Words starting with B

390 words from the Lexfall vocabulary, each with a definition and an example sentence.

backchannel An informal or unofficial line of communication used, especially in diplomacy, to...
backfill The retroactive population of historical records into a dataset or pipeline that...
backflushing Deducting component inventory automatically based on the count of finished goods produced.
background The SBAR element giving relevant clinical context such as diagnosis, admission reason and...
backhaul Freight carried on a vehicle's return leg to avoid running it empty.
backlash A strong adverse public reaction to a decision or campaign.
backlog An accumulation of unfulfilled orders or unprocessed work waiting to be completed.
backorder A customer order that cannot be fulfilled immediately because stock is unavailable but...
backpedal To retreat from a commitment or position previously taken.
backscatter Radiation that is deflected back towards its source after striking tissue or a surface.
backstop A commitment to take up any part of an offering not taken up by other investors.
backtest To evaluate a model or strategy by running it against historical data.
backwardation A market condition in which the futures price of a commodity lies below its expected spot...
bacteraemia The presence of viable bacteria circulating in the bloodstream.
bactericidal Capable of killing bacteria outright.
bacteriophage A virus that infects and replicates within bacteria.
bacteriostatic Inhibiting bacterial growth and reproduction without necessarily killing the organism.
bacteriuria The presence of bacteria in the urine.
bad debt An amount owed to a company that is considered unlikely to be recovered from the customer.
badger To pester someone repeatedly in order to extract a concession.
badges of trade The judicially developed indicia distinguishing a taxable trading venture from a mere...
badinage Playful, humorous conversation that trades light-hearted teasing.
badwill The excess of the fair value of a target's net assets over the price paid, booked as a...
bag-mask ventilation The delivery of oxygen and positive-pressure breaths to an apnoeic patient using a...
bag-valve mask A hand-held device used to deliver positive-pressure ventilation to a patient who is not...
bail Money securing an accused person’s temporary release.
bail conditions The requirements imposed on a defendant released on bail to secure attendance and prevent...
bail-in The rescue of a failing bank by imposing losses on its creditors and depositors rather...
bailee The person to whom goods are entrusted under a bailment.
bailiff An officer who executes court orders such as seizures, evictions and the enforcement of...
bailiwick A person's particular area of authority, responsibility, or expertise.
bailment The delivery of goods by one person to another for a limited purpose, on terms that they...
bailout A rescue of a failing institution or economy through external funds.
balance of probabilities The civil standard of proof, satisfied where the tribunal is persuaded that a fact is...
balance of trade The difference in value between a country's exports and imports of goods and services.
balance retraining A programme of exercises designed to improve stability and reduce the risk of falls.
balance sheet A financial statement showing a company's assets, liabilities and equity at a specific...
balancing charge A taxable adjustment arising when the disposal proceeds of an asset exceed its...
balderdash Senseless, absurd nonsense.
balk To hesitate or refuse to proceed when confronted with an unwelcome term.
ballistics The forensic study of firearms, projectiles, and the marks they leave.
balloon Describing a loan whose final repayment is much larger than the earlier ones.
ballpark figure A rough, approximate estimate given before precise numbers are available.
balmy Pleasantly warm and mild, especially of the weather or air.
banal So lacking in originality as to be boring and predictable.
band of reasonable responses The test asking whether dismissal fell within the range of responses a reasonable...
bandwagon A trend or cause that attracts growing support as it gains popularity.
bandwidth The capacity of a person or team to take on additional work.
bank on To rely on or expect something with confidence, often as the basis for a plan.
bankable Sufficiently sound or creditworthy to attract financing from a bank.
banter Playful, teasing exchange of remarks.
barbell A portfolio concentrated in very short and very long maturities with little in between.
barbiturate A class of central nervous system depressant historically used for sedation, anaesthesia...
bare denial A denial in a pleading that fails to advance any positive case in answer to the...
bareboat charter A charter under which the charterer takes full possession, control and management of the...
bargain To negotiate the terms of a transaction, especially the price.
