blouses NOUN
A blouse is a kind of shirt worn by a girl or a woman.
blow blows, blowing, blew, blown
VERB 1 When the wind blows, the air moves faster.
VERB 2 If you blow, you send out a stream of air from your mouth.
NOUN 3 A blow is a hard hit.
blue bluer, bluest ADJECTIVE
Something that is blue is the colour of the sky on a sunny day.
See Colours and shapes on page 266
bluebell bluebells NOUN
A bluebell is a flower that often grows wild in woods in Europe.
blunt blunter, bluntest
ADJECTIVE 1 A blunt knife is not sharp.
ADJECTIVE 2 Something that is blunt has a rounded, rather than pointed, end.
My pencil’s blunt.
blur blurs NOUN
A blur is a shape that you cannot see clearly.
The car went past so fast it was just a blur.
blurred ADJECTIVE blurry ADJECTIVE
blush blushes, blushing, blushed VERB
When you blush you become red in the face, usually because you are embarrassed.
board boards NOUN
A board is a flat, thin piece of wood.
boast boasts, boasting, boasted VERB
If you boast, you talk too proudly about something.
boat boats NOUN
A boat is a small vessel for travelling on water.
See ship
body bodies
NOUN 1 Your body is every part of you. Some animals, like elephants, have very large bodies.
See The body on page 256
NOUN 2 You can say body when you mean just the main part of a person, not counting head, arms and legs.
NOUN 3 A body is a dead person.
bog bogs NOUN
A bog is an area of land that is always wet and spongy.
boil boils, boiling, boiled
VERB 1 When liquid boils it gets very hot. It bubbles and steam rises from it.
VERB 2 If you boil food, you cook it in boiling water.
NOUN 3 A boil is a painful red swelling on the skin.
bold bolder, boldest
ADJECTIVE 1 Someone who is bold is not afraid of risk or danger.
ADJECTIVE 2 Letters that are in bold type are thicker than ordinary printed letters.
bolt bolts, bolting, bolted
NOUN 1 A bolt is a long round metal pin with a flat end. It screws into a nut to fasten things.
NOUN 2 A bolt is a metal bar that you can slide across to keep a door shut.
VERB 3 If you bolt a door or window, you lock it with a bolt.
VERB 4 When a person or animal bolts, they suddenly run very fast.
bomb bombs NOUN
A bomb is a weapon which explodes and damages a large area.
bone bones NOUN
Your bones are the hard parts inside your body which make up your skeleton.
bonfire bonfires NOUN
A bonfire is a fire lit outdoors, usually to burn garden rubbish.
bonnet bonnets
NOUN 1 A bonnet is the metal cover over a car’s engine.
NOUN 2 A bonnet is also a baby’s or woman’s hat tied under the chin.
book books, booking, booked
NOUN 1 A book is a number of pages held together inside a cover.
VERB 2 If you book something, you ask someone to keep it for you. We booked seats at the cinema.
boot boots
NOUN 1 Boots are strong shoes that cover your ankle and sometimes your calf.
NOUN 2 The boot of a car is a space for luggage.
border borders
NOUN 1 A border is the line dividing two countries.
NOUN 2 A border is a strip along the edge of something, usually as a decoration.
bore bores, boring, bored
VERB 1 If somebody bores you, you do not find them interesting.
VERB 2 If you bore a hole in something, you make a hole with a drill.
VERB 3 Bore is the past tense of bear.
bored ADJECTIVE
When you are bored, you feel tired and impatient because you have nothing interesting to do.
boredom NOUN
boring ADJECTIVE
Something boring is so dull that you have no interest in it.
born VERB
When a baby is born, it comes out of its mother’s body.
borrow borrows, borrowing, borrowed VERB
When you borrow something, someone lets you have it for a while but they expect you to give it back later.
boss bosses NOUN
Someone’s boss is the head of the place where they work.
bossy ADJECTIVE
A bossy person likes to tell others what to do.
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