📖 B — The English dictionary · page 31

blindfold — Everyday, meaning 1: A blindfold is a cloth tied over someone's eyes so they cannot see.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To blindfold someone is to put such a cloth over their eyes.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Doing something blindfold means doing it without seeing.↗ Example: Put on the blindfold and guess the fruit.↗ · We blindfolded Jack for pin the tail on the donkey.↗ · She can solve the puzzle blindfold.↗ · The blindfolded player tried to catch us.↗ · In the taste test, each child wore a blindfold.↗ · The kidnappers blindfolded the hero.↗

blindfolded — Everyday, meaning 1: Blindfolded means with a cloth or band over your eyes so you cannot see.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Blindfolded is the past form of «blindfold»: to cover someone's eyes like this.↗ Example: Blindfolded, she tried to pin the tail on the donkey.↗ · We tasted the crisps blindfolded to guess the flavour.↗ · He guided his blindfolded friend through the obstacles.↗ · I know this path so well I could walk it blindfolded.↗ · The players were blindfolded and spun around.↗ · Only play blindfolded games where it is safe and someone is watching.↗ · On the Piazza dell Trinita stands a slender pillar, and upon it is the goddess of Justice, blindfolded, with her scales in her hand.↗

blindly — Everyday, meaning 1: Blindly means without looking, or without being able to see.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Blindly means without thinking first, or without asking questions, like blindly following someone.↗ Example: She takes a ball blindly from the bag.↗ · He picks a sock blindly.↗ · How many must he take blindly to be sure of a pair?↗ · Do not answer blindly.↗ · In the dark cave, Tom felt blindly for the wall.↗ · Don't blindly believe everything you read online.↗ · The puppy followed its mother blindly.↗ · He ran blindly into the fog.↗ · He picked himself up and ran, and was knocked down, and ran again blindly, butting into trees and stones.↗

blindness — Everyday, meaning 1: Blindness is being unable to see, either completely or almost completely.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Blindness to something means not noticing or not understanding it: «his blindness to his own mistakes».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Colour blindness is when someone cannot tell some colours apart, often red and green.↗ Example: Blindness can be caused by illness or injury.↗ · Helen Keller lived with blindness and deafness.↗ · Braille helps people with blindness to read.↗ · Colour blindness is more common in boys.↗ · Snow blindness happens when bright sun reflects off snow.↗ · Guide dogs help people with blindness to move safely.↗ · Sunglasses protect your eyes from damage that can lead to blindness.↗ · His blindness to danger worried his mum.↗ · “‘What is the cure for your blindness?’↗ · The LORD will smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart.↗ (Torah DEU.28.28, JPS 1917)↗ · And if there be any blemish therein, lameness, or blindness, any ill blemish whatsoever, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God.↗ (Torah DEU.15.21, JPS 1917)↗ · And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great; so that they wearied themselves to find the door.↗ (Torah GEN.19.11, JPS 1917)↗ · And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said: 'Smite this people, I pray Thee, with blindness.'↗ And He smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.↗ (Prophets 2KI.6.18, JPS 1917)↗ · In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with bewilderment, and his rider with madness; and I will open Mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness.↗ (Prophets ZEC.12.4, JPS 1917)↗

bling — Everyday, meaning 1: (slang) Shiny, expensive-looking jewellery such as big gold chains and sparkly rings.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (slang) A flashy show of wealth, or something covered in glitter or sparkles.↗ Example: The rapper wore loads of bling.↗ · My little sister covered her pencil case in bling.↗ · Her party dress had lots of bling on it.↗ · That watch is so bling!↗ (slang)↗ · The dance costumes were full of sparkly bling.↗ · He likes clothes with no bling at all.↗ · The car had gold bling on the wheels.↗

blink — Everyday, meaning 1: To blink is to shut and open your eyes very quickly.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A light can blink, which means go on and off quickly.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: In the blink of an eye means very, very quickly.↗ Example: People blink about 15 times a minute.↗ · The light blinks every 4 seconds.↗ · How many times does it blink in 1 minute?↗ · Two lights blink at once.↗ · She blinked in the bright sunlight.↗ · Blinking keeps your eyes wet and clean.↗ · The cursor blinks on the screen.↗ · The magic trick was over in the blink of an eye.↗ · He answered without blinking.↗ · The stars saw her, and blinked at her.↗

