The illumination of a photographic subject from the rear, causing edges to glow while other areas remain in shadow.
verb
present participle of backlight
backlings
backlisting
backlisting
verb
present participle of backlist
backloading
backloading
noun
(transport) The transportation of cargo or shipment on a return trip, using the space already paid for and used for the outward leg.
verb
present participle of backload
backlog
backlog
noun
A large log to burn at the back of a fire.
A log containing text previously read, as in text-based video games or chat rooms.
A reserve source or supply.
An accumulation or buildup, especially of unfilled orders, unconsumed products or unfinished work.
verb
(transitive, intransitive) To acquire something as a backlog, or to become a backlog
backlogged
backlogged
adj
Having an excessive list of tasks to do, especially tasks that should have already been performed.
verb
simple past tense and past participle of backlog
backlogging
backlogging
verb
present participle of backlog
backlogs
backlogs
noun
plural of backlog
backpedaling
backpedaling
noun
The act of distancing oneself from a previously supported idea, action, behaviour, etc.; a U-turn or flip-flop.
verb
(US) present participle of backpedal
backslapping
backslapping
noun
action of the verb to backslap
verb
present participle of backslap
backsliding
backsliding
adj
sliding back
noun
An occasion on which one backslides, especially in a moral sense.
verb
present participle of backslide
backslidingness
backsplicing
backsplicing
verb
present participle of backsplice
badgerlike
badgerlike
adj
Similar to a badger.
Similar to that of a badger.
baggyrinkle
baggywrinkle
baggywrinkle
noun
(nautical) A brush-like pad made of rope, attached to a shroud in order to prevent wear on sails.
baglike
baglike
adj
Resembling or characteristic of a bag.
bakingly
bakingly
adv
So as to bake.
balkanising
balkanising
verb
present participle of balkanise
balkanizing
balkanizing
verb
present participle of balkanize
balking
balking
noun
A frustration or disappointment; a check.
verb
present participle of balk
balkingly
balkingly
adv
in a balking manner
bankrolling
bankrolling
verb
present participle of bankroll
bargelike
bargelike
adj
Resembling or characteristic of a barge.
barkingly
barkingly
adv
With barking sounds.
barkleigh
barkpeeling
barrelmaking
barrelmaking
noun
The manufacture of barrels.
baulking
baulking
noun
Alternative form of balking
verb
present participle of baulk
bechalking
bechalking
verb
present participle of bechalk
beckoningly
beckoningly
adv
So as to beckon or call near; enticingly.
becloaking
becloaking
verb
present participle of becloak
beflecking
beflecking
verb
present participle of befleck
beggarlike
beggarlike
adj
Resembling or characteristic of a beggar: poor, wheedling, insolent, etc.
beglerbeglik
beglerbeglik
noun
Alternative form of beglerbeglic
bellmaking
bellmaking
noun
The manufacture of bells.
bellowsmaking
beltmaking
beltmaking
noun
The manufacture of belts.
bengkalis
besprinkling
besprinkling
verb
present participle of besprinkle
bilking
bilking
noun
The act of one who bilks (in any sense).
verb
present participle of bilk
billbroking
billsticking
billsticking
noun
Synonym of billposting
blackballing
blackballing
noun
An instance, or action, of a person being blackballed
verb
present participle of blackball
blackbirding
blackbirding
noun
(UK, Australia) The practice of kidnapping Pacific Islanders, or kanakas, for sale as cheap labour.
verb
present participle of blackbird
blackening
blackening
noun
(countable) The result or an instance of such an act or process; a black stain or mark.
(uncountable) The act or process of turning (becoming) black in colour.
Any of various (dark-colored) surface treatments for metal substrates, to inhibit corrosion; on steel, generally, synonym of bluing.
The act of defaming or sullying.
verb
present participle of blacken
blackenings
blackenings
noun
plural of blackening
blackfigured
blackfishing
blackfishing
noun
(slang, of a non-black person) The practice of appropriating signifiers of black identity, such as darkening the skin, or wearing traditionally black hairstyles.
verb
present participle of blackfish
blackguard
blackguard
noun
(archaic) A man who uses foul language in front of a woman, typically a woman of high standing in society.
