<B>backwash, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>the water thrown back by oars, paddle wheels, a passing ship, or surf against rocks. <DD><B> b. </B>a backward current of air behind propellers or jet engines. <DD><B> c. </B>(Surfing.) a stretch of rough water made by cross currents meeting. <DD><B> 2. </B>bad aftereffects; aftermath. <BR> <I>Ex. The backwash of war had left his people in extreme privation (Harper's).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a backward place; backwater. <BR> <I>Ex. He also depicts it [a State] as a poverty-stricken backwash of ignorance (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="backwater">
<B>backwater, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a stretch of water held, pushed, or thrown back. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>a backward place. <BR> <I>Ex. The village was a backwater of civilization.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a sluggish, stagnant condition or situation. <BR> <I>Ex. His job had drifted into a hopeless backwater.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a backward current or swell; backwash. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>(U.S.) to retreat; withdraw. <BR> <I>Ex. The candidate backwatered on several promises when he got into office.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to reverse or halt a boat by reversing the action of the oars or propeller. <BR> <I>Ex. The captain backwatered as we approached the dock.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to back water. See under <B>water.</B> </DL>
<B>backwoods, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun pl. </I> <B>1. </B>uncleared or wild regions far away from towns. <BR> <I>Ex. The trapper lived in the backwoods far from the city's cares.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a remote area; backward place. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or in the backwoods. <BR> <I>Ex. a narrow, two-track backwoods road.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>crude; rough. <BR> <I>Ex. You might not guess from his backwoods manners that he is a well-traveled man.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="backwoodsman">
<B>backwoodsman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who lives in the backwoods. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person whose origin is in the backwoods. <DD><B> 3. </B>(British.) a member of the House of Lords who seldom attends its meetings. <BR> <I>Ex. There is no sign of going back to the backwoodsmen. What we are going in for now is progressive government (London Times).</I> </DL>
<B>backyard, </B>noun, or <B>back yard,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the yard behind a house or building. <BR> <I>Ex. We have a vegetable garden in the backyard and flowers in the front.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S.) any adjoining region or area thought of as one's home grounds. <BR> <I>Ex. U.S. steel makers must compete in their own backyard with aggressive producers of aluminum, glass, plastics, cement, and other materials (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bacon">
<B>bacon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> salted and smoked meat from the back and sides of a pig or hog. <BR> <I>Ex. Farmers used to cure their own bacon in a smokehouse.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>bring home the bacon,</B> (Informal.) <DD><B> a. </B>to be successful; win the prize. </I> <I>Ex. The winning horse brought home the bacon to the tune of $100,000.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to earn a living. <BR> <I>Ex. Most men who bring home the bacon five days a week relax over the weekend.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>save one's bacon,</B> </I>(Informal.) to escape all bodily harm, damage, and loss. <BR> <I>Ex. But as he ran to save his bacon, By hat and wig he was forsaken (William Combe).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="baconer">
<B>baconer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) a pig, especially one raised for bacon. </DL>
<A NAME="baconian">
<B>Baconian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of Francis Bacon (1561-1626), his written works, or his doctrines. The Baconian method was a method of scientific study by proceeding from particular instances to general principles. <DD><B> 2. </B>of the Baconian theory. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a follower of Francis Bacon's doctrines. <DD><B> 2. </B>a supporter of the Baconian theory. </DL>
<A NAME="baconiantheory">
<B>Baconian theory,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the theory that Francis Bacon was the author of Shakespeare's plays. </DL>
<A NAME="bact">
<B>bact.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> bacteriology. </DL>
<A NAME="bacteremia">
<B>bacteremia</B> or <B>bacteraemia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the presence of bacteria in the bloodstream. </DL>
<A NAME="bacteri">
<B>bacteri-,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (combining form.) a form of <B>bacterio-,</B> as in <I>bactericide.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bacteria">
<B>bacteria, </B>noun, pl. of <B>bacterium.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> very tiny and simple organisms, so small that they can usually be seen only through a microscope. Certain bacteria cause diseases such as pneumonia and typhoid fever; others do useful things, such as turning cider into vinegar. Bacteria consist of single cells that are rod-shaped, spherical, or spiral, and most kinds have no chlorophyll. Most bacteria multiply by splitting apart, some by forming spores. </DL>
<A NAME="bacterial">
<B>bacterial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with bacteria. <BR> <I>Ex. bacterial life.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>resembling bacteria. <DD><B> 3. </B>caused by bacteria. <BR> <I>Ex. bacterial diseases.</I> adv. <B>bacterially.</B> </DL>
<B>bacteriological, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with bacteriology. <DD><B> 2. </B>using bacteria, especially harmful bacteria. <BR> <I>Ex. bacteriological warfare.</I> adv. <B>bacteriologically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="bacteriologist">
<B>bacteriologist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a student of bacteriology. </DL>
<A NAME="bacteriology">
<B>bacteriology, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the science that deals with bacteria, a branch of biology. <BR> <I>Ex. The idea has persisted in bacteriology until very recently that microorganisms are somehow quite different from other plants and animals (Atlantic).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bacteriolysin">
<B>bacteriolysin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any substance that can destroy bacteria by lysis. </DL>
<A NAME="bacteriolysis">
<B>bacteriolysis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the destruction or dissolution of bacteria. <DD><B> 2. </B>the chemical decomposition of solid organic matter in sewage by means of bacteria, without oxygen. </DL>
<A NAME="bacteriolytic">
<B>bacteriolytic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>destructive to bacteria. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with bacteriolysis. </DL>
<A NAME="bacteriophage">
<B>bacteriophage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a virus that destroys various bacteria, normally present especially in the intestines and blood; phage. </DL>
<B>bacterioscopist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a student of bacterioscopy. </DL>
<A NAME="bacterioscopy">
<B>bacterioscopy, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the study of bacteria by microscope. </DL>
<A NAME="bacteriostasis">
<B>bacteriostasis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the arrest of the growth or development of bacteria without killing them. </DL>
<A NAME="bacteriostat">
<B>bacteriostat, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an agent that arrests the growth or development of bacteria. </DL>
<A NAME="bacteriostatic">
<B>bacteriostatic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> arresting the growth or development of bacteria. </DL>
<A NAME="bacteriotherapy">
<B>bacteriotherapy, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the treatment of disease by introducing a specific type of bacteria into the system. </DL>
<A NAME="bacterium">
<B>bacterium, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> singular of <B>bacteria.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="bacterize">
<B>bacterize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to treat or modify by bacterial action. noun <B>bacterization.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="bacteroid">
<B>bacteroid, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a microorganism of bacterial character found in the root nodules of nitrogen-fixing plants, such as the legumes. <DD><I>adj. </I> resembling or allied to bacteria. </DL>
<B>Bactrian, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with Bactria, an ancient country in central Asia. <BR> <I>Ex. The Bactrian rulers governed northern Afghanistan until the 100's B.C. (Paul L. Hanna).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bactriancamel">
<B>Bactrian camel,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a camel with two humps, found in central Asia. It has longer hair and is stockier in build than the one-humped Arabian camel or dromedary. </DL>
<A NAME="baculiform">
<B>baculiform, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Biology.) shaped like a rod. </DL>
<A NAME="baculine">
<B>baculine, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with the rod (for punishing). </DL>
