<B>beltway, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a highway that goes around a city or special area. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>the Beltway.</B> Washington, D.C., considered as the seat of the U.S. government and all of the people concerned with the functioning of the government. <BR> <I>Ex. There's a life beyond the Beltway, a whole country out there ... (Rolling Stone).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="beltwaybandit">
<B>beltway bandit,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) a consultant or expert, often a former government employee, hired by a corporation to help secure government contracts. <BR> <I>Ex. Well-paying jobs in electronics and at national corporate headquarters are filled by "Beltway Bandits" (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="beluga">
<B>beluga, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ga</B> or <B>-gas.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a large, white sturgeon of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, valued as a source of caviar. <DD><B> 2. </B>Also, <B>beluga whale.</B> <DD> a small, white whale of the arctic seas, valued for its oil and skin; white whale. </DL>
<A NAME="belvedere">
<B>belvedere, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a structure from which a fine view may be had, especially a top story that is open on one or more sides. <DD><B> 2. </B>a cigar more tapered and slightly shorter than a corona. </DL>
<A NAME="belvedered">
<B>belvedered, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having a belvedere. </DL>
<A NAME="bema">
<B>bema, </B>noun, pl. <B>-mata.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(in ancient Greece) a stage or platform on which a speaker stood to address an assembly. <DD><B> 2. </B>(in Eastern churches) the area, raised and enclosed, between the apse and the nave, including the altar; the sanctuary or chancel. </DL>
<A NAME="bemaul">
<B>bemaul, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to maul severely. </DL>
<A NAME="bemaze">
<B>bemaze, </B>transitive verb, <B>-mazed,</B> <B>-mazing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to daze; bewilder. </DL>
<A NAME="bembo">
<B>Bembo, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a printing type of the old style, based on those designed by the Italian printer Francesco Griffo in the late 1400's. </DL>
<A NAME="bemean">
<B>bemean, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to make mean or base; lower in dignity; abase. </DL>
<A NAME="bemedaled">
<B>bemedaled, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> covered with medals; wearing many medals. </DL>
<A NAME="bemire">
<B>bemire, </B>transitive verb, <B>-mired,</B> <B>-miring.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to make dirty with mud. <DD><B> 2. </B>to sink or stick in mud. </DL>
<A NAME="bemist">
<B>bemist, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to cover or surround with mist; befog; obscure. </DL>
<A NAME="bemoan">
<B>bemoan, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to moan about or weep for; bewail. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to mourn; lament; grieve. </DL>
<A NAME="bemock">
<B>bemock, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to mock; mock at. </DL>
<A NAME="bemoil">
<B>bemoil, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British Dialect.) to befoul with mud or dirt. </DL>
<A NAME="bemuddle">
<B>bemuddle, </B>transitive verb, <B>-dled,</B> <B>-dling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to muddle completely. </DL>
<A NAME="bemuse">
<B>bemuse, </B>transitive verb, <B>-mused,</B> <B>-musing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to make utterly confused; bewilder; stupefy. noun <B>bemusement.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="bemused">
<B>bemused, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>confused; bewildered; stupefied. <BR> <I>Ex. The old man was bemused by the rush and hustle of modern life.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>absorbed in thought or daydreaming. <BR> <I>Ex. The shepherd sat bemused in the summer sun.</I> adv. <B>bemusedly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="ben">
<B>ben</B> (1), adverb, preposition, adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Scottish and Dialect.) <DD><I>adv. </I> within. <DD><I>prep. </I> in or into the inner part of (a house). <DD><I>adj. </I> inner; interior. <DD><I>noun </I> the inner room of a cottage, especially the inner one of two rooms (the outer being the <I>but</I>). </DL>
<A NAME="ben">
<B>ben</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an Asiatic tree whose winged seed yields an oil used in perfumery and as a lubricant. <DD><B> 2. </B>the seed itself. </DL>
<A NAME="ben">
<B>ben</B> (3), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a mountain peak (used chiefly in the names of Scottish mountains). <BR> <I>Ex. Ben Lomond.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ben">
<B>ben</B> (4), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Hebrew.) son; son of. <BR> <I>Ex. David Ben-Gurion, first premier of Israel; Judah Ben Hur, hero of a novel by Lew Wallace.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="benadryl">
<B>Benadryl, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Trademark.) a synthetic drug used to relieve allergies such as hay fever. </DL>
<A NAME="bename">
<B>bename, </B>transitive verb, <B>-named</B> or <B>-nempt</B> or <B>-nempted,</B> <B>-naming.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) to name; call; describe as. </DL>
<A NAME="bencejonesprotein">
