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:
The planet, called LHS 1140 b, is 48 light-years from Earth orbiting a red star much smaller and cooler than our Sun.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
First discovered in 2013, the Pink Planet, formally known as GJ 504 b, orbits a Sun-like star about 57 light-years from Earth.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 28, 2026
The spectrum also indicates that GJ 504 b may contain an unusually large amount of heavy elements, often referred to by astronomers as metals.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 28, 2026
With a mass roughly 25 times that of Jupiter, GJ 504 b lies near the boundary between giant planets and brown dwarfs.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 28, 2026
That meant Emma needed to try both versions, writing out the complete phrase, and then listing, a, b, c, d, e...etc. above each letter.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Musk’s holdings of SpaceX Class A shares, with one vote apiece, and Class B, with 10, give him about 86% of any SpaceX vote needed to approve a deal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
By controlling most B shares, he also can appoint a majority of the company’s board, which oversees deals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Team A is attacking, attacking, attacking Team B. Obviously, it won’t be beneficial for Team A because they’re at their peak. For Team B, it will be,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
As well as knowledge of their route they should also have a Plan B.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Now, the real Ida B would have been grinning and running down to meet her.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
The B- rating is constrained by Argentina’s international liquidity, high inflation, and macroeconomic instability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
S&P Global assigned Strategy a B- issuer credit rating with stable outlook in October.
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 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
For the following exercises, a. find the inverse function, and b. find the domain and range of the inverse function.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
As noted in part b. each value of αn represents a valid solution, and the general solution is a sum of all these solutions.
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
“Team A is attacking, attacking, attacking Team B. Obviously, it won’t be beneficial for Team A because they’re at their peak. For Team B, it will be,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
“I wouldn’t use the word devaluation simply because I don’t know what is going to happen,” said Treasury Secretary John B. Connally, adding that Nixon’s move “permits us to negotiate new rates of exchange.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Medicaid was established, along with Medicare for older adults, in 1965 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society” reforms.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Police say that the prime suspect in the case is 21-year-old Abdul B. and put out an appeal for information on his whereabouts as well as photo.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee were sitting in the command module as the command center counted them down toward a launch.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
To settle the transfer, the U.S. bank subtracts the funds from Bank A's balance and adds them to Bank B's.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 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
The song was called Killer B's, inspired by stories of deadly insects invading the US from Brazil.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026
Does this mean Fund A’s management is more skilled than Fund B’s management?
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 12, 2026
The twins did B’s and my old Buck & Bubbles imitation.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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
The Glacier Range Riders begin the 2024 season with a home game on May 21 against the Oakland Bs, which also play in the Pioneer League.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
But he steadily improved his grades, earning As and Bs in honors English, algebra and chemistry as a sophomore.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
It took him a minute to figure out that everything was arranged in alphabetical order, by the owners’ names, and a few minutes to find the Bs.
From "I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912" by Lauren Tarshis
After modelling the exoplanet and the star in the HAT-P-18 system, the iREx astronomers performed a meticulous dissection of HAT-P-18 b's atmospheric composition.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2024
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
Kepler 1625 b’s moon, by contrast, would be about 10 times as massive as all the terrestrial planets and the hundreds of moons in our solar system combined.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 3, 2018
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
But he has also been dismissive, as he was as recently as Dec. 20, when he tweeted, “Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2021
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
These sacs are of two different kinds, one set being short and stout os, the others having long necks like bottles bs.
From Through Magic Glasses and Other Lectures A Sequel to The Fairyland of Science by Arabella B. Buckley
Definitions 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.
