<B>bate</B> (1), verb, <B>bated,</B> <B>bating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to deduct; lessen; hold back. (SYN) abate. <DD><I>v.i. </I> (Obsolete or <I>Dialect.) to decrease, especially in size, amount, or force.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>with bated breath,</B> </I>holding the breath in great fear, wonder, or interest. <BR> <I>Ex. The boys listened to the sailor's story with bated breath.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bate">
<B>bate</B> (2), intransitive verb, <B>bated,</B> <B>bating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to beat the wings impatiently or attempt to take flight, as of a falcon or hawk; flutter. <BR> <I>Ex. Cressida recognized the point and wanted to take the air, but I checked her. She bated in fury (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<B>bate</B> (4), noun, verb, <B>bated,</B> <B>bating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a solution of dung or other alkaline substance used to soften hides in tanning. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to soften (hides) by soaking in such a solution. </DL>
<A NAME="bateared">
<B>bat-eared, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having upright ears with rounded tips, somewhat like those of a bat. <BR> <I>Ex. a bat-eared foxhound.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S. Informal.) (of a person) having such ears. </DL>
<A NAME="bateau">
<B>bateau, </B>noun, pl. <B>-teaux.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a light riverboat with a flat bottom and tapering ends, used in Canada and Louisiana. Also, <B>batteau.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="bateauneck">
<B>bateau neck</B> or <B>neckline,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a high neckline on a sweater, dress, or blouse, the line of the fabric being almost straight across from shoulder to shoulder; boat neck or neckline. </DL>
<A NAME="bateleur">
<B>bateleur, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a species of eagle found in South Africa, having extremely short tail feathers. </DL>
<B>batfish, </B>noun, pl. <B>-fishes</B> or (collectively) <B>-fish.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of a family of fishes shaped somewhat like a bat, especially one of a species found in the Atlantic along the coast of the southern United States; sea bat. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=sting ray.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="batfowl">
<B>batfowl, </B>intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to catch birds at night by dazing them with a light, and knocking them down or netting them. noun <B>batfowler.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="bath">
<B>bath</B> (1), noun, pl. <B>baths,</B> verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the act of washing, dipping, or soaking the body, especially for cleansing. <BR> <I>Ex. He took a hot bath.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>water in a tub for a bath. <BR> <I>Ex. Your bath is ready.</I> <DD><B> 3a. </B>a tub for bathing; bathtub. <BR> <I>Ex. a full-length bath.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a room for bathing; bathroom. <BR> <I>Ex. We bought a house with three bedrooms and two baths.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a building containing facilities for bathing. <BR> <I>Ex. a public bath, a Turkish bath.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>Often, <B>baths.</B> (in ancient times, especially in Rome) an elaborate establishment used for bathing and also for various forms of exercise and recreation; thermae. <DD><B> 6. </B>Often, <B>baths.</B> a place or resort with baths for medical treatment, especially in water containing minerals. <DD><B> 7a. </B>liquid in which something is washed or dipped. <BR> <I>Ex. a bath for developing photographic film.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>the container holding the liquid. <DD><B> 8a. </B>a device for modifying and regulating the temperature of something by interposing sand, water, oil, or other insulating substance between the fire and the vessel to be heated. <DD><B> b. </B>the receptacle containing the insulating substance. <DD><B> 9. </B>(Metallurgy.) the mass of molten metal in a furnace. <DD><I>v.t., v.i. </I> (British.) to bathe; wash or immerse in a bath. <BR><I>expr. <B>take a bath,</B> </I>(U.S. Slang.) to suffer a setback. <BR> <I>Ex. the scion of a family that had become wealthy in the silk-dyeing industry in Paterson, but took a bath in the Depression (Time).</I> adj. <B>bathless.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="bath">
<B>bath</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> either of two ancient Hebrew units of liquid measure, estimated to have been equal to about 7.5 and 9.5 U.S. gallons. </DL>
<A NAME="bathbrick">
<B>Bath brick,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a preparation of fine sand containing much silica, molded in the form of a brick, for cleaning and polishing metal. </DL>
<A NAME="bath">
<B>Bath</B> or <B>bath bun,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) a sweet roll made of yeast dough, usually glazed with sugar or covered with candied fruit. </DL>
<A NAME="bath">
<B>Bath</B> or <B>bath chair,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a wheel chair for invalids, sometimes one with a hood. </DL>
<A NAME="bathe">
<B>bathe, </B>verb, <B>bathed,</B> <B>bathing,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to take a bath. <BR> <I>Ex. Some boys don't like to bathe regularly.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Especially British.) to go swimming; go into a river, lake, or ocean, for pleasure or to get cool. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to bask; be immersed. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to give a bath to. <BR> <I>Ex. He is bathing his dog.</I> (SYN) lave. <DD><B> 2. </B>to apply water to; wash or moisten with any liquid. <BR> <I>Ex. Bathe your feet if they are so tired. The doctor told her to bathe her eyes with the lotion.</I> (SYN) wet. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to cover or surround. <BR> <I>Ex. a field bathed in sunlight.</I> (SYN) suffuse. <DD><I>noun </I> (Especially British.) a bath or swim. <BR> <I>Ex. His wife suddenly said she wanted to have a bathe at the little bay (Cape Times).</I> noun <B>bather.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="bathetic">