<B>Bence-Jones protein,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an abnormal globulin found in the urine of persons having multiple myeloma. </DL>
<A NAME="bench">
<B>bench, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a long seat, usually of wood or stone. A bench may be with or without a back. <BR> <I>Ex. Many people sat in the sun on park benches.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a strong, heavy table used by a carpenter, or by any worker with tools and materials; workbench. <BR> <I>Ex. My father painted a chair on his bench in the cellar.</I> <DD><B> 3a. </B>position as a judge. <BR> <I>Ex. He was appointed to the bench last year.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>the judge or group of judges sitting in a law court. <BR> <I>Ex. The bench reasd the sentence to the prisoner.</I> <DD><B> c. </B>the seat where judges sit in a law court. <DD><B> d. </B>a law court. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Sports.) <DD><B> a. </B>the place, usually a long seat, where those members of a team sit who are not actually taking part in a game. <DD><B> b. </B>the substitute or reserve players of a team collectively. <BR> <I>Ex. a team with a good bench.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>a seat or thwart in a boat. <DD><B> 6. </B>a seat where persons sit side by side in some official capacity. <DD><B> 7. </B>(U.S.) a raised, level tract of land resembling a terrace, lying either above the bed of a stream on a valley slope, or between a sea or lake and neighboring mountains, and generally marking the outcrop of a new seam or stratum of rock; benchland. <DD><B> 8a. </B>a platform on which dogs stand for exhibition at a dog show. <DD><B> b. </B>a dog show. See also <B>bench show.</B> <DD><B> 9. </B>(Mining.) a layer or strip (of coal, ore, etc.) worked separately. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>(Sports.) <DD><B> a. </B>to exclude from play, especially as punishment. <BR> <I>Ex. The football player was benched for failing to follow rules.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to take (a player) out of a game. <BR> <I>Ex. Don Barrows, the powerful fullback, and a 245-pound tackle, Paul Tully, ... were benched with injuries (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to furnish with benches. <DD><B> 3. </B>to assign a seat on a bench, especially one of honor. <DD><B> 4. </B>to exhibit (a dog) on a platform at a show. <DD><I>v.i. </I> (Rare.) to sit on a seat of justice. <BR><I>expr. <B>on the bench,</B> </I>sitting in a law court as a judge. <BR> <I>Ex. Judge Burke ... has been practicing law for 28 years, on the bench four years (Time).</I> <DD><B> a. </B>held out of the game; sitting among the substitute players. <BR> <I>Ex. The rookie complained that the coach kept him mostly on the bench.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="benchclamp">
<B>bench clamp,</B> <B>hook,</B> or <B>stop,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a vise or other device on a workbench for holding work steady, or for forcing parts together. </DL>
<A NAME="benchdog">
<B>bench dog,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a dog exhibited at or competing in dog shows. </DL>
<A NAME="bencher">
<B>bencher, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>in England: <DD><B> a. </B>one of the senior members governing a society of English lawyers and law students called an Inn of Court. <DD><B> b. </B>(Informal.) a member of the House of Commons. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person who sits on a bench, such as an oarsman. </DL>
<A NAME="benchjockey">
<B>bench jockey,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a baseball player who seeks to disconcert members of the opposing team or the umpires by verbal harassing from the bench. <DD><B> 2. </B>anyone who harasses or criticizes sharply from the sidelines. </DL>
<B>bench-legged, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having the forelegs wide apart. <BR> <I>Ex. The Indians' little bench-legged ponies were no match for them(Andy Adams).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="benchmark">
<B>bench mark,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Surveying.) a mark made on a rock, post, or other landmark, and used as a starting point or guide in a line of levels for the determination of altitudes. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) anything that is taken as, or serves as, a point of reference. </DL>
<A NAME="benchscientist">
<B>bench scientist,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a scientist who works in a laboratory; research scientist. <BR> <I>Ex. There is no longer any talk of 'wasting your education' or 'prostituting your science' if you prefer not to be a bench scientist (Science Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="benchshow">
<B>bench show,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an exhibition of animals, especially dogs, at which awards are made for physical merit judged on a standard scale of points (distinguished from <I>field trial,</I> which evaluates hunting or herding skill or obedience). </DL>
<A NAME="benchtable">
<B>bench table,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a low stone seat on the inside of walls, around the bases of pillars, in churches, cloisters, and the like. </DL>
<A NAME="benchterrace">
<B>bench-terrace, </B>transitive verb, <B>-raced,</B> <B>-racing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to terrace (a steep slope) so as to arrest erosion. </DL>
<A NAME="benchwarmer">
<B>bench warmer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Informal.) a member of an athletic team who sits on the sideline and is seldom called upon to play. </DL>