bargain purchase An acquisition in which the fair value of net assets acquired exceeds the consideration...
bargaining power The relative strength each party brings to a negotiation, determining how much it can...
bargaining unit The defined group of employees represented by a union in collective negotiations.
barking cough A harsh, seal-like cough characteristic of croup in young children.
baroreceptor A stretch-sensitive receptor that detects arterial pressure and modulates autonomic tone.
baroreflex The reflex that maintains blood pressure by sensing stretch in the arterial wall.
barotrauma Lung injury such as pneumothorax caused by excessive airway pressure during mechanical...
barratry The offence of fraudulent or grossly negligent misconduct by a ship's master or crew...
barrier cream A protective cream applied to the skin to shield it from moisture, urine, or faeces and...
barrier nursing The care of an infectious patient using protective measures to prevent spread to staff...
barrier to entry An obstacle such as high cost or regulation that makes it difficult for new competitors...
barter To exchange goods or services directly for others without using money.
basal-bolus regimen An insulin schedule combining a long-acting background dose with short-acting doses at...
base erosion The reduction of a country's tax base through the shifting of profits to lower-tax...
base fee A determinable fee simple created when a tenant in tail bars the entail without the...
base-rate neglect The error of ignoring how common something generally is when judging the probability of a...
base salary The fixed annual pay for a role before bonuses, commission, or other variable elements.
based Admirably true to one's own view, indifferent to approval.
baseline A patient's usual or admission level of a parameter, against which current findings are...
basic award The element of unfair dismissal compensation calculated by reference to age, length of...
basis The difference between the spot price of an asset and the price of its related futures...
basis risk The risk that a hedge and the exposure it is meant to cover move imperfectly together.
basophilia An increase in circulating basophils, a subtle but useful clue to an underlying...
bastion A projecting part of a fortification, or an institution defending a principle.
bathos An abrupt and often unintentional descent from the sublime to the trivial.
BATNA Your best alternative to a negotiated agreement, which sets the standard against which...
battery The intentional and unlawful application of force to another person.
battle of the forms The contest over whose standard terms govern when offer and acceptance are exchanged on...
beachhead A small initial market secured as a foothold for wider expansion.
bear hug An unsolicited acquisition proposal pitched publicly and generously enough to pressure a...
bear in mind To remember and take a fact or consideration into account.
bear market A period during which asset prices are falling or expected to fall.
bear out To support or confirm that something, such as a claim or theory, is true.
bear weight To put the body's weight through a limb.
bear with me A polite way to ask a patient to wait a moment.
beatific Expressing or imparting blissful, serene happiness.
becoming Flattering to the wearer's appearance; suiting them well.
bed bath A wash given to a patient who is confined to bed and unable to bathe themselves.
bed mobility A patient's ability to move about in bed, including rolling, bridging, and moving from...
bedside handover A handover conducted at the patient's bedside so the patient can be seen and involved in...
beg the question To assume the truth of the very point that is being argued, or to invite an obvious...
beggar-thy-neighbour Describing a policy that seeks domestic gains directly at other countries' expense.
beguile To charm or enchant someone, sometimes in a deceptive way.
behemoth An enormously large and powerful company.
behind schedule Progressing more slowly than the plan requires, so that milestones are at risk of being...
beige flag A partner's oddly boring quirk - not a warning sign, just noted.
beleaguered Besieged by enemies or beset by difficulties on all sides.
belie To fail to give a true impression of something, or to contradict it.
bellicose Inclined or eager to wage war or start quarrels.
belligerent Hostile and aggressive, or engaged in a war.
bellwether A security or company whose performance is treated as a leading indicator for a wider...
below the line Relating to targeted, direct marketing activity such as promotions, email and events.
bench strength The depth of capable talent ready to step into key roles.
bench warrant A warrant issued directly by a judge, usually for the arrest of someone who has failed to...
benchmark A standard against which performance is measured.
benchmark rate The reference interest rate set by a central bank that other rates in the economy are...
benchmarking The systematic comparison of one's performance against best-in-class competitors or...
