Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

bas|ti|on /bæ stiən, [AM ] -tʃən/ (bastions ) N‑COUNT If a system or organization is described as a bastion of a particular way of life, it is seen as being important and effective in defending that way of life. Bastion can be used both when you think that this way of life should be ended and when you think it should be defended. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] …a town which had been a bastion of white prejudice. □  The army was still one of the last male bastions.

bat ◆◇◇ /bæ t/ (bats , batting , batted )

1 N‑COUNT A bat is a specially shaped piece of wood that is used for hitting the ball in baseball, softball, cricket, rounders, or table tennis. □  …a baseball bat.

2 VERB When you bat , you have a turn at hitting the ball with a bat in baseball, softball, cricket, or rounders. □ [V ] Australia, put in to bat, made a cautious start. ●  bat|ting N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] □  …his batting average. □  He's likely to open the batting.

3 N‑COUNT A bat is a small flying animal that looks like a mouse with wings made of skin. Bats are active at night.

4 → see also old bat

5 PHRASE When something surprising or shocking happens, if someone doesn't bat an eyelid in British English, or doesn't bat an eye in American English, they remain calm and do not show any reaction.

6 PHRASE If someone does something off their own bat , they do it without anyone else suggesting it. [BRIT ] □  Whatever she did, she did off her own bat.

7 PHRASE If something happens right off the bat , it happens immediately. [AM ] □  He learned right off the bat that you can't count on anything in this business.

batch /bæ tʃ/ (batches ) N‑COUNT A batch of things or people is a group of things or people of the same kind, especially a group that is dealt with at the same time or is sent to a particular place at the same time. □ [+ of ] …the current batch of trainee priests. □ [+ of ] She brought a large batch of newspaper cuttings.

bat|ed /be I t I d/ PHRASE If you wait for something with bated breath , you wait anxiously to find out what will happen. [FORMAL ] □  We listened with bated breath to Grandma's stories of her travels.

bath ◆◇◇ /bɑː θ, bæ θ/ (baths , bathing , bathed ) When the form baths is the plural of the noun it is pronounced /bɑː ðz/ or /bæ θs/ in British English, and /bæ ðz/ in American English. When it is used in the present tense of the verb, it is pronounced /bɑː θs/ or /bæ θs/. 1 N‑COUNT A bath is a container, usually a long rectangular one, which you fill with water and sit in while you wash your body. [BRIT ] □  In those days, only quite wealthy families had baths of their own. in AM, use bathtub 2 N‑COUNT When you have or take a bath , or when you are in the bath , you sit or lie in a bath filled with water in order to wash your body. □  …if you have a bath every morning. □  Take a shower instead of a bath.

3 VERB If you bath someone, especially a child, you wash them in a bath. [BRIT ] □ [V n] Don't feel you have to bath your child every day. ● N‑COUNT Bath is also a noun. □  The midwife gave him a warm bath. [in AM, use bathe ]

4 VERB When you bath , you have a bath. [BRIT ] □ [V prep/adv] The three children all bath in the same bath water. in AM, use bathe 5 N‑COUNT A bath or a baths is a public building containing a swimming pool, and sometimes other facilities that people can use to have a wash or a bath.

6 N‑COUNT A bath is a container filled with a particular liquid, such as a dye or an acid, in which particular objects are placed, usually as part of a manufacturing or chemical process. □  …a developing photograph placed in a bath of fixer.

7 → see also bloodbath , bubble bath , swimming bath , Turkish bath

bathe /be I ð/ (bathes , bathing , bathed )