(old-fashioned, usually used only of men) A scoundrel; an unprincipled contemptible person; an untrustworthy person.
The lowest servant in a household charged with pots, pans, and other kitchen equipment.
verb
(intransitive) To act like a blackguard; to be a scoundrel.
(transitive) To revile or abuse in scurrilous language.
blackguarded
blackguarded
verb
simple past tense and past participle of blackguard
blackguardism
blackguardism
noun
Blackguardly behaviour or language.
blackguardize
blackguardize
verb
To make blackguardly.
blackguardly
blackguardly
adj
Characteristic of a blackguard.
blackguardry
blackguards
blackguards
noun
plural of blackguard
blackgum
blackgum
noun
Alternative form of black gum (“tree”)
blackgums
blackgums
noun
plural of blackgum
blacking
blacking
noun
A boycott, usually as part of an industrial dispute.
A preparation, containing lampblack, used to produce a shiny black coating.
Shoe polish.
verb
present participle of black
blackings
blackings
noun
plural of blacking
blackington
blackjacking
blackjacking
verb
present participle of blackjack
blackleg
blackleg
noun
(countable) A person who cheats in a game; a cheater, especially a dishonest bookmaker.
(countable) A person who takes the place of striking workers; a scab.
(uncountable, agriculture, veterinary medicine) A fatal cattle disease caused by the soil-borne bacterium Clostridium chauvoei; symptomatic anthrax.
verb
To continue working whilst fellow workers strike.
blacklegged
blacklegged
verb
simple past tense and past participle of blackleg
blackleggery
blacklegging
blacklegging
noun
The practice of working in place of those who are engaged in a strike.
verb
present participle of blackleg
blacklegism
blacklegism
noun
The character or actions of a blackleg.
blacklegs
blacklegs
noun
plural of blackleg
verb
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of blackleg
blacklight
blacklight
noun
Alternative form of black light (“ultraviolet bulb”)
blacklisting
blacklisting
noun
The act of placing onto a blacklist.
verb
present participle of blacklist
blackmailing
blackmailing
noun
The act of one who blackmails.
verb
present participle of blackmail
blackrag
blacksburg
blacksmithing
blacksmithing
noun
the business of a blacksmith
verb
present participle of blacksmith
blacktongue
blacktopping
blacktopping
verb
present participle of blacktop
blackwashing
blackwashing
noun
(derogatory) The revisionist portrayal of something as belonging to a black race of people.
(derogatory) The revisionist portrayal of something as evil.
The application of a coating of blackwash.
verb
present participle of blackwash
blagoveshchensk
blakesburg
blanketing
blanketing
noun
(countable) A layer of something that covers like a blanket.
(nautical, slang) A manoeuvre in which one vessel covers or becalms another with its sails.
(rail transport) Provision of a layer under the trackbed to prevent clay subsoil and water being forced to the surface by the weight of trains.
(uncountable, countable) Cloth for making blankets.
(uncountable, countable) The act or punishment of tossing in a blanket.
verb
present participle of blanket
blanketmaking
blanketmaking
noun
The manufacture of blankets.
blanking
blanking
noun
(television) The reduction of the brightness of the scanning beam to zero when it needs to be moved without updating the picture.
A metalworking process to form the rough shape of a sheet-metal workpiece.
An instance of something being blanked out.
verb
present participle of blank
blinkering
blinkering
verb
present participle of blinker
blinking
blinking
adj
(UK, euphemistic, slang) bloody
That blinks.
noun
The act of something that blinks.
verb
present participle of blink
blinkingly
blinkingly
adv
While blinking, or as if blinking
blitzkrieg
blitzkrieg
noun
A fast military offensive, typically involving a large and highly mobile tank force with air support.
blitzkrieged
blitzkrieging
blitzkriegs
blitzkriegs
noun
plural of blitzkrieg
blockaderunning
blockading
blockading
verb
present participle of blockade
blockage
blockage
noun
A thing that is blocking; an obstruction.
