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.
ball bearing.
Baseball. base on balls; bases on balls.
bail bond.
baseboard.
bail bond.
Blue Book.
B'nai B'rith.
Bureau of the Budget.
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.
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 2012 scientists thought they had found a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B, dubbed Alpha Centauri Bb, but in 2015 other researchers seemingly ruled out the planet’s existence.
From Scientific American • Nov. 17, 2021
I, the undersigned, being of sound mind and body, knowingly embark on a one-way journey to the second moon of 16 Cygni Bb.
From Nature • Feb. 14, 2017
Instead of neatly fastening documents here on Naxerine Bb, these paper clips instantly melted due to the heat of our binary suns.
From Washington Post • Dec. 10, 2014
Alpha Centauri B is thought to have a planet, which would be the nearest exoplanet to Earth, and so is known as Alpha Centauri Bb.
From New York Times • Aug. 4, 2014
The alphabet, thankfully, is nowhere to be seen; if I saw Aa Bb I’d probably start the Cycling again.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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.
