b
b
1 Americanabbreviation
B
2
American
[bee]
/ bi /
Or
b
noun
-
B's,
plural
-
Bs,
plural
-
b's,
plural
-
bs
plural
-
the second letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
-
any spoken sound represented by the letter B or b, as in bid, bauble, or daubed.
-
something having the shape of a B .
-
a written or printed representation of the letter B or b.
-
a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter B or b.
B
4
American
Symbol.
-
the second in order or in a series.
-
(sometimes lowercase) (in some grading systems) a grade or mark, as in school or college, indicating the quality of a student's work as good or better than average.
-
(sometimes lowercase) (in some school systems) a symbol designating the second semester of a school year.
-
Physiology. a major blood group usually enabling a person whose blood is of this type to donate blood to persons of type B or AB and to receive blood from persons of type O or B.
-
Music.
-
the seventh tone in the scale of C major or the second tone in the relative minor scale, A minor.
-
a string, key, or pipe tuned to this tone.
-
a written or printed note representing this tone.
-
(in the fixed system of solmization) the seventh tone of the scale of C major, called ti.
-
the tonality having B as the tonic note.
-
-
(sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 300.
-
Chemistry. boron.
-
a proportional shoe width size, narrower than C and wider than A.
-
a proportional brassiere cup size, smaller than C and larger than A.
-
Physics. magnetic induction.
-
Electricity. susceptance.
-
a designation for a motion picture made on a low budget and meant as the secondary part of a double feature.
-
a quality rating for a corporate or municipal bond, lower than BB and higher than CCC.
B-
5
American
U.S. Military.
b.
6
American
abbreviation
-
bachelor.
-
bale.
-
Baseball. base; baseman.
-
bass.
-
basso.
-
bay.
-
billion.
-
blend of; blended.
-
book.
-
born.
-
breadth.
-
brother.
-
brotherhood.
B.
7
American
abbreviation
-
bachelor.
-
bacillus.
-
Baseball. base; baseman.
-
bass.
-
basso.
-
bay.
-
Bible.
-
bolivar.
-
boliviano.
-
book.
-
born.
-
breadth.
-
British.
-
brother.
-
brotherhood.
B
1
British
symbol
-
music
-
a note having a frequency of 493.88 hertz ( B above middle C ) or this value multiplied or divided by any power of 2; the seventh note of the scale of C major
-
a key, string, or pipe producing this note
-
the major or minor key having this note as its tonic
-
-
the supporting or less important of two things
the B side of a record
-
a human blood type of the ABO group, containing the B antigen
-
(in Britain) a secondary road
-
the number 11 in hexadecimal notation
-
chem boron
-
magnetic flux density
-
chess bishop
-
(on Brit pencils, signifying degree of softness of lead) black Compare H
B
2B
3B
-
Also: b. physics bel
-
physics baryon number
-
balboa
-
belga
-
bolivar
-
photog B-setting
-
-
a person whose job is in middle management, or who holds an intermediate administrative or professional position
-
( as modifier ) See also occupation groupings
a B worker
-
abbreviation
b
2
British
/ biː /
noun
-
the second letter and first consonant of the modern English alphabet
-
a speech sound represented by this letter, usually a voiced bilabial stop, as in bell
-
Also: beta. the second in a series, esp the second highest grade in an examination
B.
3
British
abbreviation
-
(on maps, etc) bay
-
British
b.
4
British
abbreviation
-
born
-
cricket bowled
B-
5
British
abbreviation
b
6
British
symbol
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Scientists still do not know exactly which gases make up the atmosphere of TOI-561 b.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026
That analysis ultimately confirmed the object as Elias 2-24 b.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
The planet, called Elias 2-24 b, was identified using observations preserved in NASA-funded archives.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
"Elias 2-24 b shows us that even our best planet-formation models are still missing some important processes."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
If she’d had a million dollars to bet on the odds of each answer, she would have put it all on a or b.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Around 70 Oph B, they were excluded within half an astronomical unit.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
Vengeful Daddy was indeed in the house, and James B was on the money for once.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Whoever triumphs in the Pool A contest will earn a spot in the semi-finals against the winners of Pool B, New Zealand.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
If you can’t tell Nicki Minaj and Cardi B apart — and I’ve met enough folks to know there are plenty of y’all out there — last week’s events may have confused you.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2026
Daddy would walk by on his way to the barn and say, “Ida B, stop moping and find something to do.”
