2 ADJ If you describe something as bottomless , you mean that it is so deep that it seems to have no bottom. □ His eyes were like bottomless brown pools.
3 PHRASE If you describe something as a bottomless pit , you mean that it seems as if you can take things from it and it will never be empty or put things in it and it will never be full. □ A gold mine is not a bottomless pit, the gold runs out. □ The problem is we don't have a bottomless pit of resources.
bo t|tom li ne (bottom lines )
1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] The bottom line in a decision or situation is the most important factor that you have to consider. □ The bottom line is that it's not profitable.
2 N‑COUNT [usu sing, usu poss N ] The bottom line in a business deal is the least a person is willing to accept. □ She says £95,000 is her bottom line.
3 N‑COUNT [oft poss N ] The bottom line is the total amount of money that a company has made or lost over a particular period of time. [BUSINESS ] □ …to force chief executives to look beyond the next quarter's bottom line.
botu|lism /bɒ tʃʊl I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Botulism is a serious form of food poisoning. [MEDICAL ]
bou|doir /buː dwɑː r / (boudoirs ) N‑COUNT A boudoir is a woman's bedroom or private sitting room. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
bouf|fant /buː fɒn, [AM ] buːfɑː nt/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A bouffant hairstyle is one in which your hair is high and full. □ …blonde bouffant hairdos.
bou|gain|vil|lea /buː gənv I liə/ (bougainvilleas ) in BRIT, also use bougainvillaea N‑VAR Bougainvillea is a climbing plant that has thin, red or purple flowers and grows mainly in hot countries.
bough /baʊ / (boughs ) N‑COUNT A bough is a large branch of a tree. [LITERARY ] □ I rested my fishing rod against a pine bough.
bought /bɔː t/ Bought is the past tense and past participle of buy .
bouil|la|baisse /buː jəbes/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft a N ] Bouillabaisse is a rich stew or soup of fish and vegetables.
bouil|lon /buː jɒn, [AM ] bʊ ljɑːn/ (bouillons ) N‑VAR Bouillon is a liquid made by boiling meat and bones or vegetables in water and used to make soups and sauces.
boul|der /boʊ ldə r / (boulders ) N‑COUNT A boulder is a large rounded rock.
boules /buː l/ N‑UNCOUNT Boules is a game in which a small ball is thrown and then the players try to throw other balls as close to the first ball as possible.
boule|vard /buː ləvɑː r d, [AM ] bʊ l-/ (boulevards ) N‑COUNT [oft in names] A boulevard is a wide street in a city, usually with trees along each side. □ …Lenton Boulevard.
bounce /baʊ ns/ (bounces , bouncing , bounced )
1 VERB When an object such as a ball bounces or when you bounce it, it moves upwards from a surface or away from it immediately after hitting it. □ [V n prep] I bounced a ball against the house. □ [V n] My father would burst into the kitchen bouncing a football. □ [V prep/adv] …a falling pebble, bouncing down the eroded cliff. □ [V ] They watched the dodgem cars bang and bounce. ● N‑COUNT Bounce is also a noun. □ The wheelchair tennis player is allowed two bounces of the ball.
2 VERB If sound or light bounces off a surface or is bounced off it, it reaches the surface and is reflected back. □ [V + off ] Your arms and legs need protection from light bouncing off glass. □ [V n + off ] They work by bouncing microwaves off solid objects.
3 VERB If something bounces or if something bounces it, it swings or moves up and down. □ [V ] Her long black hair bounced as she walked. □ [V adv] Then I noticed the car was bouncing up and down as if someone were jumping on it. □ [V n] The wind was bouncing the branches of the big oak trees.
4 VERB If you bounce on a soft surface, you jump up and down on it repeatedly. □ [V prep/adv] She lets us do anything, even bounce on our beds. [Also V ]
5 VERB If someone bounces somewhere, they move there in an energetic way, because they are feeling happy. □ [V prep/adv] Moira bounced into the office.
6 VERB If you bounce your ideas off someone, you tell them to that person, in order to find out what they think about them. □ [V n + off ] It was good to bounce ideas off another mind. □ [V n around ] Let's bounce a few ideas around.
7 VERB If a cheque bounces or if a bank bounces it, the bank refuses to accept it and pay out the money, because the person who wrote it does not have enough money in their account. □ [V ] Our only complaint would be if the cheque bounced. □ [V n] His bank wrongly bounced cheques worth £75,000.
8 VERB [V ] If an email or other electronic message bounces , it is returned to the person who sent it because the address was wrong or because of a problem with one of the computers involved in sending it. [COMPUTING ]
▸ bounce back PHRASAL VERB If you bounce back after a bad experience, you return very quickly to your previous level of success, enthusiasm, or activity. □ [V P ] We lost two or three early games in the World Cup, but we bounced back. □ [V P prep/adv] He is young enough to bounce back from this disappointment.
bounc|er /baʊ nsə r / (bouncers ) N‑COUNT A bouncer is a man who stands at the door of a club, prevents unwanted people from coming in, and makes people leave if they cause trouble.
bounc|ing /baʊ ns I ŋ/
1 ADJ [v-link ADJ with n, ADJ n] If you say that someone is bouncing with health, you mean that they are very healthy. You can also refer to a bouncing baby to mean a healthy baby. □ They are bouncing with health in the good weather. □ Derek is now the proud father of a bouncing baby girl.