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All Words Glossary
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baby grand |
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noun
- a small grand piano
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backing |
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noun
- Support, especially financial.
It's a volunteer organization that works with from the city and a few grants.
- A liner or other material added behind or underneath.
The cardboard gives the notebook a little extra stiffness.
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(music) Support for the main performer
verb
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(present participle of, back)
adjective-
(music) That which provides support for the main performer
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bagpipe |
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noun- singular of bagpipes (normally used in plural)
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balalaika |
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noun
- A Russian musical instrument, similar to a guitar, with a triangular body.
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ballad |
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noun
- A long song or poem that tells a story.
The poet composed a praising the heroic exploits of the fallen commander.
- A slow romantic pop music, pop song.
On Friday nights, the roller rink had a time-block called "Lovers' Lap" when they played nothing but ballads on the overhead speakers.
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balladeer |
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noun- A singer (generally professional), particularly one who sings ballads.
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ballerina |
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noun
- A female ballet dancer.
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ballet |
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noun
- a classical form of dance.
- a theatrical presentation of such dancing, usually with music, sometimes in the form of a story.
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balletomane |
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noun
- An enthusiastic ballet fan.
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bandstand |
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noun
- a small platform or enclosure for bands to play on, usually roofed
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bandwagon |
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noun
- A large wagon used to carry a band of musicians in a parade.
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banjo |
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noun (pl=banjos or banjoes)
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(musici) A stringed musical instrument with a round body and fretted neck, played by plucking or strumming the strings.
- I come from Alabama with my on my knee ...
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bank |
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noun
- An institution where one can place and borrow money and take care of financial affairs.
- A branch office of such an institution
- A safe and guaranteed place of storage for and retrieval of important items or goods.
blood bank
sperm bank
data bank
- A row or panel of items stored or grouped together.
a of switches
- An edge of river or other watercourse.
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(nautical) An elevation, or rising ground, under the sea; a shallow area of shifting sand, gravel, mud, and so forth (for example, a sandbank or mudbank).
- An embankment.
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(context, aviation) The incline of an aircraft, especially during a turn.
- A row of keys on a musical keyboard or the equivalent on a typewriter keyboard.
verb
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(context, intransitive, aircraft) To roll or incline laterally in order to turn.
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(context, intransitive) To deal with a bank or financial institution.
He banked with Barclays.
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(context, transitive) To put into a .
I'm going to the money.
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(context, transitive) To cause (an aircraft) to .
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(context, transitive) To form into a or heap, to bank up.
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(context, transitive) To cover the embers of a fire with ashes in order to retain heat.
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bar |
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noun
- A solid, more or less rigid object with a uniform cross-section smaller than its length.
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(metallurgy) a solid metal object with uniform (round, square, hexagonal, octagonal or rectangular) cross-section, whose smallest dimension is .25 inch or greater (US), a piece of thinner material being called a strip.
Ancient Sparta used iron s instead of handy coins in more valuable alloi, to physically disencourage the use of money
- A cuboid piece of any solid commodity.
bar of chocolate
bar of soap
- A long, narrow drawn or printed rectangle, cuboid or cylinder, especially as used in a bar code or a bar chart.
- A business licensed to sell intoxicating beverages for consumption on the premises, or the premises themselves; public house.
- The counter of such a premises
- A similar device or simply a closet containing alcoholic beverages in a private house or a hotel room.
- An official order or pronouncement that prohibits some activity.
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(computing, whimsical, derived from fubar) Used to stand for some unspecified entity, usually a second entity following foo.
Suppose we have two objects, foo and bar
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(legal: the Bar) Short for the Bar Exam, the legal licensing exam.
He's studying hard to pass the Bar this time; he's failed it twice before.
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(British: the Bar) A collective term for barristers.
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(British: the Bar) (loosely) The profession of barristers.
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(music) A vertical line across a musical staff dividing written music into sections, typically of equal durational value.
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(music) One of these musical sections.
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(soccer) The crossbar
- An addition to a military medal, on account of a subsequent act
- A linear shoaling landform feature within a body of water.
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(nautical) A ridge or succession of ridges of sand or other substance, especially a formation extending across the mouth of a river or harbor or off a beach, and which may obstruct navigation. (FM 55-501).
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(heraldry) One of the ordinary, ordinaries in heraldry.
See wikipedia article on the topic: (w, Ordinary (heraldry))
verb (bars, barring, barred, barred)
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(transitive) To obstruct the passage of (someone or something).
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(transitive) To prohibit.
