<B>berm</B> or <B>berme, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a narrow space or ledge. <DD><B> 2. </B>the deposit of material, especially sand or small rocks, at the top of a beach. It is usually a nearly horizontal surface but may be of varying width according to seasonal wave action. <DD><B> 3. </B>(U.S.) the bank of a canal opposite the towing path. <DD><B> 4. </B>(U.S.) the shoulder of a road. <DD><B> 5. </B>(in a fortification) a space between the moat and the base of the parapet. </DL>
<A NAME="bermudacedar">
<B>Bermuda cedar,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of juniper native to Bermuda, with hard, reddish-brown, aromatic wood. </DL>
<A NAME="bermudagrass">
<B>Bermuda grass,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a creeping perennial grass that resists drought, valued for lawns and pasture, especially in the southern United States. </DL>
<B>Bermuda shorts,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> short trousers that end an inch or two above the knee. </DL>
<A NAME="bermudaskirt">
<B>Bermuda skirt,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a skirt of approximately the same length as Bermuda shorts. </DL>
<A NAME="bermudatriangle">
<B>Bermuda Triangle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an area of the North Atlantic in which disappearances of airplanes and ships have been popularly attributed to mysterious forces; Devil's Triangle. <DD><B> 2. </B>a combination of three factors, sometimes of an unexplained nature. <BR> <I>Ex. Ravel's music places the performer in a Bermuda Triangle of influences (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bermudian">
<B>Bermudian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with the Bermudas or their inhabitants. <DD><I>noun </I> a native or inhabitant of the Bermudas. </DL>
<A NAME="bernardine">
<B>Bernardine, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with Saint Bernard, 1090-1153, abbot of Clairvaux, the most distinguished member of the Cistercian order and regarded as its second founder. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with the Cistercians. <DD><I>noun </I> a Cistercian monk or nun. </DL>
<A NAME="bernese">
<B>Bernese, </B>adjective, noun, pl. <B>-nese.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with Bern (or Berne), the capital of Switzerland, or the canton in which it is located. <BR> <I>Ex. the Bernese cantonal government.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a native or inhabitant of Bern (or Berne). </DL>
<A NAME="bernesemountaindog">
<B>Bernese mountain dog,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a breed of large, hardy dogs found in the Bernese mountain region. They have long, silky black hair with white and brown markings. </DL>
<A NAME="bernoullisprinciple">
<B>Bernoulli's principle,</B> <B>law,</B> or <B>theorem,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Physics.) the principle that the total energy per unit of mass in the streamline flow of a moving fluid is constant, being the sum of the potential energy, the kinetic energy, and the energy due to pressure. The faster the fluid flows, the less the pressure, and vice versa. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Statistics.) the principle that as the number of random trials of an event increases, the probability of the event's occurrence increases proportionately. </DL>
<A NAME="berobed">
<B>berobed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> wearing a robe. </DL>
<A NAME="berretta">
<B>berretta, </B>noun. <B>=biretta.</B></DL>
<A NAME="berried">
<B>berried, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having berries. <DD><B> 2. </B>in the form of berries; baccate. <DD><B> 3. </B>(of lobsters, crabs, or other crustaceans) having eggs or spawn. </DL>
<A NAME="berry">
<B>berry, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ries,</B> verb, <B>-ried,</B> <B>-rying.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1a. </B>any small, juicy fruit with many seeds instead of a stone. Strawberries, raspberries, and gooseberries are berries. <DD><B> b. </B>a simple fruit having a skin or rind surrounding one or more seeds in a fleshy pulp. Botanists classify grapes, tomatoes, currants, and bananas as berries. <DD><B> 2. </B>a dry seed or kernel of grain or other plants. <BR> <I>Ex. Coffee is made from the berries of the coffee plant.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a single egg of a lobster or fish. <DD><B> 4. </B>(U.S. Slang.) a dollar. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to gather or pick berries. <BR> <I>Ex. Our fingers got blue berrying for blueberries.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to bear or produce berries. <BR><I>expr. <B>in berry,</B> </I>(of lobsters and crabs) carrying developing eggs. <BR> <I>Ex. Females in berry do not appear to forage (New Scientist).</I> adj. <B>berrylike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="bersagliere">
<B>bersagliere, </B>noun, pl., <B>-glieri.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a rifleman or sharpshooter in the Italian army. </DL>
<A NAME="berseem">
<B>berseem, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an Egyptian clover cultivated for forage. </DL>
<A NAME="berserk">
<B>berserk, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of unsound mind; mad; insane. <BR> <I>Ex. ... the stigma of the mental patient as a violent person berserk in hospital corridors (Saturday Review).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>violently angry. <DD><I>noun </I> a berserker. <BR><I>expr. <B>go berserk</B> or <B>run berserk,</B> </I>to be carried away by madness or wild fury; become violently angry. <BR> <I>Ex. The sick dog went berserk and tried to bite everyone in its way.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="berserker">
