beech snap
The breakage in wind at a height of about 5 meters of the trunk of a mature beech tree (Fagus grandifolia) weakened by disease, such as beech bark disease.
Entries starting with B
623 entries.
beeline
A dynamite fuse made with a small quantity of dynamite powder along its length, so that the spark travels quickly and at a specific known rate.
beerwort
nounManufacturing
Wort prepared by the infusion of malt with water, intended to be converted into beer.
beetle bank
A strip of land within a crop field or garden that is planted with grasses or perennial plants in order to provide a habitat for beneficial insects, birds, and other fauna.
beg
nounManufacturing
Abbreviation of beginning.
behinder
nounMetalworking
A person employed to take folded metal sheets from the doubler and pass them back to the rollerman.
beige box
A device used in phreaking, technically equivalent to a telephone company lineman's handset: a telephone fitted with alligator clips to attach it to a line.
bejmat
A traditional Moroccan hand-molded clay tile, typically unglazed and rectangular, used for flooring and outdoor paving.
bell
Any of a series of strokes on a bell (or similar), struck every half hour to indicate the time (within a four hour watch)
bellbox
A bell-shaped apparatus used to extract broken rods from the bottom of a mine shaft.
bellcrank
A type of crank that changes motion through an angle, typically 90 or 180 degrees.
bellyscraper
A piece of earthmoving equipment used to level land and build roads. A heavy equipment machinery with a blade on the bottom and a hopper on top, that can carry, scrape-up, and lay-down material.
belt
nounManufacturing
A band worn around the waist to hold clothing to one's body (usually pants), hold weapons (such as a gun or sword), or serve as a decorative piece of clothing.
belt buckle
A fastening device used to secure the two ends of a belt, ensures it remains in place around the waist.
belt loop
One of the loops of fabric ringing the waist of a pair of pants, used to hold the belt in place.
belt track
A continuous track used to propel vehicles that drive on difficult terrain.
belted cable
A 3-phase power cable whose conductors are bunched together and isolated with oil-impregnated insulating paper.
beltline
nounAutomotive
The imaginary line marking the upper end of the lower body of an automobile, running just below the bottoms of the windows
beltpack
A radio transceiver worn on a belt and used in conjunction with headphones and microphone.
Ben Day
A printing and photoengraving technique dating from the late 19th century, involving coloured dots or some other simple repeating pattern, spaced or overlapping, to produce more complex mixed colours.
bench
nounSurveying
A bracket used to mount land surveying equipment onto a stone or a wall.
bend
To tie, as in securing a line to a cleat; to shackle a chain to an anchor; make fast.
beneficial insect
Any species of insect that provides pollination or pest control.
beneficiate
To reduce (ores or other raw materials)
bent
nounCarpentry
A transverse frame of a framed structure; a subunit of framing.
bentwood
nounWoodworking
Lengths of wood that have been made pliable by heating with steam and then bent into the appropriate shape (to make furniture, ships' hulls, etc.).
Benz
Ellipsis of Mercedes-Benz.
beret
nounManufacturing
A type of round, brimless cap with a soft top and a headband to secure it to the head; usually culturally associated with France.
Berkshire
nounRail equipment
A steam locomotive of the 2-8-4 wheel arrangement.
berline
nounAutomotive
A sedan-type (saloon-type) car.
berm
One of the flat terraces on the slope of an open-pit mine.
Bermuda seam
nounConstruction
a metal panel profile featuring a step-down profile that runs perpendicular to the slope of the roof.
Bernina
nounManufacturing
A make of sewing machine.
berth
A place for a vessel to lie at anchor or to moor.
Bessemer process
nounMetallurgy
The first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel, based on blowing air through molten pig iron to remove impurities by oxidation.
best form lens
A lens that is designed to minimize spherical aberration.
bevel gear
A kind of gear in which the two wheels working together lie in different planes and have their teeth cut at right angles to the surfaces of two cones whose apices coincide with the point where the axes of the wheels would meet.
BEVx
nounAutomotive
Initialism of battery electric vehicle with extender, a battery electric vehicle with a range extender, a type of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
BFC
big fucking capacitor - a high-voltage film capacitor suitable for use in power transmission, electric motor starters and applications involving electrical arcs
BH
nounManufacturing
Initialism of buttonhole.
BHCA
Initialism of busy-hour call attempts.
bhp
nounAutomotive
Initialism of brake horsepower.
bi-mode
a bi-mode multiple unit which can operate either as a normal electric train or as a diesel-electric train (on unelectrified track), with the power coming from diesel generators.
bias
A voltage or current applied to an electronic device, such as a transistor electrode, to move its operating point to a desired part of its transfer function.
bias tape
A narrow strip of fabric, cut on the bias (diagonally across the weave, for greater stretchiness), used in making piping, binding seams, finishing raw edges, etc.
biased
adjectiveElectrical engineering
On which an electrical bias is applied.
BIC
Initialism of Bureau International des Containers (“the International Container Bureau”).
biconcave
adjectiveOptics and imaging
Having both sides that are concave.
bifold
nounCarpentry
A door, window, shutter, or divider consisting of two equal panels hinged together so that it opens by folding the panels against each other.
bifolding
adjectiveCarpentry
Having a bifold design, with two equal panels hinged together so as to open by folding the panels against each other.
big block
adjectiveAutomotive
Having or characterised by a large, heavy and powerful engine block.
big ugly dish
A C-band satellite dish used by television receive-only (TVRO) systems, ranging from 4 to 16 feet in diameter.
bill
The extremity of the arm of an anchor; the point of or beyond the fluke (also called the peak).
bill of lading
A document issued by a carrier (e.g. master of a ship or the ship owner's agent) to a shipper listing a ship's cargo, acknowledging receipt of said cargo, and specifying terms for its delivery.
bill of materials
A list of materials and components used in a manufactured item.
billet
nounMetallurgy
A semi-finished length of metal.
BIM
nounConstruction
Abbreviation of Building Information Modeling.
bimetal
nounMetallurgy
An object consisting of two metals.
bind off
A technique used to bind off stitches.
binder
A machine used in harvesting which cuts the stalks of a crop and then ties them into a bundle or sheaf.