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
S&P Global assigned Strategy a B- issuer credit rating with stable outlook in October, five notches below the lowest rung of investment grade.
From Barron's ● Feb. 2, 2026
S&Plowered its rating on the company to B- from B. It said the company’s performance “has weakened due to softness in real estate markets and higher operating costs.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
At the Bloomberg event on Wednesday night, Peters gave the company a B- on its gaming efforts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
Those who attended the film were apparently disappointed in the lack of action scenes, with audiences giving a lukewarm "B-" grade in exit polls, Variety said.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025
She holds my current grades by two fingers: D, C, B-, D, C-, C, A. No basketball team for me, because the A was in art, so my GPA is a whopping 1.7.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
In 2018, the Moscow Zoo launched a Blakiston’s fish owl breeding program, which currently is made up of two B. b. blakistoni females, one in Moscow and another at the Sakhalin Island Zoo.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 5, 2021
“I drive Kansas interstates frequently, and I know that they are doing an excellent job, a. keeping the ditches mowed and b., keeping our roads clear and safe,” said Claeys.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 10, 2019
Using a. and b. is the train speeding up or slowing down?
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
Evaluate a. and b. for t = 2, 4, and 6 seconds.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
The inscription turned out to be a date: September 3,32 b. c. , in today’s calendar.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to French scientist Henri B. Kagan and Japan's Kenso Soai for providing a solution to the chemical mystery of life's asymmetry.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
I feel like he did “Johnny B. Goode.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
“It’s so wonderful that she put thought into it,” said Jennifer B. Goode, senior national director of the wealth-strategies group at Bernstein Private Wealth Management.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
"The model places a demanding constraint on any proposed absorber," said Paul B. Rimmer of the University of Cambridge, UK.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Ben, about the Ranch… from the email from Ron B. Tully…from the letter I sent a week ago.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
She was shocked in July when she saw a much larger portion of students than she’d expected hadn’t passed the AP test, including kids who had been getting A’s and B’s in class.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
She also said that years after it happened, she became aware he had asked for Complainant B's forgiveness at a meeting in Armoy.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
Unless it’s Team A, by virtue of selecting first using Team B’s pick the previous season, that is eligible to pick first in consecutive seasons.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
“I mean, I got some B’s in math in school, so yeah, I’m aware of the math there,” he said, acknowledging the swing nature of his vote.
From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2026
Her grades dipped into the regular B’s, then got worse.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Ah’Mari, now a 17-year-old junior, said he earned As, Bs and one C throughout high school.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026
Only eight banks got Bs, while the majority got Cs; 36 got Ds.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 27, 2026
"And by now, they would have found them. There would be plan Bs and plan Cs, to make sure that we have reduced this exposure to the US."
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2025
“If we think there are risks, depending on our analysis of the context, we have fallback scenarios. There are plan Bs and plan Cs,” Macron said.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 17, 2024
I moved my fingers through the Bs to find the album.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
"We are confident the same technique will allow us to clarify the nature of LHS 3844 b's crust and, in the future, other rocky exoplanets," concludes Kreidberg.
From Science Daily ● May 5, 2026
The planet’s initial discovery and its photographic follow-up were only possible because of the decades-spanning Gaia-Hipparcos data, which allowed detection of HIP 99770 b’s long orbit.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 13, 2023
In addition to the silicate, the James Webb Space Telescope found that VHS 1256 b's atmosphere also has carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, potassium, sodium and water.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2022
Johansen says AB Aurigae b’s position in one of the disk’s spiral arms could indicate either creation mechanism.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 3, 2022
It was because she has trouble saying words sometimes, especially beginnings, like b’s and t’s and k’s.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
"This won't be the last failure of this nature so long as people are rewarded for pushing this bs," he said.
From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2023
“SAME tone deaf energy as this bs from the start of the pandemic,” said a different user.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2022
Mark Morgioni The concept of tests is also bs.
From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2020
“Hey Joe, my buddy was offered an eli game used helmet and jersey. Are these the bs ones eli asked you to make up because he didnt want to give up the real stuff?”
From Washington Post ● Jun. 28, 2017
Make 7 more cs, joining between a and bs in the same manner. d.
From The Ladies' Work-Book Containing Instructions In Knitting, Crochet, Point-Lace, etc. by Unknown
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