bliss — Everyday, meaning 1: Perfect happiness and calm joy.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Something that gives you great pleasure («This bath is bliss!»).↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (church) In Christian writing, the perfect happiness of heaven that Christians believe God gives.↗ Example: Lying on the warm sand was pure bliss.↗ · After the long walk, a cup of hot chocolate was bliss.↗ · The Mole sat in the boat in a state of bliss.↗ · A day with no homework is bliss!↗ · The baby slept in bliss after her feed.↗ · «Ignorance is bliss,» said Dad when I asked about the bill.↗ · The hymn spoke of the bliss of heaven.↗ · “George, George!” she cried when she could speak; and Mr. Darling woke to share her bliss, and Nana came rushing in.↗ · Thou makest me to know the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy, in Thy right hand bliss for evermore.↗ (Writings PSA.16.11, JPS 1917)↗

blissful — Everyday, meaning 1: Very happy, full of joy and peace.↗ Example: The baby slept in a blissful sleep.↗ · We had a blissful day at the beach.↗ · He felt blissful after the good news.↗

blister — Everyday, meaning 1: A small bubble under the skin, filled with clear liquid, caused by rubbing or burning.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A bubble that forms on a surface such as paint or a pie crust.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (verb) To get blisters, or to cause them.↗ Example: My new shoes gave me a blister on my heel.↗ · Don't pop a blister; cover it with a plaster.↗ · After rowing all day, his hands were covered in blisters.↗ · The sunburn made her shoulders blister.↗ · The old paint had blistered in the sun.↗ · Wear thick socks on a long hike to stop blisters.↗ · It was a blistering hot day at the beach.↗ · A burn from the oven left a small blister on my finger.↗ · These you must gather even while they burn blisters on your hands.↗

blithe — Everyday, meaning 1: (old use) Cheerful, happy and carefree.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Careless, showing little worry, sometimes too much so.↗ Example: The blithe bird sang all day.↗ · She was blithe about the storm.↗ · A blithe boy whistled down the lane.↗

blithesome — Everyday, meaning 1: (old-fashioned, literary) Cheerful, merry and light-hearted.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (literary) Carefree, not worried about anything.↗ Example: The blithesome lark sang over the fields.↗ · Toad set off in a blithesome mood, sure everything would go well.↗ · The poem tells of a blithesome girl dancing on the green.↗ · It was a blithesome spring morning.↗ · In old books a blithesome heart means a happy one.↗ · Grandma laughed at the old word and said, «Just say cheerful!»↗

blitz — Everyday, meaning 1: The Blitz: the heavy German bombing of British cities, especially London, in 1940–1941 during the Second World War.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A sudden, strong attack.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (informal) A big, fast effort to get something done, as in «a cleaning blitz».↗ Everyday, meaning 4: (informal) To do something very quickly or to blend food fast.↗ Example: Many children were evacuated during the Blitz.↗ · People slept in Underground stations during the Blitz.↗ · We had a quick blitz on our bedroom before Grandma came.↗ · Blitz the strawberries in the blender.↗ · The team made a blitz on goal in the last minute.↗ · The shop ran an advertising blitz before Christmas.↗ · I blitzed my spelling homework in ten minutes.↗ (informal)↗

blizzard — Everyday, meaning 1: A blizzard is a very bad snowstorm with strong wind, lots of blowing snow and very poor visibility.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A blizzard of something is a huge amount of it all at once, like a blizzard of emails.↗ Example: The blizzard closed all the schools.↗ · We stayed indoors during the blizzard.↗ · In a blizzard you can hardly see your own hand.↗ · The climbers were caught in a blizzard on the mountain.↗ · The wind howled all night in the blizzard.↗ · Snowploughs cleared the roads after the blizzard.↗ · There was a blizzard of paper when the box fell over.↗

bloat — Everyday, meaning 1: To swell up and become bigger than normal, usually with air, gas or liquid.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (noun) A swollen feeling in the stomach, or a disease of cows and sheep when their stomachs fill with gas.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (computing, informal) Too much extra stuff making something big and slow, as in software bloat.↗ Example: Fizzy drinks make my tummy bloat.↗ · Cows can get bloat if they eat too much wet clover.↗ · The dead fish had bloated in the water.↗ · Too many apps cause bloat on your phone.↗ · Beans sometimes make people feel bloated.↗