beneficence The doing of good; active kindness and charity.
beneficial Relating to the enjoyment of the real benefit of shares, as distinct from the bare legal...
beneficial interest The right to enjoy or profit from property whose legal title is held by another.
beneficial owner The person who truly enjoys the benefit of shares held in another's name.
beneficial ownership The real economic interest in an asset, regardless of whose name legally holds it.
beneficiary The foreign national on whose behalf an immigration petition or application is made.
benefits package The set of non-salary rewards, such as pension, health cover, and leave, offered to...
benefits realisation The disciplined tracking of whether the value promised in the business case actually...
benevolence The quality of being kind and wishing to do good to others.
benign Not harmful; not cancerous.
benign paroxysmal positional vertigo Brief episodes of vertigo triggered by head movement, caused by displaced otoconia in the...
benign prostatic hyperplasia Non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland that obstructs urine flow in older men.
benzodiazepine A class of drug that enhances GABA activity to produce sedative, anxiolytic and...
bequest A gift of property left to someone in a will.
bereaved Having recently lost a close relative or friend to death.
bereavement The state of having recently lost a loved one through death, and the grief that follows.
bereft Deprived of or entirely lacking something.
besotted Utterly infatuated with someone, to the point of foolishness.
bespeaks-caution doctrine Principle that adequate cautionary language surrounding a forward-looking statement can...
bespoke Custom-made to an individual buyer's specifications.
best and final offer A closing proposal presented as the last one a party will make.
best endeavours The most demanding standard of effort, requiring all reasonable steps even at one's own...
best evidence rule The requirement that the original of a document be produced to prove its contents unless...
best interests The standard by which a court decides what outcome will most benefit a child's welfare...
best mode The requirement that an inventor disclose the preferred way of working the invention...
beta A measure of a security's volatility relative to the market as a whole.
beta-blocker A class of drug that slows the heart rate and lowers blood pressure by blocking the...
beta-lactam A class of antibiotic characterised by a beta-lactam ring that disrupts bacterial...
betrothal A formal agreement or engagement to be married.
betterment A deduction from damages reflecting that repair or replacement has left the claimant with...
betterment levy A charge capturing for the public purse the uplift in land value created by public action...
bewilderment A feeling of being completely puzzled and confused.
bewray To reveal or betray something unintentionally, especially a secret.
beyond reasonable doubt The high standard of proof the prosecution must meet in a criminal trial before a...
bibulous Excessively fond of, or given to, drinking alcohol.
bicameralism A legislative system composed of two separate chambers that must both participate in the...
bid-rigging A form of cartel in which competitors coordinate their responses to a tender, for example...
bidder A person or company making an offer to acquire another company.
bifurcate To split a trial into separate phases, typically liability and damages.
bifurcation The splitting of proceedings so that issues such as jurisdiction or liability are heard...
big bath The deliberate overstatement of losses in a weak period so that later periods look...
bigamy The offence of going through a marriage ceremony while already lawfully married to...
bigeminy A rhythm in which every normal beat is coupled with a premature ectopic beat.
bildungsroman A novel that traces the psychological and moral growth of its protagonist from youth to...
bill of lading A document issued by a carrier acknowledging receipt of goods for shipment, serving as...
billable Able to be invoiced to a customer as chargeable cost or time.
billet A civilian lodging assigned to a soldier, or any temporary quarters.
bimanual Performed using both hands simultaneously, typically one internal and one external, to...
bimetallism A monetary system in which currency is backed by both gold and silver at a fixed ratio.
bimodal Having two distinct peaks in its distribution.
binder A temporary agreement that provides cover immediately, pending issue of the formal policy.
binding Legally enforceable, so that the parties are obliged to perform their obligations.
binding corporate rules Internal data protection policies, approved by a supervisory authority, that enable...
binding over An order requiring a person to keep the peace on pain of forfeiting a recognisance.
binocular Relating to the coordinated use of both eyes together to form a single image.
bioavailability The proportion of a nutrient that is absorbed and available for use by the body.
