with a strongly negative name
• brazen — boldly shameless
• breach — a breaking of a law, rule or agreement
• breadth — the range or scope covered by something
• breakdown — a collapse or failure of a system or of negotiations
• breakthrough — a sudden important advance after a period of difficulty
• brevity — the quality of being short and to the point
• bribe — money or a favour given to make an official act wrongly
• bribery — the practice of giving or taking bribes
• bridge — to reduce or close a gap between two things
• brief — to give someone the essential information before a task
• brink — the point just before something serious happens
• brisk — quick and full of energy
• brittle — hard but easily broken
• broach — to raise a difficult subject for discussion
• broaden — to make something wider in scope
• brochure — a small printed booklet giving information
• browbeat — to bully someone into doing something
• brunt — the main force or worst part of something harmful
• brusque — abrupt and rude in manner or speech
• brutal — extremely cruel or harsh
• brutality — extremely cruel behaviour
• budget — the annual statement of expected income and spending
• budgetary — relating to the budget
• buffer — something that lessens the impact of a shock
• bulk — the greater part of something
• bulwark — a strong defence against something harmful
• bumper — unusually large and plentiful, said of a harvest
• bungle — to handle something badly and spoil it
• buoyant — showing strength and a tendency to rise
• burden — a heavy duty, cost or responsibility
• burdensome — causing difficulty or requiring heavy effort
• bureau — a government department or office dealing with a specific subject
• bureaucracy — the body of government officials, or excessive official procedure
• bureaucrat — a government official who works by fixed rules
• bureaucratic — marked by rigid rules and slow official procedure
• burgeon — to grow or increase rapidly
• bury — to place under earth, or to hide something from notice
• bustle — noisy and energetic activity
• buttress — to support and strengthen an argument or a structure
• by-election — an election held in one constituency to fill a seat that has fallen vacant
• bygone — belonging to an earlier time that has passed
• bylaw — a rule made by a local body for its own area
• bypass — to avoid or go around an obstacle or a procedure
• byproduct — something produced incidentally while making something else
• bystander — a person present at an event who takes no part in it
• byword — a name that has come to stand for a particular quality