Entries starting with B

The roof of a horizontal underground passage.

back door

A rear side door of a car, or at the back of a van.

back gray

nounIndustrial printing

A piece of dark, heavy cotton cloth that is run under another piece of cloth to be printed, serving to take up the color on the roller outside the width of the print cloth.

back-butter

verbConstruction

To apply adhesive to the back of (a tile) before placing it on the substrate.

To counterbore from the backside of a workpiece by using a boring tool that passes through a through hole, deploys a cutting edge (or receives it by manual insertion from an operator), counterbores the far side, retracts the cutting edge (or has it removed), and then retreats back through the hole (toward the tool's origin).

back-countersink

verbMachining

To countersink from the backside of a workpiece by using a tool that passes through a through hole, deploys a cutting edge (or receives it by manual insertion from an operator), countersinks the far side, retracts the cutting edge (or has it removed), and then retreats back through the hole (toward the tool's origin).

back-overman

nounIndustrial supplies, equipment, and components

A person employed to superintend the pit during the "back" or afternoon shift, in the absence of the overman.

back-seat driving

Excessive commenting on the actions and decisions of someone operating a motor vehicle by a person who is not operating the vehicle.

back-spotface

verbMachining

To spotface from the backside of a workpiece by using a tool that passes through a through hole, deploys a cutting edge (or receives it by manual insertion from an operator), spotfaces the far side, retracts the cutting edge (or has it removed), and then retreats back through the hole (toward the tool's origin).

back-sweeten

verbManufacturing

To sweeten (an alcoholic drink) after fermentation by adding further sugar.

back-to-back connection

nounElectrical engineering

The direct connection of the output of one telecommunications device to the input of another.

backbore

verbMachining

To bore from the backside of a workpiece by using a boring tool that passes through one or more through holes, deploys a cutting edge (or receives it by manual insertion from an operator), bores a feature on the far side, retracts the cutting edge (or has it removed), and then retreats back through the hole (toward the tool's origin).

backdraft

nounIndustrial safety

Sudden, dangerous recombustion that occurs when there is a rapid reintroduction of oxygen to an enclosed space containing a fire.

backerboard

nounWoodworking

A board used behind or under other material, often as support.

backlash

The looseness through which one part of connected machinery, such as a wheel, gear, piston, or screw, can be moved without moving the connected parts, or a measurement of the distance moved thereby; either intentional (as allowance) or unintentional (from error or wear).

backplane

nounEnergy and utilities

A circuit board that connects several connectors in parallel to each other, so that each pin of each connector is linked to the same relative pin of all the other connectors, forming a computer bus.

backplate

A rigid metal plate inside the brake drum, which supports the wheel cylinder, brake shoes, and other parts of a drum brake.

backprime

verbCarpentry

To apply a layer of primer to the back side of (a surface).

backshell

Part of an electrical conductor or other electrical device, such as a cable clamp or adapter, that is threaded onto the rear connector accessory threads of plug or receptacle connectors to make up the total connector assembly.

backsight

nounSurveying

A measurement of a previously shot point, used to set the angle to zero when occupying a new position.

backstitch

nounManufacturing

A type of sewing stitch where the stitch goes backwards on the top side of the fabric and doubles forward on the bottom, coming out farther in front, then repeats. The backstitch is a very tight and secure stitch, and also looks very neat.

backstretch

nounIndustrial safety

The laying of a supply line from the region of the fire backwards toward the water source.

backup camera

A camera installed on the rear of a vehicle, to help in reversing and in eliminating rear end blindspots.

backwasher

nounTextile production

A machine used for washing wool after carding to remove the impurities.

baggage car

A railway vehicle in passenger trains used to carry passengers' heavy luggage; a luggage van.

bailout

nounIndustrial safety

The situation where a firefighter uses equipment to escape a structure where fire has proven uncontrollable.

bainite

nounMetallurgy

A microstructure of steel consisting of needle-like particles of cementite embedded in a ferrite matrix.

bakehead

nounShop talk and trade slanginformal

A fireman (person who keeps the fire going underneath a steam boiler on a railroad locomotive).

ball

verbMetalworking

To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.

ball bearing

A bearing assembly which uses spherical bearing balls as the rolling elements, usually consisting of two ballraces (rings).

ball grid array

nounIndustrial electronics

A type of surface mount used to connect integrated circuits to printed circuit boards.

ball joint

A spherical bearing that connects the control arm to the steering knuckle.

ball vein

nounIndustrial supplies, equipment, and components

A sort of iron ore, found in loose masses of a globular form, containing sparkling particles.

ballast

device used for stabilizing current in an electric circuit (e.g. in a tube lamp supply circuit)

ballast wagon

a hopper wagon used to carry ballast (stone) for railway track maintenance purposes.

ballgown

nounManufacturing

A formal gown to be worn by women to balls and similar social events.

balloon frame

nounCarpentry

A house frame constructed entirely of small timber. It uses long continuous framing members (wall studs) that run from the sill plate to the top plate, with intermediate floor structures let into and nailed to them.

ballout

nounEnergy and utilities

The pinout of a ball grid array integrated circuit.

ballpoint

nounManufacturing

A kind of needle with a rounded tip.

ballrace

nounIndustrial supplies, equipment, and components

A ring with a groove in which rolling elements (such as balls) ride, forming part of a rolling-element bearing (for example, a ball bearing).

band printer

A type of impact line printer in which a metal band, etched with character shapes and timing marks, moves horizontally across the print area, allowing hammers to strike and transfer characters from the band through a ribbon onto paper.

bandsman

A labourer (loader) working with a band of men.

bang off

verbTextile production

Of an automated loom: to have the shuttle fail to follow its intended path and bang against other parts of the loom.

bang out

verbIndustrial printing

To celebrate (a fellow printing or newspaper industry worker) to mark their completion of an apprenticeship or their retirement by (formerly) hitting metal furniture in the printing room or (more recently) hitting one's desk in the newsroom.

banger

nounAutomotiveslang

A thing or person which bangs, in any sense.

bank

The face of the coal at which miners are working.

banner repeater

A type of railway signal which shows the aspect of a signal ahead of it, normally used in a situation where the main signal is hidden from view, for instance where there is a curve in the track.

bar

nounMetallurgy

A solid metal object with uniform (round, square, hexagonal, octagonal or rectangular) cross-section; in the US its smallest dimension is ¹⁄₄ inch or greater, a piece of thinner material being called a strip.

bar car