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.
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
The second witness, Andi Miller, said BB had told the police about dozens of thefts they had committed together, and the police used that to get him to tell lies.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
Below BBB starts at BB, which is junk.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 7, 2025
And each generation, of course, owned somebody who had lost an eye to a BB gun.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Opened a bb. of Beef and a bb. of bread.
From Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Illustrative Documents by Jameson, J. Franklin (John Franklin)
Came on board and brought with him 2 bb. of pork. att 3 Came in a Privateer from Barmudas, Capt.
From Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Illustrative Documents by Jameson, J. Franklin (John Franklin)
Opened a bb. of beef and 1 tierce of Bread.
From Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Illustrative Documents by Jameson, J. Franklin (John Franklin)
Opened a bb. pork and a bb. flowr.
From Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Illustrative Documents by Jameson, J. Franklin (John Franklin)
Opened a bb. of beef. put the following hands on board the prize With Orders to the Master which are as underneath written. the people on board Are John Webb Masr.,
From Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Illustrative Documents by Jameson, J. Franklin (John Franklin)
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 Dibdin, Thomas Frognall
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
Nearby in the Rosemont Pavilion, the “Go Bowling” float loomed along with 16 other fantastical creations: chipmunks sharing an acorn, the Little Tramp dancing with his girl, B.B.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2024
Jennings went on to write for a number of legendary artists, including B.B.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2024
I used to lock myself in a closet in the dark and try to play like B.B. or Otis Rush, all the people that I love.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
My dad cranked up the volume on B.B.
From "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate
“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.
