Loading earlier words…
Balbuties

The defect of stammering; also, a kind of incomplete pronunciation.

Balcony

A platform projecting from the wall of a building, usually resting on brackets or consoles, and inclosed by a parapet; as, a balcony in front of a window. Also, a projecting gallery in places of amusement; as, the balcony in a theater.

Bald

Destitute of the natural or common covering on the head or top, as of hair, feathers, foliage, trees, etc.; as, a bald head; a bald oak.

Bald-faced

Having a white face or a white mark on the face, as a stag.

bald-headed baldheaded

Having a bald head; lacking hair on all or most of the scalp; -- alsp called bald and bald-pated; as, a bald-headed gentleman.

Balder

The most beautiful and beloved of the gods; the god of peace; the son of Odin and Freya.

Baldly

Nakedly; without reserve; inelegantly.

Baldness

The state or condition of being bald; as, baldness of the head; baldness of style.

Baldrib

A piece of pork cut lower down than the sparerib, and destitute of fat.

Baldric

A broad belt, sometimes richly ornamented, worn over one shoulder, across the breast, and under the opposite arm; it is used to support a sword or bugle by the left hip; less properly, any belt.

Baldwin

A kind of reddish, moderately acid, winter apple.

baldy

a person who has a bald head; -- a deprecatory term.

Bale

Misery; calamity; misfortune; sorrow.

Balearic

Of or pertaining to the isles of Majorca, Minorca, Ivica, etc., in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Valencia.

Baleen

Plates or blades of /whalebone,/ from two to twelve feet long, and sometimes a foot wide, which in certain whales (Bal/noidea) are attached side by side along the upper jaw, and form a fringelike sieve by which the food is retained in the mouth.

Baleful

Full of deadly or pernicious influence; destructive.

Balisaur

A badgerlike animal of India (Arctonyx collaris).

Balistidae

a natural family comprising the triggerfishes.

Balistoid

Like a fish of the genus Balistes; of the family Balistid/. See Filefish.

Balistraria

A narrow opening, often cruciform, through which arrows might be discharged.

Balize

A pole or a frame raised as a sea beacon or a landmark.

Balk

To indicate to fishermen, by shouts or signals from shore, the direction taken by the shoals of herring.

balkanize

to divide a territory into small, hostile states.

Balkans

The countries occupying the Balkan Peninsula.

Balker

A person who stands on a rock or eminence to espy the shoals of herring, etc., and to give notice to the men in boats which way they pass; a conder; a huer.

balkiness

likely to stop abruptly and unexpectedly.

balkline

line across a billiard table behind which the cue balls are placed at the start of a game.

Balky

Apt to balk; as, a balky horse.

Ball

A social assembly for the purpose of dancing; -- usually applied to an occasion lavish or formal.

Ball-flower

An ornament resembling a ball placed in a circular flower, the petals of which form a cup round it, -- usually inserted in a hollow molding.

ball-hawking

skilled in stealing the ball or robbing a batter of a hit; -- used of a Baseball or basketball or football player.

Ballad

To make mention of in ballads.

Ballade

A form of French versification, sometimes imitated in English, in which three or four rhymes recur through three stanzas of eight or ten lines each, the stanzas concluding with a refrain, and the whole poem with an envoy.

Balladry

Ballad poems; the subject or style of ballads.

Ballast

To steady, as a vessel, by putting heavy substances in the hold.

Ballastage

A toll paid for the privilege of taking up ballast in a port or harbor.

Ballasting

That which is used for steadying anything; ballast.

balled

formed or gathered into a ball.

Ballet

An artistic dance performed as a theatrical entertainment, or an interlude, by a number of persons, usually women. Sometimes, a scene accompanied by pantomime and dancing.

ballet slipper

a heelless slipper specifically designed to be worn by ballet dancers while dancing.

Ballista

An ancient military engine, in the form of a crossbow, used for hurling large missiles.

Ballistic

Of or pertaining to the ballista, or to the art of hurling stones or missile weapons by means of an engine.

ballistic missile

A rocket-propelled missile of long range which is guided only during the powered portion of its flight, which usually takes only a small part of the total flight time; -- contrasted with guided missile.

Ballistics

The science or art of hurling missile weapons by the use of an engine.

Ballistite

A smokeless powder containing equal parts of soluble nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin.

Balloon

To go up or voyage in a balloon.

Ballooner

One who goes up in a balloon; an a/ronaut.

Ballooning

The art or practice of managing balloons or voyaging in them; the sport of riding in balloons.

Balloonry

The art or practice of ascending in a balloon; an older term for ballooning.

Ballot

To vote for or in opposition to.

Ballotade

A leap of a horse, as between two pillars, or upon a straight line, so that when his four feet are in the air, he shows only the shoes of his hind feet, without jerking out.

Ballotage

In France, a second ballot taken after an indecisive first ballot to decide between two or several candidates; a runoff election.

Ballotin

An officer who has charge of a ballot box.

ballpoint

a pen which has a small metal ball as point of transfer of ink to paper, at the tip of a cylandrical and non-refillable reservoir of ink; -- short for ballpoint pen.

Ballproof

Incapable of being penetrated by balls from firearms; bulletproof.

balls-up

something badly botched or muddled; a foul-up.

bally

an informal intensifier.

ballyhoo

noisy or blatant advertizing or publicity.

ballyrag

to be bossy towards; same as bullyrag.

Balm

To anoint with balm, or with anything medicinal. To soothe; to mitigate.

Balmoral

A long woolen petticoat, worn immediately under the dress.

Balmy

Having the qualities of balm; odoriferous; aromatic; assuaging; soothing; refreshing; mild; as, balmy weather.

Balneology

A treatise on baths; the science of bathing.

baloney

nonsense; foolishness; bunk; -- also used as an interjection.

Balsa

A raft or float, used principally on the Pacific coast of South America.

Balsam

To treat or anoint with balsam; to relieve, as with balsam; to render balsamic.

Balsamical Balsamic

Having the qualities of balsam; containing, or resembling, balsam; soft; mitigative; soothing; restorative.

Balsaminaceae

a natural family comprising the balsams, distinguished from the family Geraniaceae by the irregular flowers.

Balsamine

The Impatiens balsamina, or garden balsam.

Balsamorhiza

genus of coarse West American herbs with large roots containing an aromatic balsam.

Balsamous

Having the quality of balsam; containing balsam.

balsamroot

a plant of the genus Balsamorhiza having white-downy leaves in a basal rosette and yellow flowers and long balsam-scented taproots.

Loading more words…