The painted scenery at the back of a stage; the backdrop.
backhoe
backhoe
noun
(chiefly US, Canada, Australia) A multi-purpose tractor with a front-mounted loading bucket and a rear-mounted digging bucket. The tractor combines a front-end loader/loader and an excavator/digger.
A piece of excavating equipment consisting of a digging bucket or scoop on the end of an articulated arm, drawn backwards to move earth. Used in excavator/digger and backhoe tractors.
verb
To excavate using such equipment.
backhoes
backhoes
noun
plural of backhoe
backhooker
backhouse
backhouse
noun
(US, Canada, euphemistic) An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
(now dialect) An outbuilding behind the main building.
backhouses
backhouses
noun
plural of backhouse
bathukolpic
bathukolpic
adj
(rare) Deep-bosomed.
benchwork
benchwork
noun
the structure supporting a model railway layout
work performed at a workbench
bikhaconitine
bikhaconitine
noun
(organic chemistry) An alkaloid found in bikh (Aconitum spicatum).
blackthorn
blackthorn
noun
A large shrub or small tree, Prunus spinosa, that is native to Europe, western Asia, and north Africa. It has a dark bark and bears thorns.
A stick or staff taken from this tree.
blackthorns
blackthorns
noun
plural of blackthorn
blagoveshchensk
bleachworks
bleachworks
noun
A factory that manufactures bleach.
blockhead
blockhead
noun
(colloquial) A stupid person.
A sideshow performer who hammers nails or similar items through his or her nostril into the nasal cavity; human blockhead.
verb
(rare) To behave in a stupid manner.
To perform as a human blockhead.
blockheaded
blockheaded
adj
Resembling a blockhead; stupid
verb
simple past tense and past participle of blockhead
blockheadedly
blockheadedly
adv
In a blockheaded way.
blockheadedness
blockheadedness
noun
The state or condition of being blockheaded.
blockheadish
blockheadish
adj
stupid
blockheadishness
blockheadism
blockheadism
noun
The character or behaviour of a blockhead; stupidity.
blockheads
blockheads
noun
plural of blockhead
verb
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of blockhead
blockhole
blockhole
noun
(by extension) The approximate place where the toe of the bat touches the pitch when a batsman is taking guard.
(cricket) A small depression in the pitch caused by batsmen tapping their bats on the point where they have taken block.
blockholer
blockhouse
blockhouse
noun
(dated) A temporary wooden fortification with a projecting upper story.
A reinforced building from which to control hazardous operations, such as an explosion or a rocket launch.
A sturdy military fortification, often of concrete, with gunports.
blockhouses
blockhouses
noun
plural of blockhouse
blockish
blockish
adj
Lacking understanding; stupid; obtuse; dull.
Like a block in shape or nature; coming across as a block.
Rude; clumsy; rough.
blockishly
blockishness
blockishness
noun
The state or quality of being blockish.
blockship
blockship
noun
(nautical) A vessel that is deliberately sunk in order to block a waterway (to prevent it being used by an enemy)
bluestockingish
bluestockingish
adj
Like a bluestocking, or scholarly woman.
bodycheck
bodycheck
noun
Alternative spelling of body check
bodychecked
bodychecked
verb
simple past tense and past participle of bodycheck
bodychecking
bodychecking
verb
present participle of bodycheck
bokchito
boschbok
boschboks
boschboks
noun
plural of boschbok
boschvark
botchka
botchwork
botchwork
noun
Inferior and shoddy work.
boychick
boychick
noun
Alternative form of boychik
boychicks
boychicks
noun
plural of boychick
boychik
boychik
noun
(chiefly Jewish) Term of endearment for a young boy, or a young man.
(chiefly Jewish) Term of endearment for any special male with whom one is familiar.
boychiks
boychiks
noun
plural of boychik
brecknockshire
brecknockshire
Proper noun
An inland traditional county of Wales, bordered by Monmouthshire, Herefordshire, Radnorshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire and Glamorganshire.
breechblock
breechblock
noun
(firearms) The metal block that closes the breech of a breech-loading gun after insertion of the cartridge.
breechblocks
breechblocks
noun
plural of breechblock
brickhood
brockish
brockish
adj
(obsolete) beastly; brutal
bucketshop
bucketshop
noun
Alternative spelling of bucket shop
buckhannon
buckhannon
Proper noun
a city in West Virginia, USA
buckholts
buckhorn
buckhorn
noun
A horn of a buck.
