nounplural noun Bs, plural noun B's
(also b)
1The second letter of the alphabet.
- 1.1The second highest class of academic mark.
- ‘my grade on that first paper was a B’
- 1.2Denoting the second-highest-earning socioeconomic category for marketing purposes, including intermediate management and professional personnel.
- 1.3bChess Denoting the second file from the left, as viewed from White's side of the board.
- 1.4usually bThe second constant to appear in an algebraic equation.
- 1.5Geology Denoting a soil horizon of intermediate depth, typically the subsoil.
- 1.6The human blood type (in the ABO system) containing the B antigen and lacking the A.
- 1.1The second highest class of academic mark.
2usually BMusic
The seventh note of the diatonic scale of C major.- 2.1A key based on a scale with B as its keynote.
Pronunciation
Phrases
- plan B
An alternative strategy.
‘it's time I put plan B into action’- ‘Highly agitated by the display before her Felicia fled to the house and began to strategize her plan B for winning back her former husband.’
- ‘So now you're falling back on plan B - demanding that I turn him over so you can bring him to Dominic.’
- ‘And our job is to work with them and help them come up with a plan A, a plan B, to define goals and to attain those goals.’
- ‘It's a good idea to have a plan B, so if the dotcom millionaire scheme doesn't come off you have something to fall back on.’
- ‘While Scotland's great outdoors can be very beautiful and romantic, we do want couples to have a plan B in case the weather turns nasty.’
- ‘The human race is conducting a gigantic and unpredictable experiment with planet Earth with potentially horrendous consequences and no plan B in sight.’
- ‘If not, they will revert to plan B which is using the same system as last year.’
- ‘So I keep wondering: What is the Democrats' plan B?’
- ‘But really, if this writing thing doesn't work out, I realize that if I don't come up with a plan B I actually am going to work in an office for the rest of my life.’
- ‘With bigger vessels unfortunately absent, the society turned to plan B, launching five smaller boats into the quay, including a 1943 vintage dinghy used by the Royal Navy.’
- ‘‘It is not surprising there was no plan B,’ he said, ‘because it is very difficult to work out what it would be.’’
- ‘Calling a few used-car dealerships is probably still not a bad idea - it will take some of the pressure off the sale if I know I have a viable plan B for selling it.’
- ‘It's called plan B, you know, when you make a pact with a friend to get married if neither one of you finds anyone by the time you're 40.’
- ‘What if I hadn't rushed into a semi-academic job and had pursued my plan B, which was to work as a library assistant and write in every spare moment of the day?’
- ‘I hope she has a plan B if vet school doesn't take her!’
- ‘I'm afraid it's plan B - I've ordered the donuts - he likes those doesn't he?’
- ‘The iconoclastic inclinations of Ireland's youth are understandable, but there's no plan B.’
- ‘After months of reassuring everyone that there was no plan B if the French reject the constitution - guess what?’
- ‘Everyone realises that there is no plan B in the event of failure.’
- ‘All week, our game plan had been to throw it wide but I thought plan B worked well.’
abbreviation
1(used in recording moves in chess) bishop.
- ‘Be5’
2Black (used in describing grades of pencil lead)
- ‘2HB pencils’
3US (in personal ads) black.
4Bomber (in designations of US aircraft types)
- ‘a B52’
Pronunciation
1The chemical element boron.
2Physics
Magnetic flux density.
Pronunciation
abbreviation
1Physics
Barn(s).2b.Born (used to indicate a date of birth)
- ‘George Lloyd (b. 1913)’
3Billion.
4Bass.
5Basso.
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