1 If something belongs to you, it is yours and you own it.
2 If you belong to a group, you are a member of it.
3 If something belongs in a particular place, that is where it should be. • That book belongs on the top shelf.
belongings
PLURAL NOUN Your belongings are all the things that you own.
below
PREPOSITION OR ADVERB 1 If something is below something else, it is in a lower position. • We could hear music coming up from the flat two floors below.
ANTONYM: above
2 If something is below a particular amount or level, it is less than it. • below average rainfall
ANTONYM: above
belt belts
NOUN a strip of leather or cloth that you fasten round your waist to hold your trousers or skirt up
bench benches
NOUN a long seat that two or more people can sit on
bend bends, bending, bent
VERB 1 When you bend something, you use force to make it curved or angular.
2 When you bend, you move your head and shoulders forwards and downwards. • I bent over to pick up my glasses.
NOUN 3 a curved part of something • a bend in the road
beneath
PREPOSITION OR ADVERB FORMAL underneath
benefit benefits, benefiting, benefited
NOUN 1 the advantage that something brings to people • the benefit of a good education
VERB 2 If you benefit from something, it helps you. • He’ll benefit from some extra tuition.
[from Latin benefactum meaning good deed]
bent
ADJECTIVE curved or twisted out of shape
bereaved
ADJECTIVE FORMAL You say that someone is bereaved when a close relative of theirs has recently died.
bereavement NOUN
berry berries
NOUN a small, round fruit that grows on bushes or trees
berserk
ADVERB If somebody goes berserk, they lose control of themselves and become extremely violent.
[from Icelandic berserkr meaning a Viking who wore a shirt made from the skin of a bear and who worked himself into a mad frenzy before going into battle]
berth berths
NOUN 1 a space in a harbour where a ship stays when it is being loaded or unloaded
2 In a boat or caravan, a berth is a bed.
PHRASE 3 If you give someone or something a wide berth, you avoid them because they are unpleasant or dangerous.
beside
PREPOSITION If one thing is beside another thing, it is next to it.
besides
ADVERB also or in addition to
best
ADJECTIVE 1 the superlative of good and well • That was one of the best films I’ve ever seen.
ANTONYM: worst
ADVERB 2 The thing that you like best is the thing that you prefer to everything else.
bet bets, betting, bet
VERB If you bet on the result of an event, you will win money if what you bet on happens and lose money if it does not.
betray betrays, betraying, betrayed
VERB If you betray someone who trusts you, you tell people something secret about them.
better
ADJECTIVE 1 the comparative of good and well • I am feeling better today.
2 If you are better after an illness, you are no longer ill.
SYNONYM: cured
between
PREPOSITION OR ADVERB 1 If something is between two other things, it is situated or happens in the space or time that separates them. • He was head teacher between 1989 and 2000.
2 A relationship or a difference between two people or two things is one that involves them both. • the difference between frogs and toads
beware
VERB If you tell someone to beware of something, you are warning them that it might be dangerous or harmful.
bewilder bewilders, bewildering, bewildered
VERB If something bewilders you, it confuses and muddles you so that you can’t understand.
bewilderment NOUN
beyond
PREPOSITION 1 If something is beyond a certain place, it is on the other side of it. • Beyond the mountains was the secret valley.
2 If something is beyond you, you cannot do it or understand it.
bi-
PREFIX added to a word to mean two or twice. For example, someone who is bilingual can speak two languages.
bib bibs
NOUN a piece of cloth or plastic put under a baby’s chin to protect its clothes from stains
Bible Bibles
NOUN the sacred book of the Christian religion • I read about Noah and the Ark in the Bible.
bibliography bibliographies
NOUN a list of books or articles
bicycle bicycles
NOUN a two-wheeled vehicle that you ride by pushing two pedals with your feet
bid bids, bidding, bid
VERB If you bid for something, you offer to buy it for a certain sum of money. • He bid for an old bike at the auction.
big bigger, biggest
ADJECTIVE large or important
ANTONYMS:
