4 N‑PLURAL If you have bags under your eyes, you have folds of skin there, usually because you have not had enough sleep.
5 QUANT If you say there is bags of something, you mean that there is a large amount of it. If you say that there are bags of things, you mean that there are a large number of them. [BRIT , INFORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □ [+ of ] …a hotel with bags of character.
6 → see also bum bag , carrier bag , mixed bag , shoulder-bag , sleeping bag , tea bag
7 PHRASE If you say that something is in the bag , you mean that you are certain that you will get it or achieve it. [INFORMAL ] □ 'I'll get the Republican nomination,' he assured me. 'It's in the bag.'
8 to let the cat out of the bag → see cat
ba|gel /be I g ə l/ (bagels ) N‑COUNT A bagel is a ring-shaped bread roll.
bag|gage /bæ g I dʒ/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Your baggage consists of the bags that you take with you when you travel. □ The passengers went through immigration control and collected their baggage. □ …excess baggage.
2 N‑UNCOUNT You can use baggage to refer to someone's emotional problems, fixed ideas, or prejudices. □ How much emotional baggage is he bringing with him into the relationship?
ba g|gage car (baggage cars ) N‑COUNT A baggage car is a railway carriage, often without windows, which is used to carry luggage, goods, or mail. [AM ] in BRIT, use van
bag|gy /bæ gi/ (baggier , baggiest ) ADJ If a piece of clothing is baggy , it hangs loosely on your body. □ …a baggy jumper.
ba g lady (bag ladies ) N‑COUNT A bag lady is a homeless woman who carries her possessions in shopping bags.
bag|pipes /bæ gpa I ps/ The form bagpipe is used as a modifier. N‑COUNT [usu pl] Bagpipes are a musical instrument that is traditionally played in Scotland. You play the bagpipes by blowing air through a pipe into a bag, and then squeezing the bag to force the air out through other pipes.
ba|guette /bæge t/ (baguettes ) N‑COUNT A baguette is a type of long, thin, white bread which is traditionally made in France.
bah /bɑː , bæ / EXCLAM ' Bah ' is used in writing to represent a noise that people make in order to express contempt, disappointment, or annoyance. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
Ba|ha|mian /bəhe I miən/ (Bahamians )
1 ADJ Bahamian means belonging or relating to the Bahamas or to its people or culture.
2 N‑COUNT Bahamians are people who come from the Bahamas.
bail /be I l/ (bails , bailing , bailed ) The spelling bale is also used for meaning 5 , and for meanings 1 and 4 of the phrasal verb. 1 N‑UNCOUNT [oft on N ] Bail is a sum of money that an arrested person or someone else puts forward as a guarantee that the arrested person will attend their trial in a law court. If the arrested person does not attend it, the money will be lost. □ He was freed on bail pending an appeal. □ The high court set bail at £8,000.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Bail is permission for an arrested person to be released after bail has been paid. □ He was yesterday given bail by South Yorkshire magistrates.
3 VERB [usu passive] If someone is bailed , they are released while they are waiting for their trial, after paying an amount of money to the court. □ [be V -ed] He was bailed for probation reports. □ [be V -ed to-inf] He was bailed to appear before local magistrates on 5 November.
4 VERB If you bail , you use a container to remove water from a boat or from a place which is flooded. □ [V ] We kept her afloat for a couple of hours by bailing frantically. [Also V n] ● PHRASAL VERB Bail out means the same as bail . □ [V P n] A crew was sent down the shaft to close it off and bail out all the water. □ [V P ] The flood waters have receded since then, but residents are still bailing out.
5 PHRASE If a prisoner jumps bail , he or she does not come back for his or her trial after being released on bail. □ He had jumped bail last year while being tried on drug charges.
▸ bail out
1 PHRASAL VERB If you bail someone out , you help them out of a difficult situation, often by giving them money. □ [V n P + of ] They will discuss how to bail the economy out of its slump. [Also V n P ]
2 → see also bailout
3 PHRASAL VERB If you bail someone out , you pay bail on their behalf. □ [V n P ] He has been jailed eight times. Each time, friends bailed him out. [Also V P n]
4 PHRASAL VERB If a pilot bails out of an aircraft that is crashing, he or she jumps from it, using a parachute to land safely. □ [V P + of ] Reid was forced to bail out of the crippled aircraft. □ [V P ] The pilot bailed out safely.
5 → see bail 5
bail|iff /be I l I f/ (bailiffs )
1 N‑COUNT A bailiff is a law officer who makes sure that the decisions of a court are obeyed. Bailiffs can take a person's furniture or possessions away if the person owes money. [BRIT ]
2 N‑COUNT A bailiff is an official in a court of law who deals with tasks such as keeping control in court. [AM ]
3 N‑COUNT A bailiff is a person who is employed to look after land or property for the owner. [BRIT ]
bail|out /be I laʊt/ (bailouts ) N‑COUNT A bailout of an organization or individual that has financial problems is the act of helping them by giving them money. [BUSINESS ] □ [+ of ] …one of the biggest government bailouts of a private company in years.