bloated — Everyday, meaning 1: Swollen and bigger than normal because of air, gas or liquid.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Feeling uncomfortably full after eating or drinking.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Too big, with too much in it (a bloated budget, bloated software).↗ Example: I feel so bloated after that pizza.↗ · A bloated frog sat on the lily pad.↗ · The dog looked bloated, so we took it to the vet.↗ · The game is bloated with adverts.↗ · My stomach felt bloated after the fizzy drink.↗ · He was like a tub that could never get full; he snored like a whole sty of pigs, and he looked red and bloated.↗

blob — Everyday, meaning 1: A small round lump of a thick liquid, like paint, glue or jam.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A shape or thing that is hard to see clearly, without a clear outline.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (verb, informal) To put small lumps of something somewhere.↗ Example: Put a blob of glue on each corner.↗ · I dropped a blob of jam on my shirt.↗ · The jellyfish looked like a clear blob in the water.↗ · Through the fog the house was just a grey blob.↗ · Add a blob of cream to the top of the pudding.↗ · The slimy blob monster crept across the floor.↗ · She blobbed paint onto the paper to make flowers.↗

block — Everyday, meaning 1: A block is a solid piece of wood, plastic or stone, often a cube, that children build with.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A block is a group of buildings between streets, or a big building: «a block of flats».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To block is to stop something from passing: «A tree blocked the road».↗ Everyday, meaning 4: In sport, a block stops the ball or a player.↗ Example: Randy has 78 blocks.↗ · He used 19 blocks to build a tower.↗ · Each tower has 6 blocks.↗ · How many more blocks did he use for the house than for the tower?↗ · We use blocks to show tens and ones.↗ · Our school is two blocks from my house.↗ · A fallen tree blocked the path.↗ · Don't block the fire door.↗ · Oh, you in front, what is blocking the way?”↗ · Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but thou shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.↗ (Torah LEV.19.14, JPS 1917)↗ · that this shall be no stumbling-block unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord hath found redress for himself.↗ (Prophets 1SA.25.31, JPS 1917)↗

blockage — Everyday, meaning 1: A blockage is something that blocks a pipe, tube, road or passage so things cannot get through.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (medicine) A blockage is something stopping blood, air or food from moving inside the body, such as in a blood vessel or the gut.↗ Example: A blockage in the sink stopped the water draining away.↗ · The plumber cleared the blockage with a long rod.↗ · Wet wipes cause blockages in drains, so don't flush them.↗ · Fallen trees made a blockage on the road.↗ · A blockage in an artery can cause a heart attack.↗ · Choking happens when food makes a blockage in the airway.↗ · The doctor found a blockage in the patient's gut.↗

blockhead — Everyday, meaning 1: A rude word for a stupid person.↗ Example: "Don't be such a blockhead," said his sister.↗ · The silly blockhead forgot his sum again.↗ · Hans was called a blockhead, but he was kind.↗

blocky — Everyday, meaning 1: Made of block shapes, with square edges and corners.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Looking chunky and not smooth or detailed, like the pictures in some video games.↗ Example: The game has blocky trees and square clouds.↗ · My drawing looked blocky because I used a ruler.↗ · The old computer made blocky pictures.↗ · We built a blocky castle out of building bricks.↗ · The robot had a blocky head and arms.↗ · When you zoom in too far, the photo gets blocky.↗ · Her handwriting is blocky and upright.↗

bloke — Everyday, meaning 1: (informal, UK/Australia) A man.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (informal) An ordinary, regular man (just a normal bloke).↗ Example: He's a really nice bloke.↗ · Some bloke knocked on the door asking for Dad.↗ · Who's that bloke in the red hat?↗ · My uncle is a good bloke who helps everyone.↗ · Two blokes were fixing the road.↗ · He's just an ordinary bloke from Sydney.↗

blond — Everyday, meaning 1: Having pale yellow or golden hair.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Pale yellow or golden in colour, like blond hair or blond wood.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A person with blond hair.↗ Example: My cousin has curly blond hair.↗ · Her hair goes blonder in the summer sun.↗ · The baby was born with fluffy blond hair.↗ · The table is made of light blond wood.↗ · He dyed his hair blond for the concert.↗ · The girl with the blonde plait is my sister.↗