The state of being blocked.
constipation
blockages
blockages
noun
plural of blockage
blockbusting
blockbusting
adj
Having the characteristics of a blockbuster; hugely successful.
noun
(US) A technique used to encourage people to sell their property by giving the impression that a neighborhood is changing for the worse, especially by implying a change in its racial makeup.
blocking
blocking
noun
(computing) A feature that prevents a keyboard from registering multiple simultaneous keypresses that would cause ghosting.
Blocks used to support (a building, etc.) temporarily.
The act by which something is blocked; an obstruction.
The precise movement and positioning of actors in order to facilitate a performance (originally planned using miniature blocks).
verb
present participle of block
blockmaking
blockmaking
noun
The manufacture of blocks for use in printing.
The manufacture of nautical blocks.
blocksburg
bloodsucking
bloodsucking
adj
(by extension, of a person) parasitic, leechlike or freeloading
(of an insect or animal) That draws off the blood of another animal, or a person.
bloodsuckings
bluestocking
bluestocking
noun
(historical) A member of an 18th-century Blue Stockings Society.
(historical) The English parliament of 1653, more commonly called the Barebones Parliament
(usually derogatory) A scholarly, literary, or cultured woman.
bluestockingish
bluestockingish
adj
Like a bluestocking, or scholarly woman.
bluestockingism
bluestockingism
noun
(colloquial) The character or manner of a bluestocking; female pedantry.
bluestockings
bluestockings
noun
plural of bluestocking
bocklogged
boguslawsky
boilermaking
boilermaking
noun
The manufacture of boilers.
boilinglike
bolingbroke
boltmaking
boltmaking
noun
The manufacture of bolts.
bookling
bookling
noun
A short-length or compact book, typically under one hundred pages.
bookselling
bookselling
noun
The sale of books.
booksellings
bootlicking
bootlicking
noun
servile behaviour
verb
present participle of bootlick
bottlemaking
bottlemaking
noun
The manufacture of bottles.
breathtakingly
breathtakingly
adv
In a breathtaking manner.
To a degree that causes shock or awe; shockingly.
bricklaying
bricklaying
noun
The act of building a wall by laying bricks, usually with cement between the surfaces of the bricks.
bricklayings
bricklayings
noun
plural of bricklaying
bricklining
bridgelike
bridgelike
adj
Resembling or characteristic of a bridge.
Similar to the card game of bridge.
bucklering
bucklering
verb
present participle of buckler
buckling
buckling
adj
Wavy; curly, as hair.
noun
(geology) A folding into hills and valleys.
A young male domestic goat of between one and two years.
Smoked herring.
The act of fastening a buckle.
The action of collapsing under pressure or stress.
verb
present participle of buckle
bulkage
bulkage
noun
bulk
bulkages
bulkages
noun
plural of bulkage
bulkheading
bulkheading
noun
bulkheads in general
bulking
bulking
noun
(bodybuilding) A period of intentional weight gain.
verb
present participle of bulk
bulletmaking
bulletmaking
noun
The manufacture of bullets.
bulwarking
bulwarking
verb
present participle of bulwark
bushwalking
bushwalking
noun
(Australia, New Zealand) The activity of hiking or backpacking.
verb
present participle of bushwalk
buzzgloak
bywalking
cabbagelike
cabbagelike
adj
Resembling or characteristic of a cabbage.
clarksburg
clarksburg
Proper noun
A city in West Virginia, United States
cockbilling
cockbilling
verb
present participle of cockbill
deblocking
deblocking
verb
present participle of deblock
doublethinking
fliegerabwehrkanone
gablelike
gablelike
adj
Resembling or characteristic of a gable.
gablock
gablock
noun
A false spur or gaff, fitted on the heel of a gamecock.