I couldn't get into the nightclub because I had been barred
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(transitive) To lock or bolt with a bar.
bar the door
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barbershop |
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noun-
The place of business of a barber; a store where a person (usually a man) can go to get a haircut.
- A style of a capella vocal music, sung in four-part harmony, typically by a quartet of men.
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barcarole |
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noun
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(music) A Venetian folk song traditionally sung by gondoliers
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(music) A composition in this style
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baritone |
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noun
- The male voice between tenor and bass
- A person, instrument, or group that performs the baritone part.
- Specifically, an instrument similar to the euphonium.
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baroque |
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nounBaroque
- A period in western architecture from ca. 1600 to the middle of the eighteenth century, known for its abundance of decoration.
- A period in western art from ca. 1600 to the middle of the eighteenth century, characterized by drama, rich color, and dramatic contrast between light and shadow.
- A period in western music from ca. 1600 to ca. 1760, characterized by extensive use of counterpoint, basso-continuo, and extensive ornamentation.
- The chess variant invented in 1962 by Mathematician Robert Abbott, or any of its descendants, where pieces move alike, but have differing methods of capture.
adjectiveBaroque
- ornate, intricate, decorated, laden with detail.
- from the Baroque period in visual art and music.
- complex and beautiful, yet for an outward irregularity.
- chiseled from stone, or shaped from wood, in a garish, crooked, twisted, or slanted sort of way, grotesque.
- embellished with figures and forms such that every level of relief gives way to more details and contrasts.
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baroque organ |
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noun
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(musici) a pipe organ dating from or built to the specifications of the Baroque period at the time of J.S. Bach
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barre |
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noun
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(ballet) A handrail fixed to a wall used for ballet exercises.
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barytone |
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adjective
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(linguistics) Not having the acute accent on the final syllable of a word, especially with reference to Greek grammar
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bass drum |
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noun
- a large drum with a low pitch
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basset horn |
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noun
- an alto horn with a soft tone
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bassist |
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noun
- A musician who plays a bass instrument.
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basso cantante |
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noun
- a voice with an upper range that is more developed than that of the basso profundo
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bassoon |
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noun
- A musical instrument in the woodwind family, having a double reed and, playing in a tenor range.
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batterie |
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noun
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(dance) A movement wherein the feet are knocked together while in the air.
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(music) The percussion section of an orchestra or band, the battery; marching instruments in a drumline, as opposed to the pit.
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battery |
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noun (batter, ies)
- A device that produces electricity by a chemical reaction between two substances.
- The crime or tort of intentionally striking another person.
- A coordinated group of artillery.
- An array of similar things.
Schoolchildren take a battery of standard tests to measure their progress.
- A set of small cages where hens are kept for the purpose of farm, farming their eggs.
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(baseball) The catcher and the pitcher together
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(chess) Two or more pieces on the same rank, file, or diagonal
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beat |
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noun
- A pulsation or throb.
- A pulse on the beat level, the metric level at which pulses are heard as the basic unit. Thus a beat is the basic time unit of a piece.
- A rhythm.
- A pause with the camera focused on one shot, often a characters face (often used in screenplays/teleplays).
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The route of a patrol by a guard or officer as in walk the beat.
- In newspapering, the primary focus of a reporter's stories (such as police/courts, education, city government, business, etc.).
- A small part of a dramatic play.
verb (beats, beating, beat, beaten)
- To hit; to knock; to pound; to strike.
As soon as she heard the news, she went into a rage and the wall with her fists until her knuckles bled.
- To strike or pound repeatedly, usually in some sort of rhythm.
He danced hypnotically while she the atabaque.
- To win against; to defeat; to do better than, outdo, or excel someone in a particular, competitive event.
Jessica had little trouble beating John in tennis. He lost five games in a row.
No matter how quickly Joe finished his test, Roger always him.
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(context, intransitive, nautical) To sail to windward using a series of alternate tacks across the wind.
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To mix food in a rapid fashion. cf. whip.
Beat the eggs and whip the cream.
adjective
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(gay slang) fabulous
Her makeup was beat!
- exhausted
After the long day, she was feeling completely .
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bebop |
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noun- An early form of modern jazz played by small groups and featuring driving rhythms and complex, often dissonant harmonies.
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Bell |
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proper noun
- A Scottish and northern English surname for a bell ringer, bell maker, or from someone who lived "at the Bell (inn)"
- The Bell telephone company (after w:Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone.)
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belly |
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noun (bell, ies)
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(colloquial) The abdomen.
verb (bellies, bellying, bellied)
- To position one's belly.