bioequivalence The degree to which two formulations deliver the same amount of active drug to the body...
biofilm A structured community of microorganisms embedded in a self-produced matrix adhering to a...
biomarker A measurable biological molecule that indicates the presence, progression or treatment...
biometrics Measurable physical identifiers, such as fingerprints and facial images, collected to...
biopsy Removal of tissue for diagnostic examination.
biosecurity The measures taken to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious disease on a farm...
biosimilar A biological product that is highly similar to an already approved reference biologic.
biotransformation The chemical alteration of a drug by the body's enzymes into metabolites.
bispectral Denoting a processed EEG index used to gauge the depth of anaesthesia.
bispectral index A processed electroencephalographic value that estimates the depth of anaesthesia on a...
blackleg A worker who continues working during a strike, or who takes a striker's place.
blackmail The offence of making an unwarranted demand with menaces, typically to obtain money or...
blameless Free from any fault or guilt.
blameworthiness The quality of deserving moral or legal blame for one's conduct.
blameworthy Deserving of blame or responsibility for a wrong done.
blanching Describing an erythematous lesion that whitens transiently when pressure is applied,...
blanket licence A licence granting access to a whole catalogue of works for one comprehensive payment.
blasphemy Speech or conduct treated as insulting to religion, the criminalisation of which may...
blastoma A tumour derived from immature precursor or embryonic cells, commonest in children.
bleep To page a clinician via a pocket paging device to request they respond or attend.
blepharitis Chronic inflammation of the eyelid margins causing redness, crusting and a gritty,...
blepharospasm Involuntary, forceful contraction of the eyelid muscles causing sustained closure.
blithe Carefree and cheerful, often to the point of heedlessness.
blitzscaling Prioritising breakneck growth over efficiency to seize a market before rivals can respond.
bloat An abnormal accumulation of gas in the stomach or rumen causing dangerous distension.
bloating A sensation of increased abdominal pressure or fullness, sometimes with visible...
blocker An issue that completely prevents a task from progressing until it is removed.
blockholder An investor holding a large block of a company's shares, giving them significant...
blocking stake An ownership position large enough to veto a merger, sale, or other major corporate...
blood cultures Paired samples of blood incubated to detect and identify bloodstream pathogens, ideally...
blood glucose The concentration of sugar in the blood, the key measurement in diabetes monitoring.
blood glucose monitoring The regular measurement of blood sugar levels to guide diabetes treatment.
blood pressure cuff The inflatable band wrapped around the arm to measure blood pressure using a monitor or...
blue ocean An uncontested market space created by generating new demand rather than fighting rivals...
blue-pencil To strike out an unenforceable part of a restrictive covenant while leaving the rest...
blue-pencil doctrine A court's power to strike out or narrow an overbroad restrictive covenant rather than...
blue-pencil test A method of severing an offending restraint by striking out the unenforceable words...
bluebird An unexpected, effortless deal that lands without any real selling.
bluff To pretend to have a stronger position or intention than one actually holds.
blunt dissection The separation of tissue planes using a non-cutting instrument or a finger rather than a...
blunt trauma Injury caused by a forceful impact that does not break the skin.
blunted Describing an emotional response that is noticeably reduced in intensity or range.
blunted affect A noticeable reduction in the intensity of emotional expression, less severe than flat...
blurring Dilution that erodes a famous mark's distinctiveness through its use on unrelated goods,...
bluster Loud, aggressive talk meant to intimidate but with little substance behind it.
board of directors The body of individuals collectively responsible for directing and managing the affairs...
board round A short multidisciplinary review at a status board to plan each patient's care and...
bogey A pretended constraint or priority raised only to trade it away later for something you...
boil the ocean To attempt an impractically exhaustive analysis of everything rather than focusing on...
boilerplate Standardised clauses inserted routinely near the end of most contracts.
bolam test The test that a doctor is not negligent if acting in accordance with a responsible body...
bolster To support, strengthen or reinforce something.
bolt-hole A place to which one can escape and take refuge.
bolt-on Describing a small acquisition made to add to an existing business.
