Collins Dictionaries - Collins Primary Illustrated Dictionary

3 A brilliant colour or light is extremely bright.

brim brims

NOUN 1 the wide part of a hat that sticks outwards from the head

2 If a container is filled to the brim, it is filled right to the top.

bring brings, bringing, brought

VERB If you bring something or someone with you when you go to a place, you take them with you.

bring up

VERB When someone brings up children, they look after them while they grow up.

brink

NOUN 1 the edge of a deep hole, cliff or ravine

PHRASE 2 If you are on the brink of something, you are about to do it. • They were on the brink of discovering a cure for the common cold.

brisk brisker, briskest

ADJECTIVE 1 quick and energetic • a brisk walk

2 If someone’s manner is brisk, it shows that they want to get things done quickly and efficiently.

briskly ADVERB briskness NOUN

bristle bristles, bristling, bristled

NOUN 1 Bristles are strong animal hairs used to make brushes.

VERB 2 If the hairs on an animal’s body bristle, they rise up because it is frightened.

bristly ADJECTIVE

brittle

ADJECTIVE An object that is brittle is hard but breaks easily.

broad broader, broadest

ADJECTIVE 1 A broad river is wide.

2 The broad outline of a story gives the main points, but no details.

broadband

NOUN a digital system for sending data to and from televisions, computers and telephones • What is the broadband speed like here?

broadcast broadcasts, broadcasting, broadcast

NOUN 1 a programme or announcement on radio or television

VERB 2 When someone broadcasts something, they send it out by radio waves, so that it can be seen on television or heard on radio.

broccoli

NOUN a vegetable with green stalks and green or purple flower buds

brochure brochures

NOUN a booklet that gives information about a product or a service • holiday brochure

broke

VERB 1 the past tense of break

ADJECTIVE 2 If you are broke, you have no money.

broken

ADJECTIVE A broken object is damaged in some way.

bronchitis

NOUN an illness in which the tubes connecting your windpipe to your lungs become infected, making you cough

brontosaurus brontosauruses

NOUN a very large, plant-eating dinosaur

bronze

NOUN a yellowish-brown metal that is a mixture of copper and tin

brooch brooches

Rhymes with “coach” NOUN a piece of jewellery with a pin at the back for attaching to clothes

brood broods, brooding, brooded

NOUN 1 a family of baby birds

VERB 2 If you brood about something, you are worried about it and can’t stop thinking about it.

brook brooks

NOUN a stream

broom brooms

NOUN a long-handled brush

brother brothers

NOUN Your brother is a boy or man who has the same parents as you.

brother-in-law brothers-in-law

NOUN Someone’s brother-in-law is the brother of their husband or wife, or their sister’s husband.

brought

VERB the past tense and past participle of bring

Do not confuse brought with bought.

brown browner, brownest

ADJECTIVE OR NOUN the colour of earth or wood

Brownie Brownies

NOUN a junior member of the Girl Guides

bruise bruises, bruising, bruised

NOUN 1 a purple mark that appears on your skin after something has hit it

VERB 2 If something bruises you, it hits you so that a bruise appears on your skin.

brunette brunettes

NOUN a girl or a woman with dark brown hair

brush brushes, brushing, brushed

NOUN 1 an object with bristles. There are brushes for cleaning things, painting or tidying your hair.

VERB 2 If you brush something, you clean it or tidy it with a brush.

Brussels sprout Brussels sprouts

NOUN a vegetable that looks like a tiny cabbage

brutal

ADJECTIVE Brutal behaviour is violent and cruel.

brutally ADVERB brutality NOUN

bubble bubbles, bubbling, bubbled

NOUN 1 a ball of air in a liquid

VERB 2 When a liquid bubbles, bubbles form in it.

buck bucks, bucking, bucked

NOUN 1 the male of various animals, including deer and rabbits

VERB 2 If a horse bucks, it jumps into the air with all four feet off the ground.

bucket buckets

NOUN a deep, round container with an open top and a handle

buckle buckles, buckling, buckled

NOUN 1 a fastening on the end of a belt or strap

VERB 2 If you buckle a belt or strap, you fasten it.

3 If metal buckles, it crumples up.

bud buds

NOUN a small, tight swelling on a tree or plant, which develops into a flower or leaf

Buddhist

NOUN someone who follows the religious teachings of Buddha, who taught in India in the fifth century. Buddhists believe that the way to end suffering is by overcoming our desires.

Buddhism NOUN

budgerigar budgerigars

NOUN a small, brightly-coloured pet bird. Budgerigars originated in Australia.

[an Australian Aboriginal name, from budgeri + gar meaning good cockatoo]

budget budgets, budgeting, budgeted

NOUN 1 a plan showing how much money will be available and how it will be spent

VERB 2 If you budget for something, you plan how you use your money carefully, so as to be able to afford what you want.

buffalo buffaloes

NOUN 1 a wild animal like a large cow with long curved horns

2 another word for bison

buffet buffets

NOUN 1 a café at a station or on a train

2 a meal at which people serve themselves

bug bugs, bugging, bugged

NOUN 1 a small insect, especially one that causes damage

2 an infection or virus that makes you ill

3 a small error in a computer programme that stops it working properly

VERB 4 If a place is bugged, tiny microphones are hidden there to pick up what people are saying.

build builds, building, built

VERB If you build something, you make it from all its parts.

builder builders

NOUN a person whose job is to build buildings

building buildings

NOUN a structure with walls and a roof

bulb bulbs

NOUN 1 the glass part of an electric lamp

2 an onion-shaped root from which a flower or plant grows. Tulips and daffodils are grown from bulbs.

[from Greek bolbos meaning onion]

bulge bulges, bulging, bulged

VERB 1 If something bulges, it swells out.

NOUN 2 a lump on a normally flat surface

bulk bulks

NOUN 1 a large mass of something

PHRASE 2 If you buy something in bulk, you buy it in large quantities.

bulky bulkier, bulkiest

ADJECTIVE Something that is bulky is large and heavy and sometimes difficult to move.

bull bulls

NOUN the male of some animal species including cattle, elephants and whales

bulldozer bulldozers

NOUN a powerful tractor with a broad blade in front, which is used for moving earth or knocking things down

bullet bullets

NOUN a small piece of metal fired from a gun

bulletin bulletins

NOUN a short news report on radio or television

bullion

NOUN gold or silver bars

bullock bullocks

NOUN a young male bull that is reared for meat

bully bullies, bullying, bullied

NOUN 1 someone who uses their strength or power to hurt or frighten other people

VERB 2 If someone bullies you into doing something, they make you do it by using force or threats.

[a sixteenth-century word meaning fine fellow or hired ruffian]

bump bumps, bumping, bumped