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Benedictus |
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noun
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(music) Either of two canticles that begin with the Latin word benedictus
- Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel
- Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini
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(music) The music that accompanies these canticles
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berceuse |
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noun
- a lullaby
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1980: What was in my mind as I waited for sleep and the engines thundered their ineffectual was the chapter, a brief one, about the Jews. (Burgess, Earthly Powers)
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bind |
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noun
- A troublesome situation; a problem; a predicament or quandary.
verb (binds, binding, bound or rarely bounden)
- To connect
- To couple
- To put together in a cover, as of books
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(computing) to associate an identifier with a value; to associate a variable name with the content of a storage location
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blow |
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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.
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(slang) (uncountable) cocaine
- A strong wind.
We're having a bit of a this afternoon.
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(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)
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(intransitive) To produce an air current
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Quotations
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Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! ! -- King Lear
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(intransitive) To be propelled by an air current.
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The leaves through the streets in the fall.
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(intransitive) To explode
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Get away from that burning gas tank! It's about to !
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(intransitive) (slang) To be very undesirable (see also suck)
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This blows!
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(intransitive) (of a cetacean) To exhale visibly through the spout the seawater it has taken in while feeding.
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There's nothing more thrilling to the whale watcher than to see a whale surface and .
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There she blows! (That is, "I see a whale spouting!")
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(transitive) To propel by an air current.
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Blow the dust off that book and open it up.
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(transitive) To squander.
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I managed to $1000 at blackjack in under an hour.
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(transitive) (vulgar) To fellate.
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Who did you have to to get those backstage passes?
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(transitive) To create or shape by blowing; as, to blow bubbles, to blow glass
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(transitive) To play a musical instrument such as a horn or woodwind.
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"He was blowing saxophone for me." Ike Turner, interview by Terri Gross, "Fresh Air", NPR, 1996.
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(transitive) To leave
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Let's this joint.
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blue note |
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noun (plural: blue notes)
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(idiom) (music) Notes added to the major scale for expressive quality in jazz and blues music, particularly the flatted third, fifth and seventh.
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bongo |
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noun
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A striped bovine mammal found in Africa, Taurotragus euryceros.
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boogie |
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noun (rfc-level, Noun at L4+ not in L3 POS section)
(plural:boogies)
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(colloquial) A piece of solid or semi-solid mucus in or removed from the nostril cavity; booger.
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(colloquial) Dancing, usually exhibiting movements of the buttocks.
- A large, organised skydiving event.
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boogie-woogie |
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noun
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(music) a style of blues piano music
- a style of swing dance
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book |
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noun
- A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc. If initially blank, commonly referred to as a notebook.
- A record of betting (from the use of a notebook to record what each person has bet).
I'm running a on who is going to win the race.
- A convenient collection, in a form resembling a book, of small paper items for individual use.
a of stamps
a of raffle tickets
- A major division of a published work, larger than a chapter, commonly an academic publication or the Bible.
- The script of a musical.
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(usually, in plural) Records of the accounts of a business.
- A long document stored (as data) that is or will become a book; an e-book.
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(context, law) A colloquial reference to a book award, a recognition for receiving the highest grade in a class (traditionally an actual book, but recently more likely a letter or certificate acknowledging the achievement).
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(context, poker slang) four of a kind
verb
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(transitive) To reserve (something) for future use
I want to a hotel room for tomorrow night
I can tickets for the concert next week
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(transitive) To penalise (someone) for an offence.
The police booked him for driving too fast
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(context, intransitive, slang) To travel very fast.
He was really booking, until he passed the speed trap.
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(transitive) To write down.
They booked that message from the hill
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(context, transitive, law) To receive the highest grade in a class.
The top three students had a bet on which one was going to their intellectual property class.
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bossa nova |
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noun- A lively Brazilian dance that is similar to the samba; the music of that dance
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bourdon |
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noun
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(context, music, archaic) the burden or bass of a melody
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1985: The earth tremors resumed and made a to the loud psalms that they sang, interspersed with the odd ode of Horace recited by Silas. " Anthony Burgess, Kingdom of the Wicked
- the drone pipe of a bagpipe
- the lowest-pitched stop of an organ
- the lowest-pitched of a peal of bells
- a bumblebee
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bourree |
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nounbourèe
- A French baroque dance with quick rhythm.
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bow |
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nounverb |
bower |
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noun
- A large nest made of grass and bright objects, used by the bower bird during courtship displays.
- A shady, leafy shelter or recess in a garden or woods
- A woman's bedroom or private apartments, especially in a medieval castle
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(literary) A picturesque country cottage, especially one that is used as a retreat
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bowing |
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noun
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The act of bending at the waist, as a sign of respect or greeting.