bolus A single large dose of a drug given at once.
bombastic Using inflated, pompous language with little real substance.
bon mot A clever, witty saying delivered with polished economy.
bona fide Made or done in good faith, without fraud or deception.
bona vacantia Ownerless goods or land that pass to the Crown, typically on an intestacy without kin or...
bonded Held in secure storage on which import duty has not yet been paid.
bonhomie Cheerful, good-natured friendliness that puts others at ease.
bonus An additional payment on top of salary, usually linked to individual or company...
book of business The full set of accounts and customers a salesperson is responsible for.
book value The value of an asset as recorded in the accounts, being its original cost less...
bookbuild The process of gathering and recording investor bids to set the price and allocation of a...
bookbuilding The process by which underwriters solicit and record investor demand to set the size and...
booking visit The first formal antenatal appointment at which a woman's history is taken and care is...
bookrunner The lead bank that manages a securities issue and records investor orders.
boom and bust A cycle of rapid economic expansion followed by a sharp contraction.
boomerang A former employee who leaves and is later rehired.
boondoggle A wasteful, pointless project or expenditure that produces little or no real value.
boorish Coarse, ill-mannered and insensitive in behaviour.
booster An additional dose of a vaccine given after the primary course to maintain immunity.
bootstrap To build and grow a company using its own revenue and the founders' resources rather than...
bootstrapped Funded through revenue and personal means rather than outside investment.
bootstrapping Building a company from its own revenue rather than relying on outside investment.
borborygmi The audible rumbling sounds produced by the movement of gas and fluid through the...
bordereau A periodic schedule listing the individual risks, premiums or claims ceded under a...
boreal Of or relating to the north or to northern, often cold, regions.
both-to-blame collision A collision for which both vessels are at fault, so that liability is apportioned between...
bottleneck A stage in a process that limits overall throughput because it cannot keep pace with the...
bottom line The net profit or loss of a business after all revenues and expenses have been accounted...
bought deal An underwriting in which the bank commits to purchase the entire issue at a fixed price...
bougie A slender flexible introducer railroaded into the trachea to guide a difficult intubation.
bounce rate The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page.
boundary The dividing line that marks the extent of one owner's land from the neighbouring land.
bounded rationality The idea that decision-makers are rational only within the limits of their information,...
bourgeois Conventionally middle-class in taste or values.
bourgeoisie The middle class, especially seen as materialistic or as owners of capital.
bourse A stock exchange, especially one in continental Europe.
bowdlerise To remove material considered improper or offensive from a text, often weakening it in...
bowel habit A person's usual pattern of stool frequency and consistency, a change in which can flag...
bowel obstruction A blockage that prevents the normal passage of contents through the intestine, causing...
bowels open A phrase used to record that a patient has passed a stool.
brachytherapy Radiotherapy delivered by placing a radioactive source within or close to the tumour.
bracketing Countering an offer with a figure equidistant on the far side of your target so the...
brackish Slightly salty, as of water where a river meets the sea.
bradyarrhythmia An abnormally slow heart rhythm resulting from a conduction disturbance.
bradycardia An abnormally slow heart rate, conventionally below sixty beats per minute in an adult.
bradykinesia An abnormal slowness in initiating and carrying out movements, a cardinal feature of...
bradyphrenia An abnormal slowness of thought and information processing.
bradypnoea An abnormally slow rate of breathing.
brain rot The mental fog blamed on consuming too much trivial online content.
brainrot Low-quality online content consumed compulsively - and the dulled state it leaves you in.
brand ambassador A person engaged to represent and promote a brand over an ongoing relationship.
brand architecture The organizing structure of how a company's brands, sub-brands, and products relate to...
brand awareness The extent to which target customers recognise or recall a brand.
brand dilution The weakening of a brand's meaning or premium when it stretches into too many products or...
brand equity The commercial value a brand adds to a product beyond its functional attributes, arising...
brand guidelines A document defining how a brand's identity should be applied across logos, colours, tone...
brand positioning The distinct place a brand occupies in the customer's mind relative to competitors.
