All Words Glossary Glossary of Civil Engineering Terms beginning with letter B Browse the Civil Engineering Glossary A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z backfill noun The material that has been used to refill an excavation. reserve support personnel. verb To refill a hole with the material dug out of it. to provide reserve support. banquette noun A (typically uphostered) bench-like seat that runs along a wall. A similar bench in a military trench which soldiers stand on to shoot. barrage noun an artificial obstruction, such as a dam, in a river designed to increase its depth or to divert its flow a heavy curtain of artillery fire directed in front of one's own troops to screen and protect them a concentrated discharge of projectile weapons (context, by extension) an overwhelming outburst of words, especially of criticism (fencing) A "next hit wins" fight-off to determine the winner of a bout in case of a tie. bascule noun a counterbalanced structure having one end that rises as the other lowers bed noun A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, to sleep on. A prepared spot to spend the night in, as in camping bed. A garden plot, as in "bed of roses". The bottom of a lake or other body of water, as in "sea bed". An area where a large number of oysters, mussels, or other sessile shellfish is found. A flat surface or layer on which something else is to be placed, as a "bed of lettuce". A deposit of ore, coal etc. A shaped piece of timber to hold a cask clear of a ship, ship"s floor. verb (bed, d, ed) To go to a sleeping bed. To put oneself to sleep. To settle, as machinery. To set in a soft matrix, as paving stones in sand, or tiles in cement. To set out plants in a garden bed. (Slang) To have sexual intercourse. belt noun A band worn around the waist to hold clothing to one's body (usually pants), hold weapons (such as a gun or sword), or serve as a decorative piece of clothing. As part of the act, the fat clown's broke, causing his pants to fall down. A band used as a restraint for safety purposes, such as a seat belt. Keep your fastened; this is going to be quite a bumpy ride. A band that is used in a machine to help transfer motion or power. The motor had a single that snaked its way back and forth around a variety of wheels. A powerful blow, often made with a fist. After the bouncer gave him a solid to the gut, Simon had suddenly had enough of barfighting. (usually capitalized) A geographical region known for a particular product or feature (Corn Belt, Bible Belt). verb (transitive) To encircle. The small town was belted by cornfields in all directions. (transitive) To fasten a belt. Edgar belted himself in and turned the car's ignition. The rotund man had difficulting belting his pants, and generally wore suspenders to avoid the issue. (transitive) To hit with a belt. The child was remanded to state custody when the lacerations on her back where her parents had belted her in punishment were revealed. (transitive) To sing in a loud manner. He belted out the national anthem. (transitive) To drink quickly, often in gulps. He belted down a shot of whisky. (context, transitive, slang) To hit someone or something. The angry player belted the official across the face, and as a result was ejected from the game. (intransitive) To move very fast He was really belting along. bench noun A long seat, for example, in the park. They sat on a park and tossed bread crumbs to the ducks and pigeons. In law, the people who decide on the verdict; the judiciary. They are awaiting a decision on the motion from the . (context, law, figurative) The place where the judges sit. She sat on the for 30 years before she retired. The place where players of a sport sit when not playing. He spent the first three games on the , watching. A place where assembly or hand work is performed; a workbench. She placed the workpiece on the , inspected it closely, and opened the cover.'' (weightlifting) A horizontal padded surface, usually with a weight rack, used for support during exercise. verb (bench, es) (context, transitive, sports) To sideline; to remove a player from play. They benched him for the rest of the game because they thought he was injured. (context, transitive, weightlifting) To lift by bench pressing I heard he can 150 pounds. (slang) To push the victim back on the person behind them who is on their hands and knees and end up falling over bent noun An inclination or talent. He had a natural bent for painting. A predisposition to act or react in a particular way. His mind was of a technical bent. verb (past of, bend) adjective Of something that is usually straight: folded. (context, slang, derogatory, mostly, UK) Homosexual. determined, Determined or insistent. He was on going to Texas, but not even he could say why. Of a person leading a life of crime. (context, slang, football) inaccurate at shooting blacktop noun asphalt concrete, Asphalt concrete, an asphalt-based paving material. Any bituminous black paving material (e.g., tarmacadam, tarmac) verb (blacktops, blacktopping, blacktopped, blacktopped) To pave with blacktop. The county first blacktopped that road decades ago adjective Of or pertaining to blacktop or its uses. It's a blacktopped road in bad need of repair. blinding verb (present participle of, blind) blow noun The act of striking or hitting. A fabricator is used to direct a sharp to the surface