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Back pressure. (Steam Engine) See under Pressure. -- Back rest, a guide attached to the slide rest of a lathe, and placed in contact with the work, to steady it in turning. -- Back slang, a kind of slang in which every word is written or pronounced backwards; as, nam for man. -- Back stairs, stairs in the back part…

Any solid spherical, cylindrical, or conical projectile of lead or iron, to be discharged from a firearm; as, a cannon ball; a rifball; -- often used collectively; as, powder and ball. Spherical balls for the smaller firearms are commonly called bullets.

Gravel, broken stone, etc., laid in the bed of a railroad to make it firm and solid.

supposed to be a product of Peru. -- Balsam of Tolu, a reddish or yellowish brown semisolid or solid balsam, obtained from a South American tree ( Myxoxylon toluiferum.). It is highly fragrant, and is used as a stomachic and expectorant. -- Balsam tree, any tree from which balsam is obtained, esp. the Abies balsamea…

One of a denomination of Christians who deny the validity of infant baptism and of sprinkling, and maintain that baptism should be administered to believers alone, and should be by immersion. See Anabaptist.

A movable roof sliding on four posts, to cover hay, straw, etc. [Local, U.S.]

A solid drum, or a hollow cylinder or case; as, the barrel of a windlass; the barrel of a watch, within which the spring is coiled.

ng knives, polished metal, etc. -- Bath chair, a kind of chair on wheels, as used by invalids at Bath. "People walked out, or drove out, or were pushed out in their Bath chairs." Dickens. -- Bath metal, an alloy consisting of four and a half ounces of zinc and one pound of copper. -- Bath note, a folded writing pape…

One of the solid upright parts of a parapet in ancient fortifications.

an engine vibrates. -- Beam compass, an instrument consisting of a rod or beam, having sliding sockets that carry steel or pencil points; -- used for drawing or describing large circles. -- Beam engine, a steam engine having a working beam to transmit power, in distinction from one which has its piston rod attached…

The foundation or the more solid and fixed part or framing of a machine; or a part on which something is laid or supported; as, the bed of an engine.

The solid rock underlying superficial formations. Also Fig.

oöl.), the honey buzzard. -- Bee killer (Zoöl.), a large two-winged fly of the family Asilidæ (esp. Trupanea apivora) which feeds upon the honeybee. See Robber fly. -- Bee louse (Zoöl.), a minute, wingless, dipterous insect (Braula cæca) parasitic on hive bees. -- Bee martin (Zoöl.), the kingbird (Tyrannus Carolinen…

An infusorian of the family Vorticellidæ, common in fresh-water ponds.

A solid consisting of a double twelve-sided pyramid; -- so called because the planes of this form occur on crystals of beryl.

1826, which revolves around the sun in 6.6 years. The November meteors (Andromedes or Bielids) move in its orbit, and may be fragments of the comet.

A long bar or bolt of iron with sliding shackles, and a lock at the end, to confine the feet of prisoners or offenders, esp. on board of ships. Methought I lay Worse than the mutines in the bilboes. Shak.

-- Bilge ways, the timbers which support the cradle of a ship upon the ways, and which slide upon the launching ways in launching the vessel.

The berries of two East Indian species of Averrhoa, of the Oxalideæ or Sorrel family. They are very acid, and highly esteemed when preserved or pickled. The juice is used as a remedy for skin diseases. [Written also blimbi and blimbing.]

A truck for railroad rolling stock, consisting of two ordinary axle boxes sliding in guides attached to a triangular frame; -- called also pony truck.