bleach bleaches, bleaching, bleached
NOUN 1 a chemical that is used to make material white or to clean thoroughly and kill germs
VERB 2 If you bleach material or hair, you make it white, usually by using a chemical.
bleak bleaker, bleakest
ADJECTIVE 1 If a place is bleak, it is cold, bare and exposed to the wind. • a bleak mountain top
2 If a situation is bleak, it is bad and seems unlikely to improve.
bleat bleats, bleating, bleated
VERB When sheep or goats bleat, they make a high-pitched cry.
bleed bleeds, bleeding, bled
VERB When you bleed, you lose blood as a result of an injury. • My hand bled a lot after I cut it.
blend blends, blending, blended
VERB 1 When you blend substances, you mix them together to form a single substance. • Blend the butter with the sugar.
2 When colours or sounds blend, they combine in a pleasing way.
bless blesses, blessing, blessed or blest
VERB When a priest blesses people or things, he or she asks God to give his protection to them.
[from Old English bloedsian meaning to sprinkle with sacrificial blood]
blew
VERB the past tense of blow (#ulink_9de41e6e-41f5-5144-a6c8-d3d043452cf0)
blind blinds, blinding, blinded
ADJECTIVE 1 Someone who is blind cannot see.
VERB 2 If something blinds you, it stops you seeing, either for a short time or permanently.
NOUN 3 a roll of cloth or paper that you pull down over a window to keep out the light
blindfold blindfolds
NOUN a strip of cloth tied over someone’s eyes to stop them seeing
blink blinks, blinking, blinked
VERB When you blink, you close your eyes quickly for a moment.
bliss
NOUN a state of complete happiness
blissful ADJECTIVE blissfully ADVERB
blister blisters
NOUN a small bubble on your skin containing watery liquid, caused by a burn or rubbing
blizzard blizzards
NOUN a heavy snowstorm with strong winds
bloated
ADJECTIVE Something that is bloated is much larger than normal, often because there is a lot of liquid or gas inside it.
block blocks, blocking, blocked
NOUN 1 a large building containing flats or offices
2 In a town, a block is an area of land with streets on all its sides.
3 a large, rectangular, three-dimensional piece of something
VERB 4 If someone or something blocks a road or channel, they put something across it so that nothing can get through.
SYNONYM: obstruct
block capitals
PLURAL NOUN large upper-case letters. THESE ARE BLOCK CAPITALS.
block graph block graphs
NOUN another name for bar chart
blog blogs, blogging, blogged
NOUN 1 a person’s online diary that they put on the internet so that other people can read it
VERB 2 If you blog about something, you write about it in a blog. • He blogs about cooking and restaurants.
blonde blondes
ADJECTIVE 1 Blonde hair is pale yellow in colour. The spelling blond is used when referring to men.