ballpoint
nounManufacturing
A kind of needle with a rounded tip.
Entries starting with B
623 entries.
ballrace
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).
ballstock
The handle of a printer's ball.
band
A designated range of radio frequencies used for wireless communication.
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.
band-pass
adjectiveIndustrial electronics
Letting through only a specific range of electromagnetic frequencies.
band-stop
adjectiveIndustrial electronics
Filtering out a specific range of electromagnetic frequencies.
bandit
An aircraft identified as an enemy, but distinct from "hostile" or "threat" in that it is not immediately to be engaged.
bandsman
A labourer (loader) working with a band of men.
bang off
Of an automated loom: to have the shuttle fail to follow its intended path and bang against other parts of the loom.
bang out
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
A thing or person which bangs, in any sense.
banjo
A miner's round-nosed shovel.
bank
The face of the coal at which miners are working.
banker
nounRail equipment
A railway locomotive that can be attached to the rear of a train to assist it in climbing an incline.
banking
nounRail equipment
The practice of assisting a train up a steep incline (called a bank) with another locomotive at the rear.
banner repeater
nounRail equipment
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.
baptisia
Any of various ornamental plants of the genus Baptisia.
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
nounRail equipment
A railroad passenger car where drinks are served, typically with seating arranged around cocktail tables.
bar down
To loosen mined ore in a cart using a bar in order to enable it to move through a chute.
bar stock
nounMetalworking
Portions of metal (stock) in the form of bars, suitable for machining (such as turning) or fabrication (such as welding). It comes in standard cross-sections and certain lengths, such as 6 to 12 feet.
barber chair
A tree which splits vertically while being felled, causing part of the tree to remain upright while the remainder of the tree falls.
bare board
A printed circuit board before it has any electronic components or holes added.
barfeed
nounMachining
Synonym of barfeeder.
barfeeder
nounMachining
A type of feed (feeder) for machine tools such as lathes, turning centers, and Swiss-turns, which holds multiple bars of bar stock and feeds each bar, in turn, into the machine.
bargello
nounManufacturing
A type of needlepoint embroidery consisting of upright flat stitches laid in a pattern to create zigzag or flamelike motifs, or similar motifs created in quilts.
bark
A vessel, typically with three (or more) masts, with the foremasts (or fore- and mainmasts) square-rigged, and mizzenmast schooner-rigged.
barley reel
A machine designed to remove wild oats from barley, wild oats from large tame oats, and pin oats from wheat.
barley scald
A disease of barley caused by the fungus Rhynchosporium secalis.
barley smut
A disease of barley caused by the fungus Ustilago nuda.
barleycorn
nounCarpentry
A small groove between two moldings.
Barlow lens
A diverging lens which, used in series with other optics in an optical system, increases the effective focal length of an optical system as perceived by all components that are after it in the system.
barn
A building, often found on a farm, used for storage or keeping animals such as cattle.
barnacle
On printed circuit boards, a change such as soldering a wire in order to connect two points, or addition such as an added resistor or capacitor, subassembly or daughterboard.
barnyard
The yard associated with or surrounding a barn.
barrel process
nameMetalworking
A process of extracting gold or silver by treating the ore in a revolving barrel or drum, with mercury, chlorine, cyanide solution, or other reagent.
barrel vault
nounConstruction
A building profile featuring a rounded profile to the roof on the short axis, but with no angle change on a cut along the long axis.
barreling
A defect in which a testpiece is deformed into a barrel-like shape.
barrier board
nounConstruction
noncombustible board stock material of low thermal conductivity placed between two elements of a roof assembly.
barring
Timber used for supporting the roof or sides of shafts.
barrister's bands
Two rectangular strips of white cloth, worn as formal neckwear by barristers and judges as part of traditional court dress.
barrister's block
A pattern used in quilting, based on triangles with smaller triangular protrusions.
barrow
A heap of rubbish, attle, or other such refuse.
barrow crossing
nounRail equipment
A type of crossing found mainly in railway stations which allows passengers to cross between platforms at track level.
barrowman
A putter: one who puts the tubs of coal from the workings to the cranes, flats, or stations, so that they can be conveyed to the surface.
barry
adjectiveManufacturing
Of a dyed material: having bars or bands of color.
barstock
nounMetallurgy
Alternative form of bar stock.
base
The name of the controlling terminal of a bipolar transistor (BJT).
base cap
nounConstruction
A decorative molding that is applied on top of a baseboard molding to create a layered trim and finished look.
base communications
Communications services, such as the installation, operation, maintenance, augmentation, modification, and rehabilitation of communications networks, systems, facilities, and equipment, including off-post extensions, provided for the operation of a military post, camp, installation, station, or activity.
base flashing
Plies or strips of roof membrane material used to close-off and/or seal a roof at the horizonta-to-vertical intersections. Membrane base flashing covers the edge of the field membrane.
base metal
nounMetallurgy
The metal to be welded (rather than that used to weld).
base sheet
nounConstruction
an impregnated, saturated, or coated felt placed as the first ply in some low-slope roof systems.
base station
nounSurveying
A GPS receiver at known fixed location, used to derive correction information for nearby portable GPS receivers.
base station subsystem
that section of a GSM network which is responsible for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from a mobile phone
baseball cap
A cap with a rounded crown and a curved, stiffened bill at the front.
baseband
A device using baseband transmission.
baseboard
nounCarpentry
A panel or molding between the floor and the interior wall of a structure.
baseboard heating
nounCarpentry
A type of zone heating that uses a series of heating elements along the bottom of a wall to gradually release heat into a room.