| ax |
a tool with a blade attached to the end of a long handle. An ax is used for chopping wood. |
| baboon |
a large monkey that has a long snout like a dog's. Baboons live on the ground in large groups in Africa and Arabia. They can be powerful fighters. |
| badger |
a furry mammal with short legs and a long body. The American badger has a white stripe on its forehead that runs down its back, and it has long dark marks on its face also. Badgers eat worms, rodents, rabbits, and plants. Different kinds of badgers live in Europe, Asia, and North America. They are related to skunks, otters, and other kinds of weasels. [1/2 definitions] |
| banana |
a long, curved fruit that has a thick yellow skin. It grows in bunches on a tall tropical plant. |
| banjo |
a musical instrument with a circular body, a long neck, and four or five strings that are plucked or strummed. |
| bar1 |
a long counter, often made of smooth, shiny wood, used as a serving area for food or beverages. [1/10 definitions] |
| barge |
a large, long boat with a flat bottom used for carrying freight. |
| barracuda |
a fish that lives in warm ocean water and has a long body. Barracuda are fierce hunters. |
| barrier island |
a long narrow island that is parallel to the mainland. A barrier island helps protect the shore from being worn away by the action of the ocean's waves. |
| bassoon |
a large woodwind instrument. The bassoon has a long wooden body attached to a curved, metal tube with a mouthpiece at its end. |
| baste1 |
to sew with long, loose stitches. Basting lets one put together the pieces of a garment to see how it fits before the final sewing. |
| beam |
a long, strong piece of wood or metal used to support floors, ceilings or roofs. [1/5 definitions] |
| beaver1 |
a large rodent, up to four feet long, with thick brown fur and a wide flat tail. Beavers use their long front teeth to cut down trees for food and to build dams and lodges (beaver houses). They use the dams to keep water around their lodges. Beavers live in North America, Europe, and Asia. |
| bench |
a long seat for two or more people. [1/4 definitions] |
| billiards |
a game played with long sticks and hard balls on a special table covered with cloth. Players use a stick to hit the balls against each other and into pockets along the edges of the table. |
| blizzard |
a heavy snowstorm that lasts for a long time. |
| bloodhound |
a breed of dog. Bloodhounds are large dogs with baggy skin and long, drooping ears. They have an excellent sense of smell and are used to track people or animals. |
| blue whale |
a mammal that lives in the ocean. Blue whales are the largest kind of animal that has ever lived. They can grow up to 100 feet long and weigh up to 150 tons. Their large mouths have baleen instead of teeth. Blue whales use baleen to filter lots of very small food such as shrimp from ocean water. |
| bobsled |
a long racing sled with two separate sets of runners, a steering wheel, and brakes. [1/2 definitions] |
| boll weevil |
a small beetle with a gray body and a long snout. It lays eggs in the seed pods of the cotton plant where they hatch and cause much damage to crops. |
| boom2 |
a long pole that stretches the bottom of a boat's sail and holds it in place. [2 definitions] |