Page 50 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

06_571656 ch02.qxd 11/10/04 12:33 PM Page 41
B: SAT Words
bicker (BI kuhr) vi. 1. to quarrel in a petty manner; to squabble; 2. (rare) to 41
move with quick, rippling noises —n. 1. a little quarrel; 2. a rippling or a pattering
sound
• Carl and Violet bicker all the time about everything.
• The brook bickers in the breeze.
• Carl and Violet just had another minor bicker.
• One can barely hear the bicker of a snake coming down the path.
[-ed, -ing]
bilk (BILK) vt. 1. to thwart; 2. to swindle; cheat; defraud; 3. to escape or flee
leaving unpaid debts; 4. to elude
• The raccoon bilked all attempts to catch him.
• The investors were bilked out of millions by crooked management.
• Nate bilked the bank by his failure to make payments.
• The crook bilked the police.
[-ed, -ing]
biological (BY uh LAH gzhi kl) adj. 1. of or connected to living things; 2. relat-
ed genetically, in contrast to by adoption
• A botanist is only interested in the plant part of the biological sciences.
• Mark’s scientific interests are purely biological.
• Your biological parents are your real mother and father.
[-ly adv. (also biologic)]
blueprint (BLOO print) n. 1. a plan drawn in white on a blue background and
used by architects or engineers; 2. any exact or detailed plan
• The contractor checked the blueprint of the house to see what materials he
would need to order.
• With its adoption in 1789, the U.S. Constitution became the blueprint for
American democracy.
bog (BAHG) n. wet, spongy area of ground, noted for smelly decaying mosses
that form peat —vi., vt. to get stuck in; mired (usually with down)
• For organic matter, Martha used peat from the nearby bog to enrich her
garden soil.
• The Medicare revisions got bogged down in committee.
[-ged, -ging]
bore (BAWR) vt. 1. to make a hole with a drill; 2. to dig a well, tunnel, etc. with
a turning helical tool; 3. to push one’s way (through) —vi. to tire of or lose interest
in —n. 1. a hole made by a drill; 2. the interior of a hollow tube
• Before hanging the door, I must bore holes for the hinges.
• Gino bored holes for the deck’s concrete footings.
• Gracie bored through the rush-hour crowd.
• Go away; you bore me.
• The plot was very predictable, and therefore very boring.
• The hole in the wall was a very shallow bore.
• Shotgun barrels come in various bores.
[-d, boring, -dom n.]