Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

1 ADJ If you say that something is bitty , you mean that it seems to be formed from a lot of different parts which you think do not fit together or go together well. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □  The programme was bitty and pointless.

2 ADJ [ADJ n] If you describe someone or something as a little bitty person or thing, you are emphasizing that they are very small. [AM , INFORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □  She's just a little bitty wisp of a girl.

bi|tu|men /b I tʃʊm I n, [AM ] b I tuː mən/ N‑UNCOUNT Bitumen is a black sticky substance which is obtained from tar or petrol and is used in making roads.

bivou|ac /b I vuæk/ (bivouacs , bivouacking , bivouacked )

1 N‑COUNT A bivouac is a temporary camp made by soldiers or mountain climbers.

2 VERB If you bivouac in a particular place, you stop and stay in a bivouac there. □ [V prep/adv] We bivouacked on the outskirts of the city. [Also V ]

bi|week|ly /ba I wiː kli/ ADJ [ADJ n] A biweekly event or publication happens or appears once every two weeks. [AM ] □  He used to see them at the biweekly meetings. □  …Beverage Digest, the industry's biweekly newsletter. ● ADV [ADV with v] Biweekly is also an adverb. □  The group meets on a regular basis, usually weekly or biweekly. [in BRIT, use fortnightly ]

biz /b I z/

1 N‑SING [oft n N ] Biz is sometimes used to refer to the entertainment business, especially pop music or films. [JOURNALISM , INFORMAL ] □  …a girl in the music biz.

2 → see also showbiz

bi|zarre /b I zɑː ^r / ADJ Something that is bizarre is very odd and strange. □  The game was also notable for the bizarre behaviour of the team's manager. ●  bi|zarre|ly ADV [ADV with v, ADV adj] □  She dressed bizarrely.

blab /blæ b/ (blabs , blabbing , blabbed ) VERB If someone blabs about something secret, they tell people about it. [INFORMAL ] □ [V + about ] Her mistake was to blab about their affair. □ [V + to ] No blabbing to your mates! □ [V n prep] She'll blab it all over the school. [Also V ]

black ◆◆◆ /blæ k/ (blacker , blackest , blacks , blacking , blacked )

1 COLOUR Something that is black is of the darkest colour that there is, the colour of the sky at night when there is no light at all. □  She was wearing a black coat with a white collar. □  He had thick black hair. □  I wear a lot of black. □  He was dressed all in black.

2 ADJ A black person belongs to a race of people with dark skins, especially a race from Africa. □  He worked for the rights of black people. □  …the traditions of the black community.

3 N‑COUNT [usu pl] Black people are sometimes referred to as blacks . This use could cause offence. □  There are about thirty-one million blacks in the U.S…

4 ADJ [ADJ n] Black coffee or tea has no milk or cream added to it. □  A cup of black tea or black coffee contains no calories. □  I drink coffee black.

5 ADJ If you describe a situation as black , you are emphasizing that it is very bad indeed. [EMPHASIS ] □  It was, he said later, one of the blackest days of his political career. □  The future for the industry looks even blacker.

6 ADJ If someone is in a black mood, they feel very miserable and depressed. □  Her mood was blacker than ever.

7 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Black humour involves jokes about sad or difficult situations. □  'So you can all go over there and get shot,' he said, with the sort of black humour common among British troops here. □  It's a black comedy of racial prejudice, mistaken identity and thwarted expectations.