<B>blat</B> (1), verb, <B>blatted,</B> <B>blatting.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) <DD><I>v.i. </I> to cry like a calf or sheep; bleat. <BR> <I>Ex. This bullheaded monster [the Diesel train engine], whose blatting horn has replaced the romantic wail of the whistle (Newsweek).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to say loudly and foolishly; blurt out. </DL>
<B>blatancy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-cies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> noisy or unpleasant intrusion; blatant quality. <BR> <I>Ex. Viewers object to the blatancy of some television commercials.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="blatant">
<B>blatant, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>offensively loud or noisy; loudmouthed. <BR> <I>Ex. a blatant fool.</I> (SYN) clamorous, bellowing. <DD><B> 2. </B>showy, especially in dress or manner. <BR> <I>Ex. blatant prosperity.</I> (SYN) gaudy. <DD><B> 3. </B>obvious; flagrant. <BR> <I>Ex. a blatant lie, a blatant disregard of others.</I> adv. <B>blatantly.</B> </DL>
<B>blatherskite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Informal.) a blustering person who talks much and says little. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=ruddy duck.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="blatter">
<B>blatter, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to utter volubly. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to speak volubly. <BR> <I>Ex. The girls blattered endlessly.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=clatter.</B> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a volley of clattering words. <DD><B> 2. </B>a rattling or clattering noise. </DL>
<A NAME="blaubok">
<B>blaubok</B> or <B>blauwbok, </B>noun, pl. <B>-bok</B> or <B>-boks.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a large, bluish South African antelope, now extinct. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of various small South African antelopes. </DL>
<A NAME="blaw">
<B>blaw, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Scottish.) to blow. </DL>
<A NAME="blaxploitation">
<B>blaxploitation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) the production of films and plays with black actors for black audiences. <BR> <I>Ex. For every blaxploitation movie, 10 white-exploitation movies of cheap thrills of violence ... are made and exhibited in, I venture, far more theaters and drive-ins than black films (Psychology Today).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="blaze">
<B>blaze</B> (1), noun, verb, <B>blazed,</B> <B>blazing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a bright flame or fire; mass of flame. <BR> <I>Ex. The scout could see the blaze of the campfires across the river.</I> (SYN) conflagration. <DD><B> 2. </B>a glow of brightness; intense light; glare. <BR> <I>Ex. the blaze of the noon sun.</I> (SYN) brilliance. <DD><B> 3. </B>a bright display. <BR> <I>Ex. The tulips made a blaze of color in the garden.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) a sudden or violent outburst of feeling or passion. <BR> <I>Ex. a blaze of temper.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to burn with a bright flame; be on fire. <BR> <I>Ex. A fire was blazing in the fireplace.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to show bright color or lights. <BR> <I>Ex. On New Year's Eve the big house blazed with lights.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to make a bright display. <BR> <I>Ex. Mighty names have blazed upon the world and passed away (William Cullen Bryant).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) to burst out in anger or excitement. <BR> <I>Ex. She blazed up at the insult.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to cause to shine forth; shed. <BR> <I>Ex. The Father ... on the Son blazed forth unclouded deity (Milton).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to cause to blaze up. <BR><I>expr. <B>blaze away,</B> (Informal.) <DD><B> a. </B>to fire a gun or the like continuously. </I> <I>Ex. We ... blazed away at the lions (David Livingstone).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to work or talk with enthusiasm. <BR> <I>Ex. Gomez blazed away with five perfect innings (New York Times).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>go to blazes,</B> </I>(Slang.) go to the devil. <BR> <I>Ex. He told the annoying salesman to go to blazes.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>like blazes,</B> </I>(Slang.) furiously; impetuously. <BR> <I>Ex. The horse ... went like blazes (Thomas De Quincey).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>the blazes,</B> </I>(Slang.) the deuce; the devil. <BR> <I>Ex. What the blazes is in the wind now? (Dickens).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="blaze">
<B>blaze</B> (2), noun, verb, <B>blazed,</B> <B>blazing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a mark made on a tree by chipping off a piece of bark, to indicate a trail or boundary in a forest. <DD><B> 2. </B>a white mark on the face of a horse, cow, ox, or other domestic animal. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to mark (a tree, trail, or boundary) with a blaze or by making blazes. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to pioneer or prepare (a way). <BR> <I>Ex. The astronauts are blazing new roads in the conquest of space.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="blaze">
<B>blaze</B> (3), transitive verb, <B>blazed,</B> <B>blazing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to make known; proclaim. (SYN) divulge, publish. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) to blow, as with a musical instrument. </DL>
<A NAME="blazer">
