bairn /beə r n/ (bairns ) N‑COUNT A bairn is a child. [SCOTTISH ] □ He's a lovely bairn.
bait /be I t/ (baits , baiting , baited )
1 N‑VAR Bait is food which you put on a hook or in a trap in order to catch fish or animals.
2 VERB If you bait a hook or trap, you put bait on it or in it. □ [V n + with ] He baited his hook with pie. □ [V n] The boys dug pits and baited them so that they could spear their prey.
3 N‑VAR [oft a N ] To use something as bait means to use it to trick or persuade someone to do something. □ Service stations use petrol as a bait to lure drivers into the restaurants and other facilities. □ Television programmes are essentially bait to attract an audience for advertisements.
4 VERB If you bait someone, you deliberately try to make them angry by teasing them. □ [V n] He delighted in baiting his mother.
5 PHRASE If you take the bait , you react to something that someone has said or done exactly as they intended you to do. The expression rise to the bait is also used, mainly in British English. □ When she attempts to make you feel guilty, don't take the bait.
-baiting /-be I t I ŋ/
1 COMB You use -baiting after nouns to refer to the activity of attacking a particular group of people or laughing at their beliefs.
2 COMB Badger -baiting , bear -baiting , and bull -baiting involve making these animals fight dogs, while not allowing the animals to defend themselves properly.
baize /be I z/ N‑UNCOUNT Baize is a thick woollen material which is used for covering tables on which games such as cards and snooker are played.
bake ◆◇◇ /be I k/ (bakes , baking , baked )
1 VERB If you bake , you spend some time preparing and mixing together ingredients to make bread, cakes, pies, or other food which is cooked in the oven. □ [V ] I love to bake. ● bak|ing N‑UNCOUNT [oft the N ] □ On a Thursday she used to do all the baking.
2 VERB When a cake or bread bakes or when you bake it, it cooks in the oven without any extra liquid or fat. □ [V n] Bake the cake for 35 to 50 minutes. □ [V ] The batter rises as it bakes. □ [V -ed] …freshly baked bread.
3 VERB If places or people become extremely hot because the sun is shining very strongly, you can say that they bake . □ [V ] If you closed the windows, you baked. □ [V ] Britain bakes in a Mediterranean heatwave.
4 N‑COUNT [usu n N ] A vegetable or fish bake is a dish that is made by chopping up and mixing together a number of ingredients and cooking them in the oven so that they form a fairly dry solid mass. [BRIT ] □ …an aubergine bake.
5 → see also baking
ba ked bea ns N‑PLURAL Baked beans are dried beans cooked in tomato sauce in Britain or cooked with salt pork in North America. Baked beans are usually sold in cans.
Ba|ke|lite /be I kəla I t/ N‑UNCOUNT Bakelite is a type of hard plastic that was used in the past for making things such as telephones and radios. [TRADEMARK ]
bak|er /be I kə r / (bakers )
1 N‑COUNT A baker is a person whose job is to bake and sell bread, pastries, and cakes.
2 N‑COUNT A baker or a baker's is a shop where bread and cakes are sold. □ They're freshly baked. I fetched them from the baker's this morning.
bak|ery /be I kəri/ (bakeries ) N‑COUNT A bakery is a building where bread, pastries, and cakes are baked, or the shop where they are sold.
bake|ware /be I kweə r / N‑UNCOUNT Tins, trays, and dishes that are used for baking can be referred to as bakeware .
bak|ing /be I k I ŋ/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You can use baking to describe weather or a place that is very hot indeed. □ …a baking July day. □ The coffins stood in the baking heat surrounded by mourners. □ …the baking Jordanian desert. ● ADV [ADV adj] Baking is also an adverb. □ …the baking hot summer of 1969.
2 → see also bake
ba k|ing pow|der (baking powders ) N‑VAR Baking powder is an ingredient used in cake making. It causes cakes to rise when they are in the oven.
ba k|ing sheet (baking sheets ) N‑COUNT A baking sheet is a flat piece of metal on which you bake foods such as biscuits or pies in an oven.
ba k|ing soda N‑UNCOUNT Baking soda is the same as bicarbonate of soda .
ba k|ing tray (baking trays ) N‑COUNT A baking tray is the same as a baking sheet . [BRIT ]
bala|cla|va /bæ ləklɑː və/ (balaclavas ) N‑COUNT A balaclava is a tight woollen hood that covers every part of your head except your face.
bal|ance ◆◆◇ /bæ ləns/ (balances , balancing , balanced )
1 VERB If you balance something somewhere, or if it balances there, it remains steady and does not fall. □ [V prep/adv] I balanced on the ledge. □ [V n prep/adv] He balanced a football on his head.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Balance is the ability to remain steady when you are standing up. □ The medicines you are currently taking could be affecting your balance.
3 VERB If you balance one thing with something different, each of the things has the same strength or importance. □ [V n + with ] Balance spicy dishes with mild ones. □ [V n] The state has got to find some way to balance these two needs. □ [V ] Supply and demand on the currency market will generally balance. ● bal|anced ADJ [usu adv ADJ ] □ This book is a well balanced biography.