bro ken-hea rted ADJ Someone who is broken-hearted is very sad and upset because they have had a serious disappointment.
bro|ker ◆◇◇ /broʊ kə r / (brokers , brokering , brokered )
1 N‑COUNT A broker is a person whose job is to buy and sell shares, foreign money, or goods for other people. [BUSINESS ]
2 VERB If a country or government brokers an agreement, a ceasefire, or a round of talks, they try to negotiate or arrange it. □ [V n] He has already brokered a peace treaty that will come into force on Friday.
bro|ker|age /broʊ kər I dʒ/ (brokerages ) N‑COUNT [usu N n] A brokerage or a brokerage firm is a company of brokers. [BUSINESS ] □ …Japan's four biggest brokerages.
brol|ly /brɒ li/ (brollies ) N‑COUNT A brolly is the same as an umbrella . [BRIT , INFORMAL ]
bro|mance /broʊ mæns/ (bromances ) N‑COUNT A bromance is a close but not sexual relationship between two men. [INFORMAL ] □ The two men continued their bromance with a trip to the theatre.
bro|mide /broʊ ma I d/ (bromides )
1 N‑VAR Bromide is a drug which used to be given to people to calm their nerves when they were worried or upset. □ …a dose of bromide.
2 N‑COUNT A bromide is a comment which is intended to calm someone down when they are angry, but which has been expressed so often that it has become boring and meaningless. [FORMAL ] □ The meeting produced the usual bromides about the environment.
bron|chial /brɒ ŋkiəl/ ADJ [ADJ n] Bronchial means affecting or concerned with the bronchial tubes. [MEDICAL ] □ She suffers from bronchial asthma.
bro n|chial tu be (bronchial tubes ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Your bronchial tubes are the two tubes which connect your windpipe to your lungs. [MEDICAL ]
bron|chi|tis /brɒŋka I t I s/ N‑UNCOUNT Bronchitis is an illness like a very bad cough in which your bronchial tubes become sore and infected. □ He was in bed with bronchitis.
bron|co /brɒ ŋkoʊ/ (broncos ) N‑COUNT In the western United States, especially in the 19th century, a wild horse was sometimes referred to as a bronco . □ …two cowboys riding bucking broncos.
bronze /brɒ nz/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Bronze is a yellowish-brown metal which is a mixture of copper and tin. □ The bronze statue of Mars is a copy of a famous statue found just outside Todi in 1837.
2 N‑COUNT A bronze is a bronze medal .
3 COLOUR Something that is bronze is yellowish-brown in colour. □ …huge bronze chrysanthemums.
Bro nze Age N‑PROPER The Bronze Age was a period of time which began when people started making things from bronze about 4,000–6,000 years ago.
bronzed /brɒ nzd/ ADJ Someone who is bronzed is attractively brown because they have been in the sun. □ He's bronzed from a short holiday in California.
bro nze me d|al (bronze medals ) N‑COUNT A bronze medal is a medal made of bronze or bronze-coloured metal that is given as a prize to the person who comes third in a competition, especially a sports contest.
brooch /broʊ tʃ/ (brooches ) N‑COUNT A brooch is a small piece of jewellery which has a pin at the back so it can be fastened on a dress, blouse, or coat.
brood /bruː d/ (broods , brooding , brooded )
1 N‑COUNT A brood is a group of baby birds that were born at the same time to the same mother.
2 N‑COUNT [usu sing] You can refer to someone's young children as their brood when you want to emphasize that there are a lot of them. [EMPHASIS ] □ [+ of ] …a large brood of children.
3 VERB If someone broods over something, they think about it a lot, seriously and often unhappily. □ [V + over/on/about ] She constantly broods about her family. □ [V ] I continued to brood. Would he always be like this?
brood|ing /bruː d I ŋ/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Brooding is used to describe an atmosphere or feeling that makes you feel anxious or slightly afraid. [LITERARY ] □ The same heavy, brooding silence descended on them.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If someone's expression or appearance is brooding , they look as if they are thinking deeply and seriously about something, especially something that is making them unhappy. [LITERARY ] □ She kissed him and gazed into his dark, brooding eyes.
broody /bruː di/
1 ADJ You say that someone is broody when they are thinking a lot about something in an unhappy way. □ He became very withdrawn and broody.
2 ADJ A broody hen is ready to lay or sit on eggs.
3 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you describe a woman as broody , you mean that she wants to have a baby and she keeps thinking about it. [BRIT , INFORMAL ]
brook /brʊ k/ (brooks , brooking , brooked )
1 N‑COUNT A brook is a small stream.
2 VERB If someone in a position of authority will brook no interference or opposition, they will not accept any interference or opposition from others. □ [V n] She'd had a plan of action, one that would brook no interference.
broom /bru ːm/ (brooms )
1 N‑COUNT A broom is a kind of brush with a long handle. You use a broom for sweeping the floor.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Broom is a wild bush with a lot of tiny yellow flowers.
broom|stick /bruː mst I k/ (broomsticks )
1 N‑COUNT A broomstick is an old-fashioned broom which has a bunch of small sticks at the end.
2 N‑COUNT A broomstick is the handle of a broom.