VERB 1 If you believe that something is true, you think that it is true.
2 If you believe someone, you accept that they are telling the truth.
bell bells
NOUN 1 a cup-shaped metal object with a piece inside it called a clapper that hits the side and makes a ringing sound
2 an electrical device that you can ring or buzz to get attention
bellow bellows, bellowing, bellowed
VERB If a human or other animal bellows, they shout very loudly or make a very loud, deep noise like a roar.
belly bellies
NOUN the part of your body, especially your stomach, that holds and digests food
belong belongs, belonging, belonged
VERB 1 If something belongs to you, it is yours and you own it.
2 If you belong to a group, you are a member of it.
3 If something belongs in a particular place, that is where it should be. • That book belongs on the top shelf.
belongings
PLURAL NOUN Your belongings are all the things that you own.
below
PREPOSITION OR ADVERB 1 If something is below something else, it is in a lower position. • We could hear music coming up from the flat two floors below.
ANTONYM: above
2 If something is below a particular amount or level, it is less than it. • below average rainfall
ANTONYM: above
belt belts
NOUN a strip of leather or cloth that you fasten round your waist to hold your trousers or skirt up
bench benches
NOUN a long seat that two or more people can sit on
bend bends, bending, bent
VERB 1 When you bend something, you use force to make it curved or angular.
2 When you bend, you move your head and shoulders forwards and downwards. • I bent over to pick up my glasses.
NOUN 3 a curved part of something • a bend in the road
beneath
PREPOSITION OR ADVERB FORMAL underneath
benefit benefits, benefiting, benefited
NOUN 1 the advantage that something brings to people • the benefit of a good education
VERB 2 If you benefit from something, it helps you. • He’ll benefit from some extra tuition.
[from Latin benefactum meaning good deed]
bent
ADJECTIVE curved or twisted out of shape
bereaved
ADJECTIVE FORMAL You say that someone is bereaved when a close relative of theirs has recently died.
bereavement NOUN
berry berries
NOUN a small, round fruit that grows on bushes or trees
berserk
ADVERB If somebody goes berserk, they lose control of themselves and become extremely violent.
[from Icelandic berserkr meaning a Viking who wore a shirt made from the skin of a bear and who worked himself into a mad frenzy before going into battle]
berth berths
NOUN 1 a space in a harbour where a ship stays when it is being loaded or unloaded
2 In a boat or caravan, a berth is a bed.
PHRASE 3 If you give someone or something a wide berth, you avoid them because they are unpleasant or dangerous.
beside
PREPOSITION If one thing is beside another thing, it is next to it.