B

¹

or b

[ bee ]

noun

, plural B's or Bs, b's or bs.

1. the second letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
2. any spoken sound represented by the letter B or b, as in bid, bauble, or daubed.
3. something having the shape of a B .
4. a written or printed representation of the letter B or b.
5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter B or b.

B

²

abbreviation for

1. Chess. bishop ( def 3 ).
2. Black ¹( def ). Also b
3. Photography. bulb ( def 8 ).

B

³

Symbol.

1. the second in order or in a series.
2. (sometimes lowercase) (in some grading systems) a grade or mark, as in school or college, indicating the quality of a student's work as good or better than average.
3. (sometimes lowercase) (in some school systems) a symbol designating the second semester of a school year.
4. Physiology. a major blood group usually enabling a person whose blood is of this type to donate blood to persons of type B or AB and to receive blood from persons of type O or B. Compare ABO system.
5. Music.
   1. the seventh tone in the scale of C major or the second tone in the relative minor scale, A minor.
   2. a string, key, or pipe tuned to this tone.
   3. a written or printed note representing this tone.
   4. (in the fixed system of solmization) the seventh tone of the scale of C major, called ti.
   5. the tonality having B as the tonic note.
6. (sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 300.
7. Chemistry. boron.
8. a proportional shoe width size, narrower than C and wider than A.
9. a proportional brassiere cup size, smaller than C and larger than A.
10. Physics. magnetic induction ( def 1 ).
11. Electricity. susceptance ( def ).
12. a designation for a motion picture made on a low budget and meant as the secondary part of a double feature.
13. a quality rating for a corporate or municipal bond, lower than BB and higher than CCC.

b

⁴

abbreviation for

1. Physics.
   1. bar; bars.
   2. barn; barns.

B-

⁵

U.S. Military.

1. (in designations of aircraft) bomber:

   B-29.

b.

⁶

abbreviation for

1. bachelor.
2. bale.
3. Baseball. base; baseman.
4. bass.
5. basso.
6. bay.
7. billion.
8. blend of; blended.
9. book.
10. born.
11. breadth.
12. brother.
13. brotherhood.

B.

⁷

abbreviation for

1. bachelor.
2. bacillus.
3. Baseball. base; baseman.
4. bass.
5. basso.
6. bay.
7. Bible.
8. bolivar.
9. boliviano.
10. book.
11. born.
12. breadth.
13. British.
14. brother.
15. brotherhood.

b.

¹

abbreviation for

1. born
2. cricket bowled

B

²

symbol for

1. music
   1. a note having a frequency of 493.88 hertz ( B above middle C ) or this value multiplied or divided by any power of 2; the seventh note of the scale of C major
   2. a key, string, or pipe producing this note
   3. the major or minor key having this note as its tonic
2. the supporting or less important of two things

   the B side of a record

3. a human blood type of the ABO group, containing the B antigen
4. (in Britain) a secondary road
5. the number 11 in hexadecimal notation
6. chem boron
7. magnetic flux density
8. chess bishop
9. (on Brit pencils, signifying degree of softness of lead) black Compare H

   2B

   B

   3B

10. Alsob physics bel
11. physics baryon number
12. balboa
13. belga
14. bolivar
15. photog B-setting
16. 1. a person whose job is in middle management, or who holds an intermediate administrative or professional position
    2. ( as modifier ) See also occupation groupings

       a B worker

abbreviation for

1. Belgium (international car registration)

B-

³

abbreviation for

1. bomber

   B-52

B.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. (on maps, etc) bay
2. British

b

⁵

symbol for

1. chess See algebraic notation

b

⁶

/ biː /

noun

1. the second letter and first consonant of the modern English alphabet
2. a speech sound represented by this letter, usually a voiced bilabial stop, as in bell
3. Alsobeta the second in a series, esp the second highest grade in an examination