Private; indirect; secret; conducted with secrecy; intriguing; -- as if finding access by the back stairs; as, backstairs gossip.
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A rope or stay extending from the masthead to the side of a ship, slanting a little aft, to assist the shrouds in supporting the mast.
A baker.
To sew with backstitches; as, to backstitch a seam.
In baseball, a fence, prop. at least 90 feet behind the home base, to stop the balls that pass the catcher; also, the catcher himself.
A female baker.
a swimming stroke that resembles the crawl except the swimmer lies on his or her back. It is usually executed with backward-moving circular arm strokes and a flutter kick.
aligned from front to back; slanted toward the back; -- used of hair.
any of numerous predaceous aquatic insects of the family Notonectidae (such as Notonecta undulata) that swim on their backs and may inflict painful bites; -- also called boat bug.
A sword with one sharp edge.
anything kept in reserve to serve as a substitute in case of failure or unavailability of the normal or primary object; -- used for devices, plans, people, etc. Also used attributively; as, there was no backup for the electrical supply; a backup motor; a backup generator.
To keep back; to hinder.
The seller's postponement of delivery of stock or shares, with the consent of the buyer, upon payment of a premium to the latter; -- also, the premium so paid. See Contango.
Reluctantly; slowly; aversely.
The state of being backward.
With the back in advance or foremost; as, to ride backward.
The flow of water propelled backward by the propeller, paddle wheel, or oars of a boat.
Water turned back in its course by an obstruction, an opposing current, or the flow of the tide, as in a sewer or river channel, or across a river bar.
The forests or partly cleared grounds on the frontiers.
A man living in the forest in or beyond the new settlements, especially on the western frontiers of the United States in former times.
A disease of hawks. See Filanders.
The back and sides of a pig salted and smoked; formerly, the flesh of a pig salted or fresh.
One who adheres to the philosophy of Lord Bacon.
The presence of bacteria in the blood.
Of or pertaining to bacteremia.
See Bacterium.
Of, pertaining to, or caused by bacteria.
Destructive of bacteria.
Same as Germicide.
The presence of bacteria in the blood; same as bacteremia.
A bacterial vaccine.
Of or pertaining to bacteriology; as, bacteriological studies.
One skilled in bacteriology.
The branch of microbiology relating to bacteria.
Chemical decomposition brought about by bacteria without the addition of oxygen.
a virus which infects bacteria; -- also colloquially called phage in laboratory jargon.
of or pertaining to bacteriophage.
Relating to bacterioscopy; as, a bacterioscopic examination.
One skilled in bacterioscopic examinations.
The application of a knowledge of bacteria for their detection and identification, as in the examination of polluted water.
inhibition of the growth of bacteria, without outright killing of the organism.
a chemical or biological material that inhibits bacterial growth.
of or pertaining to bacteriostasis or a bacteriostat.
to subject to the action of bacteria.
A microscopic single-celled organism having no distinguishable nucleus, belonging to the kingdom Monera. Bacteria have varying shapes, usually taking the form of a jointed rodlike filament, or a small sphere, but also in certain cases having a branched form. Bacteria are destitute of chlorophyll, but in those members of the phylum Cyanophyta (the blue-green algae) other light-absorbing pigments are present. They are the smallest of microscopic organisms which have their own metabolic processes carried on within cell membranes, viruses being smaller but not capable of living freely. The bacteria are very widely diffused in nature, and multiply with marvelous rapidity, both by fission and by spores. Bacteria may require oxygen for their energy-producing metabolism, and these are called aerobes; or may multiply in the absence of oxygen, these forms being anaerobes. Certain species are active agents in fermentation, while others appear to be the cause of certain infectious diseases. The branch of science with studies bacteria is bacteriology, being a division of microbiology. See Bacillus.
to subject to the action of bacteria.
Resembling bacteria; as, bacteroid particles.
Of or pertaining to Bactria in Asia. A native of Bactria.
See Bascule.
shaped like a rod.
Of or pertaining to the rod or punishment with the rod.
A cephalopod of the extinct genus Baculites, found fossil in the Cretaceous rocks. It is like an uncoiled ammonite.
Measurement of distance or altitude by a staff or staffs.
Wanting good qualities, whether physical or moral; injurious, hurtful, inconvenient, offensive, painful, unfavorable, or defective, either physically or morally; evil; vicious; wicked; -- the opposite of good; as, a bad man; bad conduct; bad habits; bad soil; bad air; bad health; a bad crop; bad news.