The royal fern, Osmunda regalis.
buckhound
buckhound
noun
(UK) A hound for deer hunting.
buckhounds
buckhounds
noun
plural of buckhound
buckshot
buckshot
noun
(chiefly US) Lead shot used in shotgun cartridges, made of larger pellets than birdshot and suitable for hunting larger game. [from 18th c.]
buckshots
buckshots
noun
plural of buckshot
buckthorn
buckthorn
noun
Hippophae (family Elaeagnaceae), the sea buckthorn.
also genus Frangula, especially Frangula alnus, the alder buckthorn.
especially genus Rhamnus,
especially the common buckthorn or purging buckthorn; Rhamnus cathartica.
bucktooth
bucktooth
noun
An upper tooth that protrudes further than the bottom teeth.
bucktoothed
bucktoothed
adj
Having buckteeth
bucktooths
cashbook
cashbook
noun
A book used to record amounts of money received or paid out.
cashbooks
cashbooks
noun
plural of cashbook
chabouk
chabouk
noun
Alternative form of chabuk
chabouks
chabouks
noun
plural of chabouk
chakobu
chalkboard
chalkboard
noun
A slate or enamel board for writing on with chalk; a predecessor to a whiteboard.
verb
To write or draw on a chalkboard.
chalkboards
chalkboards
noun
plural of chalkboard
chapbook
chapbook
noun
A small book, usually made from a single sheet, folded several times, containing poems, ballads or religious tracts
chapbooks
chapbooks
noun
plural of chapbook
cheboksary
cheboksary
Proper noun
The capital city of Chuvashia, Russia
checkbook
checkbook
noun
Alternative form of chequebook
checkbooks
checkbooks
noun
plural of checkbook
checkerbloom
checkerbloom
noun
Any of the flowering plants in the genus Sidalcea.
checkerboard
checkerboard
noun
(film) A style of negative cutting that avoids visible splice marks.
A board, usually square, covered with such a pattern; especially such a board with 8×8 squares, used to play chess and draughts/checkers.
A pattern of squares of alternating colours.
verb
(transitive) To checker; to mark with an alternating pattern of light and dark.
checkerboarded
checkerboarded
verb
simple past tense and past participle of checkerboard
checkerboarding
checkerboarding
noun
(computer graphics) Synonym of checkerboard rendering
verb
present participle of checkerboard
checkerboards
checkerboards
noun
plural of checkerboard
cheekbone
cheekbone
noun
The small prominent bone of the cheek.
cheekbones
cheekbones
noun
plural of cheekbone
chequebook
chequebook
noun
A folder or booklet containing preprinted cheques for use by the holder of a bank account
cherubikon
chibouk
chibouk
noun
A Turkish tobacco pipe.
chibouks
chibouks
noun
plural of chibouk
chockablock
chockablock
adj
(by extension) Jammed tightly together, jam-packed; very crowded; completely filled or stuffed.
(nautical, of a ship's hoisting tackle) Having the blocks drawn close together so no further movement is possible, as when the tackle is hauled to the utmost.
adv
In a crowded manner; as completely or closely as possible.
chokeable
chokeberries
chokeberries
noun
plural of chokeberry
chokeberry
chokeberry
noun
Either of two species in Aronia, formerly and sometimes in Photinia, deciduous shrubs, native to Russia and eastern North America and most commonly found in wet woods and swamps.
The fruit of such a shrub.
chokebore
chokebore
noun
A shotgun that is made with such a bore.
In a shotgun, a bore which is tapered to a slightly smaller diameter at a short distance to the rear of the muzzle, in order to prevent the rapid dispersion of the shot.
verb
(transitive) To provide (a gun) with a chokebore.
clothesbasket
clothesbasket
noun
A basket for holding clothes to be laundered.
crouchback
dobchick
hackbarrow
hackbarrow
noun
(historical) A kind of wheelbarrow used to carry new-made bricks to the hacks or racks where they are dried.
hackbolt
hackbolt
noun
(archaic, Scilly Isles) The greater shearwater or hagdon.
heartblock
herblock
hobucken
hogback
hogback
noun
(geology) A sharp steep-sided ridge formed by the erosion of tilting strata
A Viking grave marker taking the form of a recumbent monument, generally with a curved (hogbacked) ridge and outwardly curved sides.
