English Words: B

31,241 words · Page 31 of 625

betainenoun

A sweet, crystalline compound (not an alkaloid), trimethylammoniumacetate, found in sugar beet and similar plants, sometimes used to treat muscular degeneracy; the zwitterion (CH₃)₃N⁺CH₂COO⁻

Betamaxname

A home videocassette recording format developed by Sony in 1975, now known for having lost the format war to VHS.

betchacontraction

Pronunciation spelling of bet you.

betelnoun

Either of two (parts of) plants often used in combination

Betelgeusename

A bright-red supergiant intrinsic variable star, the second brightest star in the constellation Orion; Alpha (α) Orionis. It is the tenth brightest star in the nighttime, and one of the largest stars known.

bethnoun

The second letter of the Phoenician alphabet, 𐤁

Bethanname

A female given name from Aramaic, variant of Bethany, transferred use of the biblical place name.

Bethanyname

The village where Jesus stayed before going to Jerusalem and being crucified.

bethenoun

A unit of energy equivalent to 10⁵¹ ergs, or 10⁴⁴ joules.

bethelnoun

A holy place.

Bethesdaname

A pool in Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament.

Bethlehemname

A city in the West Bank, Palestine, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus.

Bethpagename

A hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, Long Island, New York.

Bethunename

A surname from Norman.

betideverb

Often used in a prediction (chiefly in woe betide) or a wish: to happen to (someone or something); to befall.

Betjemanname

A surname.

Betoname

A male given name from Spanish.

betrayverb

To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly.

betrayalnoun

The act of betraying.

betrayedadj

Suffering from betrayal

betrayernoun

Someone who betrays, or reveals confidential information; a squealer or informer.

betrayingadj

That betrays

betrothalnoun

The act of betrothing.

betrothedverb

simple past and past participle of betroth

betsnoun

plural of bet

Betsyname

A diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth.

Bettname

A surname.

bettanoun

Any fish of the genus Betta, especially Betta splendens (the Siamese fighting fish).

Bettanyname

A surname transferred from the given name.

Bettename

A variant of Betty, a diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth.

Bettencourtname

A surname from French [in turn transferred from the place name].

betteradj

comparative form of good: more good

betteringverb

present participle and gerund of better

bettermentnoun

An improvement or amelioration.

bettersnoun

plural of better

bettingadj

Describing one who bets or gambles.

bettornoun

A person who makes a bet, such as a wager on the outcome of a game of chance or a sporting event.

bettynoun

A short bar used by thieves to wrench doors open; a jimmy.

betweenprep

In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See Usage notes below.)

betwixtprep

Between.

Beulahname

A female given name from Hebrew.

bevnoun

Clipping of beverage; especially, an alcoholic beverage.

Bevanname

A surname from Welsh.

bevelnoun

An edge that is canted, one that is not a 90-degree angle; a chamfer.

beveragenoun

A liquid to consume; a drink, such as tea, coffee, liquor, beer, milk, juice, or a soft drink, often excluding water.

Beveridgename

A surname from Middle English.

Beverleyname

A place name:

Beverlyname

A surname.

Bevisname

An English habitational surname of Norman French origin.

bevynoun

A group of animals, particularly quail.

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 31. 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.