-bore /-bɔː r / COMB [ADJ n] -bore combines with numbers to form adjectives which indicate the size of the barrel of a gun. □ He had a 12-bore shotgun.
bored /bɔː r d/ ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you are bored , you feel tired and impatient because you have lost interest in something or because you have nothing to do. □ [+ with ] I am getting very bored with this entire business.
bore|dom /bɔː r dəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Boredom is the state of being bored. □ He had given up attending lectures out of sheer boredom. □ They often find they begin to chat to relieve the boredom of the flight.
bore|hole /bɔː r hoʊl/ (boreholes ) N‑COUNT A borehole is a deep round hole made by a special tool or machine, especially one that is made in the ground when searching for oil or water.
bor|ing /bɔː r I ŋ/ ADJ Someone or something boring is so dull and uninteresting that they make people tired and impatient. □ Not only are mothers not paid but also most of their boring or difficult work is unnoticed. □ …boring television programmes. ● bor|ing|ly ADV [usu ADV adj] □ The meal itself was not so good–everything was boringly brown including the vegetables.
born ◆◆◇ /bɔː r n/
1 V-PASSIVE When a baby is born , it comes out of its mother's body at the beginning of its life. In formal English, if you say that someone is born of someone or to someone, you mean that person is their parent. □ [be V -ed] My mother was 40 when I was born. □ [be V -ed + of/to ] He was born of German parents and lived most of his life abroad. □ [V -ed + of/to ] Willie Smith was the second son born to Jean and Stephen.
2 V-PASSIVE [no cont] If someone is born with a particular disease, problem, or characteristic, they have it from the time they are born. □ [be V -ed + with ] He was born with only one lung. □ [be V -ed adj] Some people are born brainy. □ [be V -ed to-inf] I think he was born to be editor of a tabloid newspaper. □ [be V -ed n] We are all born leaders; we just need the right circumstances in which to flourish.
3 V-PASSIVE [no cont] You can use be born in front of a particular name to show that a person was given this name at birth, although they may be better known by another name. [FORMAL ] □ [be V -ed n] She was born Jenny Harvey on June 11, 1946.
4 ADJ [ADJ n] You use born to describe someone who has a natural ability to do a particular activity or job. For example, if you are a born cook, you have a natural ability to cook well. □ Jack was a born teacher.
5 V-PASSIVE When an idea or organization is born , it comes into existence. If something is born of a particular emotion or activity, it exists as a result of that emotion or activity. [FORMAL ] □ [be V -ed] Congress passed the National Security Act, and the CIA was born. □ [be V -ed + out of/of ] Energy conservation as a philosophy was born out of the 1973 oil crisis.
6 → see also -born , first born , newborn
7 to be born and bred → see breed
8 to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth → see spoon
-born /-bɔː r n/ COMB [usu ADJ n] -born combines with adjectives that relate to countries or with the names of towns and areas to form adjectives that indicate where someone was born. [JOURNALISM ] □ …the dynamic German-born manager.
bo rn-agai n
1 ADJ A born-again Christian is a person who has become an evangelical Christian as a result of a religious experience.
2 ADJ You can use born-again to describe someone who has adopted a new set of beliefs or a new way of life and is very enthusiastic about it. □ As a 'born-again' cyclist I had decided that this season I would ride in a few races.
borne /bɔː r n/ Borne is the past participle of bear .
-borne /-bɔː r n/ COMB [usu ADJ n] -borne combines with nouns to form adjectives that describe the method or means by which something is carried or moved. □ …water-borne diseases. □ …a mosquito-borne infection. □ …rocket-borne weapons.
bor|ough /bʌ rə, [AM ] bɜː roʊ/ (boroughs ) N‑COUNT [N n] A borough is a town, or a district within a large town, which has its own council. □ …the New York City borough of Brooklyn.
bor|row ◆◇◇ /bɒ roʊ/ (borrows , borrowing , borrowed )
1 VERB If you borrow something that belongs to someone else, you take it or use it for a period of time, usually with their permission. □ [V n] Can I borrow a pen please? □ [V n] He wouldn't let me borrow his clothes.
2 VERB If you borrow money from someone or from a bank, they give it to you and you agree to pay it back at some time in the future. □ [V n + from ] Morgan borrowed £5,000 from his father to form the company 20 years ago. □ [V + from ] It's so expensive to borrow from finance companies. □ [V ] He borrowed heavily to get the money together. [Also V n]
3 VERB If you borrow a book from a library, you take it away for a fixed period of time. □ [V n + from ] I couldn't afford to buy any, so I borrowed them from the library.
4 VERB If you borrow something such as a word or an idea from another language or from another person's work, you use it in your own language or work. □ [V n] I borrowed his words for my book's title. □ [V n] Their engineers are happier borrowing other people's ideas than developing their own.