A hogframe.
hogbacks
hogbacks
noun
plural of hogback
holdback
holdback
noun
The projection or loop, on the thill of a vehicle, to which a strap of the harness is attached, to hold back a carriage when going downhill, or in backing.
The strap or part of the harness so used.
restraint (act or result of holding back, device that restrains)
holdbacks
holdbacks
noun
plural of holdback
hollenbeck
hornbeck
horseback
horseback
adv
On the back of a horse.
noun
(countable) A ridge of sand, gravel, and boulders.
(usually with on, upon, etc.) The back of a horse.
horsebacker
horsebacker
noun
One who rides on horseback.
horsebacks
horsebacks
noun
plural of horseback
hucklebone
hucklebone
noun
Alternative form of huckle bone
knobloch
kochab
kochab
Proper noun
Beta Ursae Minoris, the second-brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor.
kotschubeite
kotschubeite
noun
(mineralogy) A chromium chlorite mineral.
lobachevskian
lobachevskian
Adjective
Of or pertaining to Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky (1792–1856), Russian mathematician.
Of or related to hyperbolic geometry, which was developed by Nikolai Lobachevsky.
lobachevsky
matchbook
matchbook
noun
A small folded sheet of cardboard containing rows of cardboard matches, generally with a striker on the outside.
matchbooks
matchbooks
noun
plural of matchbook
nonchokable
nonchokable
adj
On which a person cannot choke.
That cannot become choked or blocked up.
nonchokebore
notchback
notchback
noun
A motor car whose rear window makes an angle with its back segment
okeechobee
okeechobee
Proper noun
A lake in Florida.
A city and county in Florida.
roachback
rockbrush
schomburgkia
schoolbook
schoolbook
noun
A textbook, a book used, or prepared for use, in school.
schoolbookish
schoolbookish
adj
Characteristic of a schoolbook; dry, pedantic, etc.
schoolbooks
schoolbooks
noun
plural of schoolbook
shackbolt
shacklebone
shacklebones
shcherbakov
shockability
shockability
noun
The condition of being shockable; the capacity to be shocked.
shockable
shockable
adj
(medicine) Capable of being treated by defibrillator.
Able to be shocked.
Easily shocked.
shoeblack
shoeblack
noun
One who cleans and polishes shoes (and boots) as an occupation.
sketchbook
sketchbook
noun
(dated) A printed book of literary sketches or skits.
A book of printed sketches.
A book or pad with blank pages for sketching; a sketch pad.
sketchbooks
sketchbooks
noun
plural of sketchbook
smoothback
suikerbosch
swashbucklerdom
thornback
thornback
noun
(archaic) A woman over a certain age (variously 26 or 30) who has never married, older than a spinster.
The thornback guitarfish (Platyrhinoidis triseriata), a species of ray in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean.
The thornback ray or thornback skate (Raja clavata), a species of ray in the Atlantic Ocean.
The thornback skate (Dentiraja lemprieri), a fish endemic to Australia.
throwback
throwback
noun
(US, accounting) A practice to avoid untaxed nowhere income by instead taxing such income in the originating state for a given transaction.
(derogatory) A person considered to be primitive, uncivilized and mentally deficient.
(slang, often attributive) A person or thing that evokes memories.
A person similar to an ancestor, or something new similar to what already existed.
A reversion to an earlier stage of development.
An atavism.
An organism that has characteristics of a more primitive form.
Coordinate terms: nowhere income, throwout
throwbacks
throwbacks
noun
plural of throwback
touchback
touchback
noun
(American football) The result of a play (usually a kickoff or punt) in which the ball passes out the back of the end zone or a team otherwise gains possession of the ball in their own end zone.
touchbacks
touchbacks
noun
plural of touchback
unbluestockingish
unchokable
unchokable
adj
Not chokable.
unshockability
unshockable
unshockable
adj
Incapable of being shocked (scandalised or appalled).
workbench
workbench
noun
A sturdy bench or table at which manual work is done by a carpenter, machinist, etc.