| bilious | adj. | of or relating to bile or to excessive discharge of bile; cranky, choleric | ||
| bill of attainder | n. | legislative act declaring a person guilty of treason or felony | ||
| billhook | n. | sharp bladed hand tool with hook at end | ||
| billycock | n. | derby or bowler hat | ||
| biltong | n. | sun-dried strips of lean meat | ||
| bindle | n. | bundle carried by a hobo; folded paper container | ||
| bindlestiff | n. | hobo | ||
| bine | n. | stem of a climbing plant; woodbine | ||
| bint | n. | derogatory term for girl or woman | British | |
| biotope | n. | region of ecological uniformity supporting specific grouping of plants and animals | ||
| bip | v. | to steal from a car by smashing a window and taking items left on the seats | slang | |
| biro | n. | ballpoint pen | British | |
| bittacle | n. | binnacle, box on ship’s deck for the compass | obsolete | |
| bittern | n. | wading bird related to, though smaller than, the heron | ||
| bivvy | n. | shelter, small tent | slang | |
| bizzie | n. | policeman or policewoman; (pl.) the police | slang | |
| blackbirder | n. | person trading in slaves or coerced labor, esp. in islands across the Pacific Ocean | ||
| blackguard | v. | to revile with scurrilous words | ||
| blacksnake | adj. | long, heavy leather whiplash | ||
| blag | v. | to obtain through wheedling or cajolery | slang | |
| blain | n. | blister, pustule, inflammatory swelling | ||
| blake | v. | to become pale | obsolete | |
| blatherskite | n. | speaker of arrant nonsense; such nonsense | ||
| blear | adj. | dim from tears or inflammation | ||
| bleb | n. | vesicle, blister; bubble of air in fluid | ||
| bleck | n. | black fluid; soot, smut | ||
| blent | v. | past tense and past participle of blend | ||
| blether | v. | to talk nonsense volubly; to babble (also blather or blither) | ||
| bliaut | n. | medieval overgarment with large skirts, worn by both sexes | ||
| blighty | n. | (often capitalized) England; wound necessitating soldier’s removal from the front to the homeland | slang | |
| blind baggage | n. | railway postal car with no door on the end, usu. just behind the tender; riding the rails unseen by trainyard bulls | ||
| blirt | v. | to burst into tears | ||
| blithe | adj. | heedless; jocund, merry | ||
| blue | v. | to squander, to spend wastefully or without restraint | slang | |
| bodge | v. | to patch poorly or clumsily | ||
| bodkin | n. | large thick needle for piercing leather or cloth; dagger | ||
| bog standard | adj. | just ordinary (with derogatory connotation) | informal | |
| boggart | n. | malevolent household fairy in English folklore, frequently stealing small items and souring milk | ||
| bole | n. | tree trunk | ||
| bolt | v. | to change rapidly from growing primarily leaves to produce instead seeds and flowers | botany | |
| bolus | n. | overlarge pill; round soft mass, esp. of chewed food | ||
| bombazeen | n. | (var. of bombasine) twill fabric of worsted and (often) silk or cotton, used as mourning garb when dyed black | ||
| bombinate | v. | to buzz, to hum | ||
| bonze | n. | Buddhist monk, particularly of Japan, so-called by Europeans | ||
| boor | n. | rude person; yokel; peasant | ||
| boot | v. | to improve; to profit, to avail | ||
| bootjack | n. | forked device designed to assist in removal of riding boots | ||
| bootless | adj. | useless, ineffectual, without effect or gain | archaic | |
| borage | n. | herbaceous plant with blue flowers, thought to have medicinal properties | ||
| bore | n. | large tidal wave caused either by meeting of two tides or by tidal water rushing into a narrow estuary |
