ba|by|hood /be I bihʊd/ N‑UNCOUNT Your babyhood is the period of your life when you were a baby.
ba|by|ish /be I bi I ʃ/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Babyish actions, feelings, or looks are like a baby's, or are immature. □ …a fat, babyish face. □ I'm ashamed of the babyish nonsense I write.
baby|sit /be I bis I t/ (babysits , babysitting , babysat ) VERB If you babysit for someone or babysit their children, you look after their children while they are out. □ [V + for ] I promised to babysit for Mrs Plunkett. □ [V ] You can take it in turns to babysit. □ [V n] She had been babysitting him and his four-year-old sister. ● baby|sitter (babysitters ) N‑COUNT □ It can be difficult to find a good babysitter. ● baby|sitting N‑UNCOUNT □ Would you like me to do any babysitting?
ba by talk also baby-talk N‑UNCOUNT Baby talk is the language used by babies when they are just learning to speak, or the way in which some adults speak when they are talking to babies. □ Maria was talking baby talk to the little one.
bac|ca|lau|re|ate /bækəlɔː riət/ (baccalaureates )
1 N‑SING The baccalaureate is an examination taken by students at the age of eighteen in France and some other countries.
2 N‑COUNT [usu N n] In the United States, a baccalaureate service or address is a service that is held or a talk that is given during the ceremony when students receive their degrees.
bach|elor /bæ tʃələ r / (bachelors ) N‑COUNT A bachelor is a man who has never married.
Ba ch|elor of A rts (Bachelors of Arts ) N‑COUNT A Bachelor of Arts is a first degree in an arts or social science subject. In British English, it can also mean a person with that degree. The abbreviation BA or B.A. is also used.
Ba ch|elor of Sci |ence (Bachelors of Science ) N‑COUNT A Bachelor of Science is a first degree in a science subject. In British English, it can also mean a person with that degree. The abbreviation BSc or B.Sc. is also used.
ba ch|elor's de|gree (bachelor's degrees )
1 N‑COUNT A bachelor's degree is a first degree awarded by universities.
2 → see also BA , BSc
ba|cil|lus /bəs I ləs/ (bacilli ) N‑COUNT A bacillus is any bacterium that has a long, thin shape.
back
➊ ADVERB USES
➋ OPPOSITE OF FRONT; NOUN AND ADJECTIVE USES
➌ VERB USES
➊ back ◆◆◆ /bæ k/ In addition to the uses shown below, back is also used in phrasal verbs such as 'date back' and 'fall back on'. → Please look at category 17 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 ADV [ADV after v] If you move back , you move in the opposite direction to the one in which you are facing or in which you were moving before. □ The photographers drew back to let us view the body. □ [+ from ] She stepped back from the door expectantly. □ He pushed her away and she fell back on the wooden bench.
2 ADV [ADV after v, be ADV ] If you go back somewhere, you return to where you were before. □ [+ to ] I went back to bed. □ [+ in ] I'm due back in London by late afternoon. □ Smith changed his mind and moved back home. □ I'll be back as soon as I can. □ He made a round-trip to the terminal and back.
3 ADV [ADV after v, be ADV ] If someone or something is back in a particular state, they were in that state before and are now in it again. □ The rail company said it expected services to get slowly back to normal. □ Denise hopes to be back at work by the time her daughter is one.
4 ADV [ADV after v] If you give or put something back , you return it to the person who had it or to the place where it was before you took it. If you get or take something back , you then have it again after not having it for a while. □ She handed the knife back. □ [+ in ] Put it back in the freezer. □ You'll get your money back.
5 ADV [ADV after v] If you put a clock or watch back , you change the time shown on it so that it shows an earlier time, for example when the time changes to winter time or standard time.
6 ADV [ADV after v] If you write or call back , you write to or phone someone after they have written to or phoned you. If you look back at someone, you look at them after they have started looking at you. □ [+ to ] They wrote back to me and they told me that I didn't have to do it. □ If the phone rings, say you'll call back after dinner. □ Lee looked at Theodora. She stared back.
7 ADV [ADV after v] You can say that you go or come back to a particular point in a conversation to show that you are mentioning or discussing it again. □ [+ to ] Can I come back to the question of policing once again? □ [+ to ] Going back to the school, how many staff are there?
8 ADV [ADV after v, be ADV ] If something is or comes back , it is fashionable again after it has been unfashionable for some time. □ Short skirts are back. □ [+ into ] Consensus politics could easily come back into fashion.
9 ADV [ADV after v, be ADV ] If someone or something is kept or situated back from a place, they are at a distance away from it. □ [+ from ] Keep back from the edge of the platform. □ [+ from ] I'm a few miles back from the border. □ He started for Dot's bedroom and Myrtle held him back.
10 ADV [ADV after v] If something is held or tied back , it is held or tied so that it does not hang loosely over something. □ The curtains were held back by tassels.