A person given to idle observation of everything, with wonder or astonishment; a credulous or gossipy idler.
compar. of Bad, a.
A large black seaweed (Alaria esculenta) sometimes eaten in Europe; -- also called murlins, honeyware, and henware.
Somewhat bad; inferior.
To mark or distinguish with a badge.
Having no badge.
To tease or annoy, as a badger when baited; to worry or irritate persistently.
Having legs of unequal length, as the badger was thought to have.
One who badgers.
The act of one who badgers.
A fresh-water sponge (Spongilla), common in the north of Europe, the powder of which is used to take away the livid marks of bruises.
An evergreen Chinese shrub of the Magnolia family (Illicium anisatum), and its aromatic seeds; Chinese anise; star anise.
A cement or distemper paste (as of plaster and powdered freestone, or of sawdust and glue or lime) used by sculptors, builders, and workers in wood or stone, to fill holes, cover defects, finish a surface, etc.
Playful raillery; banter.
In a bad manner; poorly; not well; unskillfully; imperfectly; unfortunately; grievously; so as to cause harm; disagreeably; seriously.
A game, similar to lawn tennis, played with shuttlecocks.
The state of being bad.
One of the somites (arthromeres) that make up the thorax of Arthropods.
One of the thoracic legs of Arthropods.
The thorax of Arthropods.
A meteorite, or similar rude stone artificially shaped, held sacred or worshiped as of divine origin.
To strike; to beat; to make a baff.
A defeat by artifice, shifts, and turns; discomfiture.
not understanding.
The process or act of baffling, or of being baffled; frustration; check.
One who, or that which, baffles.
Frustrating; discomfiting; disconcerting; as, baffling currents, winds, tasks.
A short wooden club having a deeply concave face, seldom used.
Same as Bafta.
A coarse stuff, usually of cotton, originally made in India. Also, an imitation of this fabric made for export.
To swell or hang down like a full bag; as, the skin bags from containing morbid matter.
a homeless woman who carries all her possessions with her in bags.
A bag-shaped net for catching fish.
Sugar cane, as it comes crushed from the mill. It is then dried and used as fuel. Also extended to the refuse of beetroot sugar.
A trifle; a thing of no importance.
a glazed leavened doughnut-shaped roll with a hard crust.
The quantity that a bag will hold; as, he ate a bagful of popcorn.
The clothes, tents, utensils, and provisions of an army.
One who takes care of baggage; a camp follower.
A two-masted Arab or Indian trading vessel, used in the Indian Ocean.
In a loose, baggy way.
Reaping peas, beans, wheat, etc., with a chopping stroke.
Resembling a bag; loose or puffed out, or pendent, like a bag; flabby; as, baggy trousers; baggy cheeks.
The capital city of Iraq. Population (2000) = nk.
A commercial traveler; one employed to solicit orders for manufacturers and tradesmen.
A house for bathing, sweating, etc.; -- also, in Turkey, a prison for slaves.
To make to look like a bagpipe.
One who plays on a bagpipe; a piper.
The lower reef of fore and aft sails; also, the upper reef of topsails.
The annular molding or group of moldings dividing a long shaft or clustered column into two or more parts.
A small molding, like the astragal, but smaller; a bead.
A wig, in use in the 18th century, with the hair at the back of the head in a bag.
One of several lepidopterous insects which construct, in the larval state, a baglike case which they carry about for protection. One species (Plat/ceticus Gloveri) feeds on the orange tree. See Basket worm.
An exclamation expressive of extreme contempt.
A member of the sect of the Babis consisting of the adherents of Baha (Mirza Husain Ali, entitled /Baha 'u 'llah,/ or, /the Splendor of God/), the elder half brother of Mirza Yahya of Nur, who succeeded the Bab as the head of the Babists. Baha in 1863 declared himself the supreme prophet of the sect, and became its recognized head. There are upwards of 20,000 Bahais in the United States.
The religious tenets or practices of the Bahais.
A weight used in certain parts of the East Indies, varying considerably in different localities, the range being from 223 to 625 pounds.
A title of respect or honor given to European officers in East Indian state papers, and colloquially, and among the natives, to distinguished officials and other important personages.
an island in the Persian Gulf.
of or pertaining to Bahrain (definition 2).
an island in the Persian Gulf; same as Bahrain.
a native or inhabitant of Bahrain.
a language spoken in the Dali region of Yunnan.
To soak or drench.
A box of the lowest tier in a theater.
A line of palisades serving as an exterior defense.
Having the right or privilege of being admitted to bail, upon bond with sureties; -- used of persons.
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