Collins Dictionaries - Collins Primary Illustrated Dictionary

boisterous

ADJECTIVE Someone who is boisterous is noisy and lively.

SYNONYMS: loud, rowdy

boisterously ADVERB

bold bolder, boldest

ADJECTIVE 1 brave or confident • He was bold enough to ask for her autograph.

2 clear and noticeable • The sign was painted in bold colours.

[from Old Norse ballr meaning dangerous or terrible]

bollard bollards

NOUN a short, thick post used to stop vehicles from entering a road

bolt bolts, bolting, bolted

NOUN 1 a metal object that screws into a nut and is used to fasten things together

VERB 2 If you bolt one thing to another, you fasten them together using a bolt. • They bolted the chair to the floor.

3 If you bolt a door or window, you slide a metal bar across in order to fasten it.

bomb bombs, bombing, bombed

NOUN 1 a container filled with material that explodes when it hits something or when it is set off by a timer

VERB 2 If you bomb something, you attack it with a bomb.

[from Greek bombos meaning a booming sound]

bond bonds

NOUN a close relationship between people • the bond between mothers and babies

bone bones

NOUN the hard parts that form the framework of a person’s or animal’s body

bonfire bonfires

NOUN a large fire made outdoors, to burn rubbish or to celebrate something

[from bone + fire – bones were used as fuel in the Middle Ages]

bonnet bonnets

NOUN 1 the metal cover over a car’s engine

2 a baby’s or woman’s hat tied under the chin

bonus bonuses

NOUN 1 an amount of money added to a person’s usual pay

2 a good thing that you get in addition to something else

bony bonier, boniest

ADJECTIVE Bony people or animals are very thin, with not much flesh covering their bones.

book books, booking, booked

NOUN 1 a number of pages held together inside a cover

VERB 2 When you book something, you arrange to have it or use it at a particular time. • Mum booked two rooms at the hotel.

bookcase bookcases

NOUN a piece of furniture where you keep books

booklet booklets

NOUN a small book with a paper cover

boom booms, booming, boomed

NOUN 1 a deep, echoing sound

2 a fast increase in something • There has been a boom in the sale of sun cream this summer.

VERB 3 If something booms, it makes a loud booming sound. • We heard the foghorn boom in the distance.

boomerang boomerangs

NOUN a curved, wooden missile that can be thrown so that it returns to the thrower. Boomerangs were traditionally used as weapons by Australian Aborigines.

boost boosts, boosting, boosted

VERB If someone boosts something, they improve or increase it. • The teacher boosted Juliet’s confidence when she praised her story.

boot boots

NOUN 1 strong shoes that come up over your ankle, and sometimes your calf

2 the covered space in a car, usually at the back, for carrying things in

booth booths

NOUN 1 a small, partly-enclosed area • a telephone booth

2 a stall where you can buy things, for example at a market or a fair

border borders

NOUN 1 the dividing line between two countries

2 a strip or band round the edge of something

3 flower beds round the edges of a garden

borderline borderlines

NOUN If someone or something is on the borderline, they are on the division between two different categories.

bore bores, boring, bored

VERB 1 If something bores you, you find it dull and uninteresting.

2 If you bore a hole in something, you make it using a tool such as a drill.

3 the past tense of bear

NOUN 4 someone or something that bores you

bored

ADJECTIVE If you are bored, you are miserable because you have nothing interesting to do.

Do not confuse bored with board.

boring

ADJECTIVE dull and uninteresting

ANTONYM: interesting

born

VERB When an animal such as a human baby is born, it comes out of its mother’s body and starts to live.

borrow borrows, borrowing, borrowed

VERB If you borrow something that belongs to someone else, they let you have it for a period of time. • I borrowed a book from my friend.

boss bosses, bossing, bossed

NOUN 1 Someone’s boss is the person in charge of the place where they work.

VERB 2 If someone bosses you, they keep telling you what to do.

bossy bossier, bossiest

ADJECTIVE If you are bossy, you like to order other people around.

botany

NOUN the study and classification of plants

both

ADJECTIVE OR PRONOUN Both is used when saying something about two things or two people. • You can both come to my party.

bother bothers, bothering, bothered

VERB 1 If you don’t bother to do something, you don’t do it because it takes too much effort or it’s not important.

2 If something bothers you, you are worried about it.

3 If you are not bothered about something, you don’t care about it.

4 If you bother someone, you interrupt them when they are busy.

NOUN 5 trouble, fuss or difficulty • Mum’s having a bit of bother with the car.

bottle bottles, bottling, bottled

NOUN 1 a glass or plastic container for keeping liquids in

VERB 2 If you bottle something, you put it in a bottle to store it.

bottom bottoms

NOUN 1 the lowest part of something • It sank to the bottom of the pond.

2 Your bottom is the part of your body that you sit on.

bottomless

ADJECTIVE If something is bottomless, it has no bottom or it is very deep.

bough boughs

Rhymes with “cow” NOUN a large branch of a tree

bought

VERB the past tense and past participle of buy

Do not confuse bought with brought.

boulder boulders

NOUN a large, rounded rock

bounce bounces, bouncing, bounced

VERB When an object bounces, it springs back from something after hitting it. • The ball bounced high off the ground.

bound bounds, bounding, bounded

ADJECTIVE 1 If you say that something is bound to happen, you mean that it is certain to happen. • He’s bound to find out.

NOUN 2 a large leap

VERB 3 When humans or other animals bound, they move quickly with large leaps.

boundary boundaries

NOUN the limit of an area

bouquet bouquets

NOUN an attractively arranged bunch of flowers

bout bouts

NOUN 1 something that lasts for a short period of time • I had a bout of flu.

2 a boxing or wrestling match

boutique boutiques

NOUN a small shop that sells fashionable clothes

bow bows, bowing, bowed

Rhymes with “now” VERB 1 When you bow, you bend your body or lower your head as a sign of respect or greeting.

NOUN 2 the movement you make when you bow

3 the front part of a ship

Rhymes with “low” NOUN 4 a knot with two loops and two loose ends • The ribbon was tied in a bow.

5 a long, thin piece of wood with horsehair strings stretched along it, used to play some stringed instruments, such as the violin and the cello

6 a long, flexible piece of wood used for shooting arrows

bowel bowels

NOUN the tubes leading from your stomach, through which waste passes before it leaves your body

[from Latin botellus meaning little sausage]

bowl bowls, bowling, bowled

NOUN 1 a round container with a wide, uncovered top, used for holding liquid or for serving food • a bowl of soup

2 the hollow, rounded part of something • a toilet bowl

VERB 3 When you bowl in cricket and rounders, you throw the ball towards the batsman.