Collins Primary Illustrated Dictionary. Collins Dictionaries

you don’t do it because it takes too much effort or it’s not important.

      2 If something bothers you, you are worried about it.

      3 If you are not bothered about something, you don’t care about it.

      4 If you bother someone, you interrupt them when they are busy.

      NOUN 5 trouble, fuss or difficulty • Mum’s having a bit of bother with the car.

      bottle bottles, bottling, bottled

      NOUN 1 a glass or plastic container for keeping liquids in

      VERB 2 If you bottle something, you put it in a bottle to store it.

      bottom bottoms

      NOUN 1 the lowest part of something • It sank to the bottom of the pond.

      2 Your bottom is the part of your body that you sit on.

      bottomless

      ADJECTIVE If something is bottomless, it has no bottom or it is very deep.

      bough boughs

      Rhymes with “cow” NOUN a large branch of a tree

      bought

      VERB the past tense and past participle of buy

       Do not confuse bought with brought.

      boulder boulders

      NOUN a large, rounded rock

      bounce bounces, bouncing, bounced

      VERB When an object bounces, it springs back from something after hitting it. • The ball bounced high off the ground.

      bound bounds, bounding, bounded

      ADJECTIVE 1 If you say that something is bound to happen, you mean that it is certain to happen. • He’s bound to find out.

      NOUN 2 a large leap

      VERB 3 When humans or other animals bound, they move quickly with large leaps.

      boundary boundaries

      NOUN the limit of an area

      bouquet bouquets

      NOUN an attractively arranged bunch of flowers

      bout bouts

      NOUN 1 something that lasts for a short period of time • I had a bout of flu.

      2 a boxing or wrestling match

      boutique boutiques

      NOUN a small shop that sells fashionable clothes

      bow bows, bowing, bowed

      Rhymes with “now” VERB 1 When you bow, you bend your body or lower your head as a sign of respect or greeting.

      NOUN 2 the movement you make when you bow

      3 the front part of a ship

      Rhymes with “low” NOUN 4 a knot with two loops and two loose ends • The ribbon was tied in a bow.

      5 a long, thin piece of wood with horsehair strings stretched along it, used to play some stringed instruments, such as the violin and the cello

      6 a long, flexible piece of wood used for shooting arrows

      bowel bowels

      NOUN the tubes leading from your stomach, through which waste passes before it leaves your body

      [from Latin botellus meaning little sausage]

      bowl bowls, bowling, bowled

      NOUN 1 a round container with a wide, uncovered top, used for holding liquid or for serving food • a bowl of soup

      2 the hollow, rounded part of something • a toilet bowl

      VERB 3 When you bowl in cricket and rounders, you throw the ball towards the batsman.

      bowling

      NOUN a game in which you roll a heavy ball down a narrow track towards a set of wooden objects called pins, and try to knock them down

      bowls

      NOUN a game in which the players try to roll large wooden balls as near as possible to a small ball

      box boxes, boxing, boxed

      NOUN 1 a container with a firm base and sides, and usually a lid

      VERB 2 If someone boxes, they fight according to special rules.

      boxer boxers

      NOUN 1 a person who boxes

      2 a medium-sized, smooth-haired dog with a flat face

      Boxing Day

      NOUN the day after Christmas Day

      boy boys

      NOUN a male child

      boyfriend boyfriends

      NOUN Someone’s boyfriend is the man or boy with whom they are having a romantic relationship.

      bra bras

      NOUN a piece of underwear worn by a woman to support her breasts

      brace braces, bracing, braced

      NOUN 1 an object fixed to something to straighten or support it • I wore a brace on my teeth for two years.

      PLURAL NOUN 2 Braces are elastic straps worn over the shoulders to hold trousers up.

      VERB 3 If you brace yourself, you stiffen your body to steady yourself. • We braced ourselves as the bus went round the corner.

      4 If you brace yourself for something unpleasant, you prepare yourself to deal with it.

      bracelet bracelets

      NOUN a chain or band worn around someone’s wrist as an ornament

      [from Old French bracel meaning little arm]

      bracken

      NOUN a plant like a large fern that grows on hills and in woods

      bracket brackets

      NOUN a pair of written marks, ( ), { } or [ ], placed round a word or sentence that is not part of the main text, or to show that the items inside the brackets belong together

      brag brags, bragging, bragged

      VERB If you brag, you boast about something.

      Braille

      NOUN a system of printing for blind people in which letters are represented by raised dots that can be felt with the fingers

      brain brains

      NOUN the organ inside your head that controls your body and enables you to think and feel

      brainstorm brainstorms

      NOUN 1 a clever idea that you think of suddenly

      2 If you have a brainstorm, you become confused and cannot think clearly.

      brainy brainier, brainiest

      ADJECTIVE clever and good at learning things

      brake brakes, braking, braked

      NOUN 1 a device for making a vehicle stop or slow down

      VERB 2 When drivers brake, they make a vehicle stop or slow down by using its brakes.

      bramble brambles

      NOUN a wild, trailing bush with thorns, which produces blackberries

      branch branches, branching, branched

      NOUN 1 part of a tree that grows out from the trunk

      2