<B>blazer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a distinctively colored or decorated jacket. Blazers are sometimes worn as part of the uniform of a team or school. <DD><B> 2. </B>anything which blazes or shines. <DD><B> 3. </B>(U.S.) a small cooking apparatus. </DL>
<A NAME="blazing">
<B>blazing, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>flaming; fiery. <BR> <I>Ex. the sight of the blazing dwellings. (Figurative.) She fixed a glance blazing with rage and scorn on the driver.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>shining; bright-colored; glaring. <BR> <I>Ex. a blazing sun upon a fierce August day.</I> adv. <B>blazingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="blazingstar">
<B>blazing star,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of several wild plants having showy clusters of flowers. They grow mainly on prairies and meadows in the eastern and midwestern United States. The button snakeroot is one kind. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) the brilliant center of admiration; cynosure. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Obsolete.) a comet. </DL>
<A NAME="blazon">
<B>blazon, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to make known; proclaim. <BR> <I>Ex. Big posters blazoned the wonders of the coming circus.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to decorate, especially with designs, names, or colors; adorn. <BR> <I>Ex. The bottom of the valley was a bed of glorious grass, blazoned with flowers (R. Taylor).</I> <DD><B> 3a. </B>to describe or paint (a coat of arms). <DD><B> b. </B>to inscribe with some ornament. <BR> <I>Ex. What matter whose the hillside grave, or whose the blazoned stone (John Greenleaf Whittier).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to display; show. <BR> <I>Ex. And blazon o'er the door their names in brass (Byron).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a coat of arms, or a shield with a coat of arms on it. <DD><B> 2. </B>a description or painting of a coat of arms; blazonry. <DD><B> 3. </B>a display; show. <BR> <I>Ex. But this eternal blazon must not be (Shakespeare).</I> noun <B>blazoner.</B> noun <B>blazonment.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="blazonry">
<B>blazonry, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a bright decoration or display. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) The eternal blazonry of nature (Harriet Beecher Stowe).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a coat of arms. <DD><B> 3. </B>a description or painting of a coat of arms. </DL>
<A NAME="blc">
<B>BLC</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> (Aerodynamics.) boundary layer control. </DL>
<A NAME="bldg">
<B>bldg.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> building. </DL>
<A NAME="bldgs">
<B>bldgs.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> buildings. </DL>
<A NAME="bleach">
<B>bleach, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to whiten by exposing to sunlight or by using chemicals. <BR> <I>Ex. We bleached the linen napkins in the wash. Bleached bones lay on the hot sands of the desert.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to remove some of the color of; lighten. <BR> <I>Ex. The sun had bleached her hair.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to become white; turn pale; lose color. <BR> <I>Ex. White sheets bleaching on the hedge (Shakespeare).</I> (SYN) blanch. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>any chemical used in bleaching. <BR> <I>Ex. Laundries often use bleach to whiten shirts.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the act or process of bleaching. <DD><B> 3. </B>the whiteness produced by bleaching. adj. <B>bleachable.</B> noun <B>bleacher.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="bleacherite">
<B>bleacherite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a spectator in the bleachers at a sports event. </DL>
<A NAME="bleachers">
<B>bleachers, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>rows or tiers of low-priced seats, usually not covered by a roof, at an outdoor sports event. <DD><B> 2. </B>the occupants of the section of a stadium, ballpark, or the like, containing these seats. </DL>
<A NAME="bleachery">
<B>bleachery, </B>noun, pl. <B>-eries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a place where bleaching is done. </DL>
<A NAME="bleachingpowder">
<B>bleaching powder,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. </B>a white powder used for bleaching and disinfecting, made by treating slaked lime with chlorine; chlorinated lime; chloride of lime. <DD><B> 2. </B>any powder for bleaching. </DL>
<A NAME="bleak">
<B>bleak</B> (1), adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>swept by winds; bare. <BR> <I>Ex. The rocky peaks of high mountains are bleak.</I> (SYN) desolate. <DD><B> 2. </B>chilly; cold. <BR> <I>Ex. The bleak winter wind made him shiver.</I> (SYN) raw. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) cheerless and depressing; dismal. <BR> <I>Ex. A prisoner's life is bleak. Lonely and ill, the old woman faced ableak future.</I> (SYN) dreary. adv. <B>bleakly.</B> noun <B>bleakness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="bleak">
<B>bleak</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small European freshwater fish of the carp family. </DL>
<B>blear, </B>adjective, verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>(of the eyes) dim, especially from water or tears. (SYN) filmy, misty. <DD><B> 2. </B>indistinct; dim; blurred. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to dim (the eyes), especially with tears. <BR> <I>Ex. The old dog's eyes were bleared by age.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to make dim; blur. <DD><I>noun </I> a blur; dimness or mistiness. <BR> <I>Ex. a blear in the eyes.</I> </DL>
