▸ budget for PHRASAL VERB If you budget for something, you take account of it when you are deciding how much you can afford to spend on different things. □ [V P n] The authorities had budgeted for some non-payment. COLLOCATIONS budget NOUN
1
noun + budget : family, household; aid, defence, education, welfare; advertising, marketing
adjective + budget : limited, tight; ringfenced
verb + budget : draw up, set; cut, slash
2
adjective + budget : balanced
verb + budget : balance
-budget /-bʌdʒ I t/ COMB -budget combines with adjectives such as 'low' and 'big' to form adjectives which indicate how much money is spent on something, especially the making of a film. □ They were small, low-budget films, shot on location. □ …a big-budget adventure movie starring Mel Gibson.
budg|et|ary /bʌ dʒ I təri, [AM ] -teri/ ADJ [ADJ n] A budgetary matter or policy is concerned with the amount of money that is available to a country or organization, and how it is to be spent. [FORMAL ] □ Local authorities are reining in costs because of severe budgetary constraints.
budgie /bʌ dʒi/ (budgies ) N‑COUNT A budgie is the same as a budgerigar . [INFORMAL ]
buff /bʌ f/ (buffs , buffing , buffed )
1 COLOUR Something that is buff is pale brown in colour. □ He took a largish buff envelope from his pocket.
2 N‑COUNT You use buff to describe someone who knows a lot about a particular subject. For example, if you describe someone as a film buff , you mean that they know a lot about films. [INFORMAL ] □ Judge Lanier is a real film buff.
3 ADJ-GRADED You can describe someone, especially a man, as buff if they are in good physical shape with large muscles. [INFORMAL ] □ We all want to get a buff athlete's body.
4 VERB If you buff the surface of something, for example your car or your shoes, you rub it with a piece of soft material in order to make it shine. □ [V n] He was already buffing the car's hubs. ● buff|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ Regular buffing helps prevent nails from splitting.
buf|fa|lo /bʌ fəloʊ/ (buffaloes or buffalo ) N‑COUNT A buffalo is a wild animal like a large cow with horns that curve upwards. Buffalo are usually found in southern and eastern Africa.
buff|er /bʌ fə r / (buffers , buffering , buffered )
1 N‑COUNT [N n] A buffer is something that prevents something else from being harmed or that prevents two things from harming each other. □ [+ against ] Keep savings as a buffer against unexpected cash needs. □ The Prison Service acts as a buffer between the minister and his critics. [Also + between ]
2 VERB If something is buffered , it is protected from harm. □ [be V -ed] The company is buffered by long-term contracts with growers. [Also V n]
3 N‑COUNT [usu pl] The buffers on a train or at the end of a railway line are two metal discs on springs that reduce the shock when a train hits them. [mainly BRIT ]
4 N‑COUNT A buffer is an area in a computer's memory where information can be stored for a short time. [COMPUTING ]
bu ff|er state (buffer states ) N‑COUNT A buffer state is a peaceful country situated between two or more larger hostile countries. □ Poland before WWII acted as a buffer state between Germany and the USSR.
bu ff|er zone (buffer zones ) N‑COUNT A buffer zone is an area created to separate opposing forces or groups which belongs to neither of them.
buf|fet (buffets , buffeting , buffeted ) Pronounced /bʌ fe I , [AM ] bʊfe I / for meanings 1 to 3 , and /bʌ f I t/ for meanings 4 and 5 . 1 N‑COUNT [oft N n] A buffet is a meal of cold food that is displayed on a long table at a party or public occasion. Guests usually serve themselves from the table. □ …a buffet lunch.
2 N‑COUNT [oft n N ] A buffet is a café, usually in a hotel or station. □ We sat in the station buffet sipping tea.
3 N‑COUNT [usu sing] On a train, the buffet or the buffet car is the carriage or car where meals and snacks are sold. [BRIT ] in AM, use dining car 4 VERB If something is buffeted by strong winds or by stormy seas, it is repeatedly struck or blown around by them. □ [be V -ed] Their plane had been severely buffeted by storms. □ [V n] Storms swept the country, closing roads, buffeting ferries and killing as many as 30 people. ● buf|fet|ing (buffetings ) N‑COUNT □ [+ of ] …the buffetings of the winds.
5 VERB If an economy or government is buffeted by difficult or unpleasant situations, it experiences many of them. □ [be V -ed] The whole of Africa had been buffeted by social and political upheavals.
buf|foon /bʌfuː n/ (buffoons ) N‑COUNT If you call someone a buffoon , you mean that they often do foolish things. [OLD-FASHIONED , DISAPPROVAL ]
buf|foon|ery /bʌfuː nəri/ N‑UNCOUNT Buffoonery is foolish behaviour that makes you laugh. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
bug /bʌ g/ (bugs , bugging , bugged )
1 N‑COUNT [usu pl] A bug is an insect or similar small creature. [INFORMAL ] □ We noticed tiny bugs that were all over the walls.
2 N‑COUNT A bug is an illness which is caused by small organisms such as bacteria. [INFORMAL ] □ I think I've got a bit of a stomach bug. □ …the killer brain bug meningitis.