BB
noun
a size of shot, 0.18 inch (0.46 centimeter) in diameter, fired from an air rifle or BB gun.
BB
1 American
[bee-bee]
/ ˈbiˌbi /
noun
-
a size of shot, 0.18 inch (0.46 centimeter) in diameter, fired from an air rifle or BB gun.
-
Also called BB shot. shot of this size.
BB
2
American
bb.
3
American
abbreviation
-
ball bearing.
-
Baseball. base on balls; bases on balls.
B/B
4
American
b.b.
5
American
abbreviation
-
bail bond.
-
baseboard.
B.B.
6
American
abbreviation
-
bail bond.
-
Blue Book.
-
B'nai B'rith.
-
Bureau of the Budget.
BB
1
British
abbreviation
symbol
bb
2
British
abbreviation
Usage
What else does bb mean? In text messages and online, bb can be short for baby, especially as it's used as a term of endearment for significant others or friends. In this sense, it can sometimes be pronounced as [bey-bee]. Bb can also be short for quite a few other things, including basketball, bye-bye, the pellets of a BB gun, and some NSFW applications.
Etymology
Origin of BB
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75
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:
Despite a massive informal sector that accounts for nearly 90 percent of jobs, macroeconomic indicators are positive for Ivory Coast, notably with Fitch Ratings having lifted its sovereign assessment to BB in December.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
“Toy guns, water guns, and BB guns all pose real dangers, especially to an untrained eye,” the Police Department said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
BlackBerry BB 1.03%increase; green up pointing triangle laid out its fiscal 2027 growth outlook after reporting a fourth-quarter profit, supported by robust revenue from its QNX real-time operating system segment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
BB said she had stopped the car after passing Oki - and that all three men had gone to talk to her.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
Mr. Kahn loved to take him deer-spotting in mid-autumn, let him shoot a BB gun at targets behind the house, and told him stories about the Great Hunter.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
Sold 46 bbs. of pork, 29 bb. of Beef and 110 bus. of Corn, then Adjourn'd it till the next day att 8 of the Clock.
From Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Illustrative Documents by J. Franklin (John Franklin) Jameson
The Master went up to York and brought the bb. of pork that Stank.
From Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Illustrative Documents by J. Franklin (John Franklin) Jameson
Att 4 Came on Board again and brought 2 bb. of beef and a fresh hand, Quinton Somerwood.
From Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Illustrative Documents by J. Franklin (John Franklin) Jameson
Opened a bb. of Beef and a tierce of bread. the people had a pale of punch.
From Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Illustrative Documents by J. Franklin (John Franklin) Jameson
Somers Mas'r, but brings no News. the Mas'r went up to York and brought down with him 5 bb. of beef.
From Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Illustrative Documents by J. Franklin (John Franklin) Jameson
Currently touring for Father John Misty's second album "I Love You Honeybear," Josh Tillman stopped by b.b. gun leather in Vancouver to present his version of "The Suburbs" inside the leatherworkers' office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2015
In the same city a doctor pulled down a ten-year-old boy's eyelid preparatory to operating for the removal of a b.b. shot.
From Time Magazine Archive
The fyve Bokes of Moses, wythe the Prologes of Wyllyam Tyndale, b.b.
From Bibliomania; or Book-Madness A Bibliographical Romance by Thomas Frognall Dibdin
Its flagship store on Sunset Boulevard became a destination, with a “Rockwalk” featuring handprints of stars including B.B.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
This lesson is embedded in the official “Sinners” Spotify playlist curated by Göransson and Coogler, which travels from the soundtrack to the earliest Delta blues recordings through B.B.
From Salon ● May 2, 2025
She also ends her show on a high, frequently a cover like B.B.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2024
Jennings went on to write for a number of legendary artists, including B.B.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2024
“Madam,” he said politely, flipping the through the flat cardboard covers, “why, there’s Bessie. Billie. Rosetta. Son. Robert. B.B. King, Albert King, and Alberta King. And Howlin’ Wolf, too!
From "Clayton Byrd Goes Underground" by Rita Williams-Garcia
“I picture it as a late night with your bb, up all night just the two of you in your room, dancing together and tuning out the world.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2025
You might claim to be a gun owner, but a bb gun as a kid does not count.
From Time ● May 2, 2013
But one of the commenters quickly laid out the problem. call me when you have access to android market via bb world. no apps= failure. that is why nobody wants a bb.
From Forbes ● Sep. 16, 2011
Bb women reached this fracture threshold four years later, and those carrying bb genes not until 29 years after menopause.
From Time Magazine Archive
It ran: times 3.12.83 reporting bb dayorder doubleplusungood refs unpersons rewrite fullwise upsub antefiling.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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.