<B>berserker, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Scandinavian Legend.) one of a class of fierce Norse warriors who fought on the battlefield with such wild fury that they needed no armor. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) anyone so carried away by excitement or rage. </DL>
<A NAME="berth">
<B>berth, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a place to sleep on a ship, train, or airplane. <BR> <I>Ex. Most of the steamship's crew were settled in their berths for the night.</I> (SYN) bunk. <DD><B> 2. </B>a ship's place at anchor or at a wharf. <BR> <I>Ex. The huge freighter was eased into her berth by several tugboats.</I> (SYN) slip. <DD><B> 3. </B>a place for a ship to anchor conveniently or safely. (SYN) mooring. <DD><B> 4. </B>the space necessary for safety or convenience between a ship and other ships or the shore, rocks, or other obstructions; sea room. <DD><B> 5. </B>a space in a ship in which a number of officers or men eat and live. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Figurative.) a position; job. <BR> <I>Ex. My brother has a berth as lifeguard for the summer.</I> (SYN) post, billet. <DD><B> 7. </B>(Figurative.) a position or place (in a contest, on a program, or the like). <BR> <I>Ex. Argentina clinched a berth in the second round of the ... Davis cup (New York Times).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to place in or assign to a berth; provide with a berth or berths. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to have or occupy a berth. <BR> <I>Ex. During strikes, large liners often berth without tugs.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>give a wide berth,</B> </I>to keep well away from. <BR> <I>Ex. Give her a wide berth when she is angry.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bertha">
<B>bertha, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a woman's wide collar, usually of lace, that often extends over the shoulders. </DL>
<A NAME="bertha">
<B>Bertha, </B>noun. <B>=Big Bertha.</B></DL>
<A NAME="berthage">
<B>berthage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> accommodation for berthing a vessel. </DL>
<A NAME="berthonboat">
<B>Berthon boat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of collapsible boat. </DL>
<A NAME="bertillonage">
<B>bertillonage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> application of the Bertillon system. </DL>
<A NAME="bertillonsystem">
<B>Bertillon system,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a system of identifying persons, especially criminals, by a record of individual measurements and physical peculiarities. Fingerprinting has now almost entirely replaced it. </DL>
<A NAME="bertrandite">
<B>bertrandite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a mineral, a hydrous silicate of beryllium, occurring in brilliant, transparent, colorless crystals. </DL>
<A NAME="beryl">
<B>beryl, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a very hard mineral, usually green or blue-green, used as a gem and as the source of beryllium. Beryl is a translucent or opaque silicate of beryllium and aluminum. The emerald and aquamarine are transparent varieties of beryl. </DL>
<A NAME="beryllia">
<B>beryllia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the oxide of beryllium, a white powder having high electrical resistance and thermal conductivity, used as a ceramic material, and also in transistors, high-temperature reactors, and as an additive to glass and plastics. </DL>
<A NAME="berylline">
<B>berylline, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> like beryl; of a yellow-green color; sea-green. </DL>
<A NAME="berylliosis">
<B>berylliosis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> chronic inflammation of the lungs caused especially by the breathing of beryllium dust. </DL>
<A NAME="beryllium">
<B>beryllium, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a hard, light, metallic chemical element found in various minerals; glucinum. Beryllium is used in various alloys and in controlling the speed of neutrons in atomic reactors. </DL>
<A NAME="berylliumcopper">
<B>beryllium copper,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an alloy composed mainly of copper with approximately 2 per cent of beryllium and 2 to 3 per cent nickel or cobalt. It has many uses because of its strength, hardness, electrical conductivity, and resistance to corrosion. </DL>
<A NAME="bes">
<B>Bes, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Egyptian Mythology.) the god of good omen and pleasure, with the power to protect against witchcraft. </DL>
<A NAME="bescatter">
<B>bescatter, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to scatter over something. <DD><B> 2. </B>to bestrew, as with things scattered; besprinkle. </DL>
<A NAME="bescreen">
<B>bescreen, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to cover or hide with or as if with a screen. </DL>
<A NAME="beseech">
<B>beseech, </B>transitive verb, <B>-sought</B> or <B>-seeched,</B> <B>-seeching.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to ask earnestly; implore (a person). <BR> <I>Ex. I beseech you to listen to me.</I> (SYN) supplicate, pray. <DD><B> 2. </B>to beg eagerly for (a thing); entreat. <BR> <I>Ex. I beseech your worship's pardon (Shakespeare).</I> noun <B>beseecher.</B> adv. <B>beseechingly.</B> noun <B>beseechment.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="beseem">
<B>beseem,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) v.t. to seem proper for; befit; suit. <BR> <I>Ex. I have already laughed more than beseems my cloth (Nathaniel Hawthorne).</I> (SYN) become. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to seem proper or fitting. adv. <B>beseemingly.</B> </DL>
