Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

3 PHRASE If you describe something as a bottomless pit , you mean that it seems as if you can take things from it and it will never be empty or put things in it and it will never be full. □  A gold mine is not a bottomless pit, the gold runs out. □  The problem is we don't have a bottomless pit of resources.

bo t|tom li ne (bottom lines )

1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] The bottom line in a decision or situation is the most important factor that you have to consider. □  The bottom line is that it's not profitable.

2 N‑COUNT [usu sing, usu poss N ] The bottom line in a business deal is the least a person is willing to accept. □  She says £95,000 is her bottom line.

3 N‑COUNT [oft poss N ] The bottom line is the total amount of money that a company has made or lost over a particular period of time. [BUSINESS ] □  …to force chief executives to look beyond the next quarter's bottom line.

botu|lism /bɒ tʃʊl I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Botulism is a serious form of food poisoning. [MEDICAL ]

bou|doir /buː dwɑː ^r / (boudoirs ) N‑COUNT A boudoir is a woman's bedroom or private sitting room. [OLD-FASHIONED ]

bouf|fant /buː fɒn, [AM ] buːfɑː nt/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A bouffant hairstyle is one in which your hair is high and full. □  …blonde bouffant hairdos.

bou|gain|vil|lea /buː gənv I liə/ (bougainvilleas ) in BRIT, also use bougainvillaea N‑VAR Bougainvillea is a climbing plant that has thin, red or purple flowers and grows mainly in hot countries.

bough /baʊ / (boughs ) N‑COUNT A bough is a large branch of a tree. [LITERARY ] □  I rested my fishing rod against a pine bough.

bought /bɔː t/ Bought is the past tense and past participle of buy .

bouil|la|baisse /buː jəbes/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft a N ] Bouillabaisse is a rich stew or soup of fish and vegetables.

bouil|lon /buː jɒn, [AM ] bʊ ljɑːn/ (bouillons ) N‑VAR Bouillon is a liquid made by boiling meat and bones or vegetables in water and used to make soups and sauces.

boul|der /boʊ ldə ^r / (boulders ) N‑COUNT A boulder is a large rounded rock.

boules /buː l/ N‑UNCOUNT Boules is a game in which a small ball is thrown and then the players try to throw other balls as close to the first ball as possible.

boule|vard /buː ləvɑː ^r d, [AM ] bʊ l-/ (boulevards ) N‑COUNT [oft in names] A boulevard is a wide street in a city, usually with trees along each side. □  …Lenton Boulevard.

bounce /baʊ ns/ (bounces , bouncing , bounced )

1 VERB When an object such as a ball bounces or when you bounce it, it moves upwards from a surface or away from it immediately after hitting it. □ [V n prep] I bounced a ball against the house. □ [V n] My father would burst into the kitchen bouncing a football. □ [V prep/adv] …a falling pebble, bouncing down the eroded cliff. □ [V ] They watched the dodgem cars bang and bounce. ● N‑COUNT Bounce is also a noun. □  The wheelchair tennis player is allowed two bounces of the ball.

2 VERB If sound or light bounces off a surface or is bounced off it, it reaches the surface and is reflected back. □ [V + off ] Your arms and legs need protection from light bouncing off glass. □ [V n + off ] They work by bouncing microwaves off solid objects.

3 VERB If something bounces or if something bounces it, it swings or moves up and down. □ [V ] Her long black hair bounced as she walked. □ [V adv] Then I noticed the car was bouncing up and down as if someone were jumping on it. □ [V n] The wind was bouncing the branches of the big oak trees.

4 VERB If you bounce on a soft surface, you jump up and down on it repeatedly. □ [V prep/adv] She lets us do anything, even bounce on our beds. [Also V ]