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A gap or opening made made by breaking or battering, as in a wall or fortification; the space between the parts of a solid body rent by violence; a break; a rupture. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead. Shak.

y called a bridge wall. Aqueduct bridge. See Aqueduct. -- Asses' bridge, Bascule bridge, Bateau bridge. See under Ass, Bascule, Bateau. -- Bridge of a steamer (Naut.), a narrow platform across the deck, above the rail, for the convenience of the officer in charge of the ship; in paddlewheel vessels it connects the pa…

An ancient military weapon; a battle-ax.

iolence, of an onset; the strength or greatest fury of any contention; as, the brunt of a battle.

ble and ready to buckle with the Lord Protector as he was with him. Latimer. In single combat thou shalt buckle with me. Shak. To buckle to, to bend to; to engage with zeal. To make our sturdy humor buckle thereto. Barrow. Before buckling to my winter's work. J. D. Forbes.

gether with strings like a purse. It is used for carrying powder from the magazine to the battery, in siege or seacoast service.

to domestic animals, often killing large numbers of cattle and horses. In Europe the Columbatz fly is a species with similar habits. -- Buffalo grass (Bot.), a species of short, sweet grass (Buchloë dactyloides), from two to four inches high, covering the prairies on which the buffaloes, or bisons, feed. [U.S.] -- Buf…

Of or pertaining to a bull; resembling a bull; male; large; fierce. Bull bat (Zoöl.), the night hawk; -- so called from the loud noise it makes while feeding on the wing, in the evening. -- Bull calf. (a) A stupid fellow. -- Bull mackerel (Zoöl.), the chub mackerel. -- Bull pump (Mining), a direct single-acting pump…

teristic of, or like, a bulldog; stubborn; as, bulldog courage; bulldog tenacity. Bulldog bat (zo'94l.), a bat of the genus Nyctinomus; -- so called from the shape of its face.

ed on the water. Shak. Burning with high hope. Byron. The groan still deepens, and the combat burns. Pope. The parching air Burns frore, and cold performs the effect of fire. Milton.

Bush shrike (Zoöl.), a bird of the genus Thamnophilus, and allied genera; -- called also batarg. Many species inhabit tropical America. -- Bush tit (Zoöl.), a small bird of the genus Psaltriparus, allied to the titmouse. P. minimus inhabits California.

Only; solely; merely. Observe but how their own principles combat one another. Milton. If they kill us, we shall but die. 2 Kings vii. 4. A formidable man but to his friends. Dryden.

ls in large numbers, or with unusual cruelty; one who causes needless loss of life, as in battle. "Butcher of an innocent child." Shak. Butcher bird (Zoöl.), a species of shrike of the genus Lanius.

An annual composite plant of the Mississippi valley (Senecio lobatus).

, as of general conversation in low tones, or of a general expression of surprise or approbation. "The constant buzz of a fly." Macaulay.

, a victory that damages the victors as much as the vanquished; probably referring to the battle in which the soldiers who sprang from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus slew each other.

ge for conveying ammunition, consisting of two parts, a body and a limber. In light field batteries there is one caisson to each piece, having two ammunition boxes on the body, and one on the limber. Farrow.

A thin wafer-shaped mass of fried batter; a griddlecake or pancake; as buckwheat cakes.

A slender bony process from the ankle joint of bats, which helps to support the posterior part of the web, in flight.

carry; as, an 8 inch gun, a 12-pounder, a 44 caliber. The caliber of empty tubes. Reid. A battery composed of three guns of small caliber. Prescott.