of the stone. During an exchange to end round 13, Duran landed a to the mid-section. An unfortunate occurrence. A further to the group came in 1917 when Thomson died while canoeing in Algonquin Park. (slang) (uncountable) cocaine A strong wind. We're having a bit of a this afternoon. (colloquial) A chance to catch one"s breath. The players were able to get a bit of a during the last timeout. verb (blows, blowing, blew or (dialect) blowed, blown or (dialect) blowed) (intransitive) To produce an air current Quotations Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! ! -- King Lear (intransitive) To be propelled by an air current. The leaves through the streets in the fall. (intransitive) To explode Get away from that burning gas tank! It's about to ! (intransitive) (slang) To be very undesirable (see also suck) This blows! (intransitive) (of a cetacean) To exhale visibly through the spout the seawater it has taken in while feeding. There's nothing more thrilling to the whale watcher than to see a whale surface and . There she blows! (That is, "I see a whale spouting!") (transitive) To propel by an air current. Blow the dust off that book and open it up. (transitive) To squander. I managed to $1000 at blackjack in under an hour. (transitive) (vulgar) To fellate. Who did you have to to get those backstage passes? (transitive) To create or shape by blowing; as, to blow bubbles, to blow glass (transitive) To play a musical instrument such as a horn or woodwind. "He was blowing saxophone for me." Ike Turner, interview by Terri Gross, "Fresh Air", NPR, 1996. (transitive) To leave Let's this joint. boil noun A localized accumulation of pus in the skin, resulting from infection. The point at which fluid begins to change to a vapour. Add the noodles when the water comes to the . The collective noun for a group of hawks. bolster noun A large cushion or pillow. verb To brace, reinforce, secure, or support. bore noun A hole drilled or milled through something, as in the bore of a cannon One who inspires boredom or lack of interest. A capped well drilled to tap artesian water. The place where the well exists. verb (bor, ing) (transitive) To make a hole through something. (transitive) To inspire boredom in somebody; to disinterest. bouldering noun Climbing, without ropes, on large boulders or boulder-sized objects. breakout noun An escape from prison An escape from any restrictive or confining situation An outbreak A breakdown of statistics bridge noun A construction or natural feature that spans a divide. The rope crosses the river. (anatomy) The upper bony ridge of the human nose. Rugby players often break the of their noses. (dentistry) A prosthesis replacing one or several adjacent tooth, teeth. The dentist pulled out the decayed tooth and put in a . (nautical) An elevated platform above the upper deck of a mechanically propelled ship from which it is navigated and from which all activities on deck can be seen and controlled by the captain, etc; smaller ships have a wheelhouse, and sailing ships were controlled from a quarterdeck. The first officer is on the . (music) The piece, on string instruments, that support the strings from the sounding board. (computing) A device which connects two or more computer bus, buses, typically in a transparent manner. This chip is the between the front-side bus and the I/O bus. (communication) A system which connects two or more LAN, local area networks at layer 2. The LAN uses a spanning tree algorithm. (music) A song contained within another song, often demarcated by meter, key, or melody. The lyrics in the song's inverted its meaning. (chemistry) A valence bond, atom or chain of atoms that connects two different parts of a molecule; the atoms so connected being bridgeheads. (electronics) An unintended solder connection between two or more components or pins. (electronics) Any of several electrical devices that measure characteristics such as impedance and inductance by balancing different parts of a circuit (billiards, snooker, pool) A particular form of one hand placed on the table to support the cue when making a shot in cue sports. verb (bridg, ing) To be or make a bridge over something. With enough cable, we can this gorge. (idiomatic) To span as if with a bridge. The two groups were able to their differences. bucket noun A container made of rigid material, often with a handle, used to carry liquids or small items. I need a to carry the water from the well. (context, variation management) A mechanism for avoiding the allocation of targets in cases of mismanagement. The amount held in this container. The horse drank a whole of water. Part of a piece of machinery that resembles a . (slang) An old car that is not in good working order. (context, basketball, colloquial) The basket. The forward drove to the . (context, basketball, colloquial) A field goal. ''We can't keep giving up easy buckets. verb (intransitive) (colloquial) To rain heavily. It"s really bucketing down out there. (intransitive) (colloquial) To travel very quickly. The boat is bucketing along. (transitive) To place inside a bucket. bulldoze verb (bulldoz, es) To destroy with a bulldozer. He's certainly very chirpy for a man whose house has just been bulldozed down. bulldozer noun A tractor with a big blade in front used for pushing earth and rocks or building debris. 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