brandish To wave or flourish something, especially a weapon, in a threatening way.
breach notification The obligation to report a personal data breach to the supervisory authority without...
breach of contract The failure without lawful excuse to perform an obligation owed under a contract.
breach of duty A failure to meet the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in the...
breach of warranty The failure of a warranted statement to be true, giving rise to a claim in damages but...
breadcrumbing Giving someone just enough attention to keep them interested, with no intention of more.
break-bulk Describing cargo shipped as separate loose pieces rather than in containers or in bulk.
break clause A lease provision allowing a party to terminate the lease before the end of the term on a...
break costs The amount a borrower must pay to compensate lenders for their funding loss when a loan...
break even To reach the point at which total revenue exactly covers total costs, producing neither...
break fee A sum payable by a party that walks away from a signed deal, compensating the other for...
break the chain of causation To interrupt the causal link so that the defendant is no longer legally responsible for...
break the deadlock To find a way past a point where neither side will move so that talks can continue.
break the news gently To tell someone distressing information in a careful and compassionate way.
breaking bad news The act of sensitively informing a patient or relative of a serious diagnosis, poor...
breakthrough pain A sudden flare of pain that occurs despite regular background pain relief.
breathless Having difficulty breathing or feeling short of breath.
breech Describing a fetal position in which the buttocks or feet, rather than the head, are set...
bricolage The practice of building something from whatever resources happen to be at hand.
bridge A fixed prosthesis that replaces one or more missing teeth by anchoring artificial teeth...
bridge financing Short-term funding used to cover a company's needs until permanent, longer-term financing...
bridge round A short-term financing that carries a company between two larger funding rounds or to a...
brindled Marked with streaks or patches of a darker colour on a tawny or grey ground.
bring a claim To commence civil legal proceedings against another party.
bring about To cause something, especially a change, to happen.
bring an action To start legal proceedings against someone.
bring-down The requirement that a deal's warranties be re-confirmed as true at closing, not merely...
brinkmanship The strategy of pushing a dangerous confrontation to the verge of catastrophe in order to...
brittle Fragile and likely to fail suddenly under pressure or stress.
brittle diabetes Diabetes with severe, unpredictable swings between high and low blood glucose that are...
broach To raise a difficult or sensitive subject for discussion for the first time.
broad-spectrum Describing an antimicrobial that is active against a wide range of both Gram-positive and...
broadbanding Collapsing many narrow pay grades into a few wide ranges to give managers more...
broadly speaking A hedging phrase used to introduce a general statement while conceding that finer...
broker To arrange or negotiate an agreement between other parties.
brokerage A firm that buys and sells investments on a client's behalf, or the fee it charges to do...
bromhidrosis An offensive body odour arising from the bacterial breakdown of apocrine sweat.
bronchiectasis Permanent, abnormal dilatation of the bronchi caused by chronic infection and destruction...
bronchiole One of the fine, cartilage-free airways that convey air from the bronchi to the alveolar...
bronchiolitis A common viral chest infection of infants that inflames the smallest airways and causes...
bronchitis Inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes, causing cough and sputum.
bronchodilator A medicine that relaxes and widens the airways to ease breathing.
bronchoscopy The direct visual examination of the airways using a flexible or rigid endoscope.
bronchospasm Sudden constriction of bronchial smooth muscle causing raised airway pressures and wheeze.
brooding Absorbed in dark, moody or troubled thought.
brouhaha A noisy and overexcited commotion or uproar.
browbeat To pressure someone into agreement through persistent intimidation.
brownfield Denoting previously developed land, often contaminated, that is available for...
bruising Discolouration of the skin caused by bleeding underneath from a blunt injury.
bruit An abnormal blowing or swishing sound heard over an artery, indicating turbulent flow.
brumous Characterised by fog, mist or the grey heaviness of winter.
brush up on To quickly improve or refresh a skill or area of knowledge that has become rusty.
brusque Abrupt or curt in manner or speech.
bruxism The involuntary grinding or clenching of teeth, frequently occurring during sleep.