<B>bathetic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> showing bathos; characterized by bathos. <BR> <I>Ex. The whole enterprise winds up with a dishevelled, richly bathetic funeral scene (New Yorker).</I> adv. <B>bathetically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="bathhouse">
<B>bathhouse, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>a building containing dressing rooms for swimmers. <DD><B> b. </B>a small structure for dressing in, on, or near a beach; cabana. <DD><B> 2. </B>a building fitted for bathing. </DL>
<A NAME="bathinette">
<B>bathinette, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small folding bathtub covered with a rubberized fabric and used for bathing and dressing infants. </DL>
<A NAME="bathingbeauty">
<B>bathing beauty,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. </B>a participant in a beauty contest among young women in bathing suits. <DD><B> 2. </B>any very attractive young woman. </DL>
<A NAME="bathingcap">
<B>bathing cap,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a rubber cap for covering the head while swimming. </DL>
<A NAME="bathingcostume">
<B>bathing costume,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) a bathing suit. </DL>
<A NAME="bathingdrawers">
<B>bathing drawers,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British, Obsolete.) a bathing suit. </DL>
<A NAME="bathingdress">
<B>bathing dress,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) a bathing suit. </DL>
<A NAME="bathingmachine">
<B>bathing machine,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a covered vehicle which can be run out into the water and used as a dressing room for a bather. </DL>
<A NAME="bathingsuit">
<B>bathing suit,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a garment worn for swimming. </DL>
<A NAME="bathmat">
<B>bath mat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a mat for use on a bathroom floor or in a bathtub. </DL>
<A NAME="bathmitzvah">
bath mitzvah, =bas mitzvah.</DL>
<A NAME="bathochrome">
<B>bathochrome, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a group of atoms or a radical which, when introduced into an organic compound, causes its absorption spectrum to shift toward the red. </DL>
<A NAME="bathochromic">
<B>bathochromic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with a bathocrome. </DL>
<A NAME="batholite">
<B>batholite, </B>noun. =batholith.</DL>
<A NAME="batholith">
<B>batholith, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a great mass of granite or other igneous rock intruded below the surface, commonly along the axis of a mountain range, and sometimes exposed by erosion. </DL>
<A NAME="batholithic">
<B>batholithic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with or resembling a batholith. </DL>
<A NAME="batholitic">
<B>batholitic, </B>adjective. =batholithic.</DL>
<A NAME="batholiver">
<B>Bath Oliver,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) an unsweetened digestive biscuit. </DL>
<A NAME="bathometer">
<B>bathometer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an instrument to determine the depth of water. </DL>
<A NAME="bathorse">
<B>bathorse, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a horse for carrying baggage, especially as once used in the British Army. </DL>
<A NAME="bathos">
<B>bathos, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>ludicrous descent from the elevated to the commonplace in speech or writing. <I>Example:</I> "The exile came back to his home, crippled, unfriended, and hatless." <BR> <I>Ex. Some American newspapers found room on page one for long stories full of bathos and penny-a-line Freudian theory (Atlantic).</I> (SYN) anticlimax. <DD><B> 2. </B>strained or insincere pathos. </DL>
<A NAME="bathrobe">
<B>bathrobe, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a long, loose garment worn to and from a bath or when resting or lounging. </DL>
<A NAME="bathroom">
<B>bathroom, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a room fitted out for taking baths, and now usually equipped with a sink and a toilet. <DD><B> 2. </B>a room containing a toilet. </DL>
<A NAME="baths">
<B>baths, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> See under <B>bath</B> (1) (n. defs. 5, 6). </DL>
<A NAME="bathsalts">
<B>bath salts,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any of various compounds, especially a scented mixture of sea salts and borax, by which the water of a bath is softened and made fragrant. </DL>
<A NAME="bathsheba">
<B>Bathsheba, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the mother of Solomon. King David married her after sending her first husband, Uriah, to his death in combat (in the Bible, II Samuel 11:3-27). </DL>
<A NAME="bathsponge">
<B>bath sponge,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a sponge used for bathing. </DL>
<A NAME="bath">
<B>Bath</B> or <B>bath stone,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a building stone quarried from oolitic formations. </DL>
<A NAME="bathtowel">
<B>bath towel,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large, usually thick, towel made of terry cloth for use after bathing. </DL>
<A NAME="bathtub">
<B>bathtub, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a tub to bathe in, especially one permanently fixed in a bathroom. </DL>
<A NAME="bathtubgin">
<B>bathtub gin,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) any homemade gin, especially during the period of national prohibition. </DL>
<A NAME="bathwater">
<B>bathwater, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> water for a bath. </DL>
