2 N‑UNCOUNT If you describe an action as emotional or moral blackmail , you disapprove of it because someone is using a person's emotions or moral values to persuade them to do something against their will. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ The tactics employed can range from overt bullying to subtle emotional blackmail.
3 VERB If one person blackmails another person, they use blackmail against them. □ [be V -ed] The government insisted that it would not be blackmailed by violence. □ [V n + into ] I thought he was trying to blackmail me into saying whatever he wanted. [Also V n + with ] ● black|mail|er (blackmailers ) N‑COUNT □ The nasty thing about a blackmailer is that his starting point is usually the truth.
bla ck ma rk (black marks ) N‑COUNT A black mark against someone is something bad that they have done or a bad quality that they have which affects the way people think about them. □ There was one black mark against him.
bla ck ma r|ket (black markets ) N‑COUNT If something is bought or sold on the black market , it is bought or sold illegally. □ There is a plentiful supply of arms on the black market.
bla ck mar|ket|ee r (black marketeers ) N‑COUNT A black marketeer is someone who sells goods on the black market. [JOURNALISM ]
black|ness /blæ knəs/ N‑UNCOUNT Blackness is the state of being very dark. [LITERARY ] □ The twilight had turned to a deep blackness.
black|out /blæ kaʊt/ (blackouts ) also black-out
1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] A blackout is a period of time during a war in which towns and buildings are made dark so that they cannot be seen by enemy planes. □ …blackout curtains.
2 N‑COUNT [usu sing, usu n N ] If a blackout is imposed on a particular piece of news, journalists are prevented from broadcasting or publishing it. □ …a media blackout imposed by the Imperial Palace. □ Journalists said there was a virtual news blackout about the rally.
3 N‑COUNT [usu sing, usu n N ] If there is a power blackout , the electricity supply to a place is temporarily cut off. □ There was an electricity black-out in a large area in the north of the country.
4 N‑COUNT If you have a blackout , you temporarily lose consciousness. □ I suffered a black-out which lasted for several minutes.
bla ck pe p|per N‑UNCOUNT Black pepper is pepper which is dark in colour and has been made from the dried berries of the pepper plant, including their black outer cases.
bla ck pu d|ding (black puddings ) N‑VAR Black pudding is a thick sausage which has a black skin and is made from pork fat and pig's blood. [mainly BRIT ]
bla ck shee p N‑COUNT [usu sing] If you describe someone as the black sheep of their family or of a group that they are a member of, you mean that they are considered bad or worthless by other people in that family or group. [DISAPPROVAL ]
black|smith /blæ ksm I θ/ (blacksmiths ) N‑COUNT A blacksmith is a person whose job is making things by hand out of metal that has been heated to a high temperature.
bla ck spot (black spots ) also blackspot
1 N‑COUNT If you describe a place, time, or part of a situation as a black spot , you mean that it is particularly bad or likely to cause problems. [BRIT ] □ There are recognised black spots in marriages which can lead to trouble.
2 N‑COUNT A black spot is a place on a road where accidents often happen. [BRIT ] □ The accident happened on a notorious black spot on the A43.
bla ck tie also black-tie
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A black tie event is a formal social event such as a party at which people wear formal clothes called evening dress. □ …a black-tie dinner for former students.
2 N‑UNCOUNT If a man is dressed in black tie , he is wearing formal evening dress, which includes a dinner jacket or tuxedo and a bow tie. □ Most of the guests will be wearing black tie.
black|top /blæ ktɒp/ N‑UNCOUNT Blacktop is a hard black substance which is used as a surface for roads. [AM ] □ …waves of heat rising from the blacktop. in BRIT, use tarmac
blad|der /blæ də r / (bladders )
1 N‑COUNT Your bladder is the part of your body where urine is stored until it leaves your body.
2 → see also gall bladder
blade /ble I d/ (blades )
1 N‑COUNT The blade of a knife, axe, or saw is the edge, which is used for cutting. □ Many of these tools have sharp blades, so be careful.
2 N‑COUNT [usu pl] The blades of a propeller are the long, flat parts that turn round.
3 N‑COUNT The blade of an oar is the thin flat part that you put into the water.
4 N‑COUNT A blade of grass is a single piece of grass.
5 → see also razor blade , shoulder blade
6 rotor blade → see rotor
blag /blæ g/ (blags , blagging , blagged ) VERB To blag something such as a concert ticket means to persuade someone to give it to you free. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ [V n] We'd love to blag backstage tickets for his show.
blah /blɑː / CONVENTION You use blah, blah, blah to refer to something that is said or written without giving the actual words, because you think that they are boring or unimportant. [INFORMAL ] □ …the different challenges of their career, their need to change, to evolve, blah blah blah.
blame ◆◆◇ /ble I m/ (blames , blaming , blamed )
1 VERB If you blame a person or thing for something bad, you believe or say that they are responsible for it or that they caused it. □ [V n + for ] The commission is expected to blame the army for many of the atrocities. □ [V n + on ] The bank blamed the error on technological failings. □ [V n] If it wasn't Sam's fault, why was I blaming him? ● N‑UNCOUNT Blame is also a noun. □ Nothing could relieve my terrible sense of blame.