buccal Relating to the cheek or the tooth surface facing the cheek.
bucolic Relating to the pleasant and idealised aspects of country life.
budget deficit The shortfall that arises when a government spends more than it collects in revenue over...
budgetary Relating to the preparation and control of budgets.
buffer A margin of spare time, stock, or capacity held to absorb variability.
buffoonery Ridiculous or foolish behaviour intended or apt to amuse.
bull market A period during which asset prices are rising or expected to rise.
bulla A large, fluid-filled blister greater than one centimetre in diameter.
bullet A loan or bond repaid in a single lump sum at maturity rather than in instalments.
bullion Gold or silver held in bulk as bars, often as a monetary reserve.
bullwhip The amplification of demand variability as orders move up the supply chain away from the...
bullwhip effect The amplification of small demand swings as they ripple up a supply chain.
bulwark A defensive wall, or anything serving as a strong protection or defence.
bumping Making one employee redundant so that another whose role has disappeared can take the...
bumping rights A senior employee's contractual entitlement to displace a more junior one during a layoff.
bundling The selling of several products together as a single combined package.
bunion A bony prominence at the base of the big toe caused by the toe deviating outwards.
bunkering The supplying of fuel to a ship.
buoyancy The responsiveness of tax revenue to growth in the underlying tax base or economy.
buphthalmos Enlargement of the eyeball in infants due to raised intraocular pressure in congenital...
bupivacaine A long-acting amide local anaesthetic widely used for spinal, epidural and peripheral...
burden The indirect manufacturing overhead loaded onto units of production.
burden of proof The obligation on a party to prove the facts in issue, which in a criminal case rests on...
bureaucracy A system of administration marked by rigid rules, hierarchy and procedural complexity.
bureaucratic Characterised by excessive rules, procedures and administrative layers.
burgeon To begin to grow or sprout rapidly and abundantly.
burgeoning Growing or increasing rapidly.
burglary Entering a building as a trespasser with intent to steal, inflict harm, or cause damage.
burlesque A comic imitation that mocks its subject through absurd exaggeration.
burn rate The pace at which a company uses up its cash reserves before turning profitable.
burndown A chart tracking the amount of work remaining against time, used to gauge whether a...
burning platform A compelling, urgent case for change that makes the status quo feel more dangerous than...
burnished Polished to a warm, smooth shine, especially of metal.
burnout A state of physical and emotional exhaustion caused by prolonged workplace stress.
burrow A thin, serpiginous, thread-like tunnel in the epidermis created by a mite, and...
bursitis Inflammation of a bursa, the fluid-filled sac that cushions bone from overlying soft...
business case The justification for a project, setting out its costs, benefits and expected return.
business cycle The recurring pattern of expansion and contraction in economic activity over time.
business efficacy The commercial workability a term must supply before a court will imply it into an...
business judgment rule A legal presumption that directors' informed, good-faith decisions won't be...
bust-up An acquisition in which the buyer breaks up the target and sells off the pieces.
but-for test The test for factual causation asking whether the harm would not have occurred but for...
butterfly An options strategy combining three strikes to profit from the underlying staying near a...
buttress To support and strengthen a strategic position.
buy-in Genuine agreement and commitment from stakeholders to support a decision or change.
buyback A company's repurchase of its own shares from existing shareholders.
buyer persona A semi-fictional profile of an ideal customer built from research on real buyers.
buyout The acquisition of a controlling interest in a company, often by its managers or a...
by and large On the whole, used to make a cautious generalisation that admits minor exceptions.
by reason of Because of or on account of a specified cause, used to attribute a consequence to it.
by reason of the matters aforesaid A causal connector in pleadings meaning because of the matters already set out.
by virtue of As a result of or by reason of the operation of a specified provision, right, or fact.
by way of background A transitional phrase used to provide context before making a main point.
bylaw A rule made by a local authority or organization.
bylaws The internal rules adopted by a company to govern its own conduct and the management of...
byword A person or thing regarded as a notable example of a particular quality.

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