English Words: B

31,241 words · Page 16 of 625

backfirenoun

A premature explosion in the cylinder of a gas or oil engine during the exhaust or the compression stroke, tending to drive the piston in the wrong direction.

backfire effectnoun

The finding that, faced with evidence that contradicts their beliefs, people can reject the evidence and believe even more strongly.

backfiringnoun

The occurrence of a backfire.

backfischnoun

A teenage or late-adolescent girl.

backfistnoun

A punch performed by forming a fist and striking with the tops of the two largest knuckles.

backfitverb

To retrofit.

backflashnoun

The hazardous situation where the flame propagates backward down the hose of an oxyfuel welding and cutting system.

backflipnoun

An act of rotating one's body 360 degrees in the backward direction.

backflopnoun

A diving error that results in the diver's back making an impact on the surface of the water.

backflownoun

The flow of a fluid (through a pipe etc.) in a direction opposite to that which is normal or intended.

backflushnoun

A temporary reversal of the flow of fluid, especially of liquid through a membrane.

backfoldedadj

folded back on itself

backfoldingnoun

A folding backwards.

backfootverb

To put on the defensive; to put off balance.

backformnoun

Alternative form of back-form (“a back-formation”).

backfriendnoun

A friend who supports someone; a person who has someone's back; a backer, a supporter.

backfurrownoun

The line of piled soil thrown up beside a furrow when it is created by a plow

backgainnoun

A relapse.

backgamenoun

A game in which a player blocks the opponent's progress by forming two or more points in the opponent's home board.

backgammonnoun

A board game for two players in which each has 15 stones which move between 24 triangular points according to the roll of a pair of dice; the object is to move all of one's pieces around, and bear them off the board.

backgammonernoun

A player of backgammon.

backgatenoun

A gate that supplies a negative voltage.

backgatedadj

Equipped with a backgate

backgatesnoun

plural of backgate

backglassnoun

An upright graphic panel mounted on the front of the backbox and decorated with game artwork.

backgrindverb

To use the backgrinding process in semiconductor manufacture.

backgrindingnoun

A semiconductor manufacturing process for grinding the back side of a wafer.

backgroundadj

Less important or less noticeable in a scene or system.

background foddernoun

A work or medium used (mostly) for the purpose of boosting the enjoyment of another medium.

background processingnoun

The execution of a subsidiary operation by a computer while the user works with another application.

backgroundernoun

A briefing or document typically provided prior to a meeting or other event that gives basic details on subjects that are likely to be mentioned.

backgroundingnoun

The act by which something is backgrounded, in any sense.

backgroundyadj

Suitable for, or resembling, a background.

backhandnoun

A stroke made across the chest from the off-hand side to the racquet hand side; a stroke during which the back of the hand faces the shot.

backhandedadj

With the back of the hand.

backhanded complimentnoun

An insult disguised as a compliment; a compliment which can be interpreted as an insult.

backhandedlyadv

In a backhanded manner.

backhandednessnoun

The quality of being backhanded

backhandernoun

A glass of wine given out of turn, the bottle having been handed backwards.

backhaulverb

To transmit (data or footage) from a remote site to a central site from where it is re-transmitted.

backheadnoun

The wall of a steam locomotive's firebox, located in the cab, where the controls are mounted.

backheadernoun

A hit of the ball with the back of the head

backheelnoun

A kick played by the heel which typically travels in the opposite direction from which the player is facing.

backheelernoun

A backheel kick.

backhoenoun

A piece of excavating equipment, either an integral subassembly or an attachment, consisting of a digging bucket or scoop on the end of an articulated arm, drawn backwards to move earth; used in excavator/digger and backhoe tractors.

backhoe loadernoun

A type of heavy equipment, a wheeled tractor unit with an excavator arm on the back and a payloader attachment on the front, and usually having hydraulic outrigger arms for stabilization. Such tractors frequently have the excavator bucket replaced by other attachments such as a jackhammer, and may have forklift forks replacing the loader bucket attachment.

backhousenoun

An outbuilding behind the main building, or an annex attached to the rear of it; especially, a scullery or washhouse.

backienoun

A ride on the back of a bicycle or motorbike.

backingnoun

Support, especially financial.

backishadj

Somewhat at the back.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English alphabetical index for the letter B contains 31,241 headwords drawn from our Wiktionary-derived dictionary table. At 50 entries per page the browse splits into 625 pages, and you are currently viewing page 16. Every row above is a dictionary-backed entry with a canonical slug, and each links through to a full definition page with pronunciation, senses, etymology, and related-word data where available.

On this page 50 of 50 entries carry a part-of-speech tag and 50 carry at least one stored definition. Coverage varies across letters because Wiktionary volunteers build entries at different speeds for different parts of the alphabet, letters with common starting sounds (S, C, T, P) usually have the densest coverage, while less frequent starters (X, Q, Z) tend to have shorter but more specialised lists. PlainSpell surfaces whatever data is present and links back to the source when a definition is not yet recorded.

For readers using this index as a spelling reference, the guarantee is that every form you see on the list is a documented English headword, not a guess, not a derived inflection lacking a lemma row. If a word you expected to find is absent from the "B" list, it usually means the form exists only as an inflection of another lemma (e.g. a past participle stored under the infinitive) or the entry has not yet been imported from Wiktionary. Use the search bar or the misspelling lookup to resolve these cases.