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The courtier had practiced his .
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A bending.
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The heavy books caused a in the shelf.
verb
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(present participle of, bow) (bend)
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bowstring |
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noun
- the string of an archer's bow
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brace |
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noun
- That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
- A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension, as a cord on the side of a drum.
- The state of being braced or tight; tension.
- A piece of material used to transmit, or change the direction of, weight or pressure; any one of the pieces, in a frame or truss, which divide the structure into triangular parts. It may act as a tie, or as a strut, and serves to prevent distortion of the structure, and transverse strains in its members. A boiler brace is a diagonal stay, connecting the head with the shell.
- A vertical curved line ('{' or '}') connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be taken together; thus, boll, bowl; or, in music, used to connect staves.
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(nautical) A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.
- A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.
- A pair; a couple; as, a brace of ducks; now rarely applied to persons, except familiarly or with some contempt.
- Harness; warlike preparation.
- Armor for the arm; vambrace.
- The mouth of a shaft.
- (usually plural) Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
- (usually plural) A system of wires, brackets, and elastic bands used to correct crooked teeth.
verbto brace
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To prepare for something bad, as an impact or blow. All hands, brace for impact!
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(nautical) To swing round the yards of a square rigged ship, using braces, to present a more efficient sail surface to the direction of the wind
- To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police
- To confront with questions, demands or requests
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brass |
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noun (es, -)
- An metallic alloy of copper and zinc used in many industrial and plumbing applications.
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(music) A class of wind instruments, usually made of metal (such as brass), that use vibrations of the player's lips to produce sound.
- Spent shell casings (usually made of brass); the part of the cartridge left over after bullets have been fired.
- The colour of brass.
- <table><tr><td>brass colour: </td><td bgcolor="
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C9AE5D?" width="80"> </td></tr></table>
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(military) (used as a singular or plural noun) High-ranking officers.
- The brass are not going to like this.
- The brass is not going to like this.
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(informal) A brave or foolhardy attitude.
- You've got a lot of brass telling me to do that!
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(slang; also brass in pocket) Money.
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(slang; from brass nail; countable) A prostitute.
adjective
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(not comparable) Made of brass.
- of the colour of brass.
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(slang) Bad, annoying.
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bravura |
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noun
- (music) a highly technical or difficult piece, usually written for effect
- a display of daring
adjective
- overly showy; ostentatious
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break |
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noun
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(countable) An instance of breaking something into two pieces.
The femur has a clean and so should heal easily.
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(countable) A physical space that open up, opens up in something or between two things.
The sun came out in a in the clouds.
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(countable) A rest or pause, usually from work.
Let"s take a five-minute .
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(countable) (tennis) (tennis) A game won by the receive, receiving player or players (in case of a double).
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(countable) (context, billiards) The first shot in a game of billiards
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(countable) (context, snooker) The number of points scored by one player in one visit to the table
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(countable) (surfing) Place where waves break (ie. pitch or spill forward creating white water).
2005: The final in the Greenmount area is Kirra Point. — coolangatta.net http://www.coolangatta.net/coolangatta/surfbreaks.html
verb (breaks, breaking, broke, broken)
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(intransitive) To end up in two or more pieces that can't easily be reassembled.
If the vase falls to the floor, it might .
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(intransitive) (medicine) Of a bone, to crack or fracture through a sudden physical strain, such as a collision.
Don't slip and your leg.
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(intransitive) To stop functioning properly or altogether.
Don't the fridge with your tools.
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(intransitive) To interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily.
Let's for lunch.
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(intransitive) (tennis) To win a game as receiver.
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(intransitive) (context, sports, billiards, snooker, pool) To make the first shot.
Is it your or my turn to ?
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(transitive) To cause to end up in two or more pieces.
I am going to your mask.
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(transitive) (medicine) (ergative) Of a bone, to cause to crack under physical strain.
Don't try to his neck.
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(transitive) (medicine) (ergative) Of a bone, to fracture accidentally.
Don't your fingers playing basketball.
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(transitive) (ergative) To cause to malfunction or stop working altogether.
Did you two the trolley by racing with it?
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(transitive) To cause a person or animal to lose his/her/its will, usually obtained by means of torture.
You have to an elephant before you can use it as an animal of burden.
America has used many forms of torture to their POWs.
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(transitive) To do that which is forbidden by (a rule or rules).
When you go to Vancouver, promise me you won't the law.
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(transitive) (gaming slang) To design or use a powerful (yet legal) strategy that unbalances the game in a player's favor.
Letting white have three extra queens would chess.
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