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To seize with the teeth, so that they enter or nip the thing seized; to lacerate, crush, or wound with the teeth; as, to bite an apple; to bite a crust; the dog bit a man. Such smiling rogues as these, Like rats, oft bite the holy cords atwain. Shak.

One who, or that which, bites; that which bites often, or is inclined to bite, as a dog or fish. "Great barkers are no biters." Camden.

That bites; sharp; cutting; sarcastic; caustic. "A biting affliction." "A biting jest." Shak.

AA turn of the cable which is round the bitts. Bitter end, that part of a cable which is abaft the bitts, and so within board, when the ship rides at anchor.

rity; keenness of reproach or sarcasm; deep distress, grief, or vexation of mind. The lip that curls with bitterness. Percival. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Job vii. 11.

Any process in which advantage is taken of the fact that prepared bitumen is rendered insoluble by exposure to light, as in photolithography.

Having the qualities of bitumen; compounded with bitumen; containing bitumen. Near that bituminous lake where Sodom flamed. Milton. Bituminous coal, a kind of coal which yields, when heated, a considerable amount of volatile bituminous matter. It burns with a yellow smoky flame. -- Bituminous limestone, a mineral of a…

That which is destitute of light or whiteness; the darkest color, or rather a destitution of all color; as, a cloth has a good black. Black is the badge of hell, The hue of dungeons, and the suit of night. Shak.

An organization composed originally of Chinese rebels that had been driven into Tonkin by the suppression of the Taiping rebellion, but later increased by bands of pirates and adventurers. It took a prominent part in fighting the French during their hostilities with Anam, 1873-85.

ed the "black guard"; also, the servants and hangers-on of an army. [Obs.] A lousy slave, that . . . rode with the black guard in the duke's carriage, 'mongst spits and dripping pans. Webster (1612).

Given to the study of books in black letter; that is, of old books; out of date. Kemble, a black-letter man! J. Boaden.

Easter Monday, so called from the severity of that day in 1360, which was so unusual that many of Edward III.'s soldiers, then before Paris, died from the cold. Stow. Then it was not for nothing that may nose fell a bleeding on Black Monday last. Shak.

od, suet, etc., thickened with meal. And fat black puddings, -- proper food, For warriors that delight in blood. Hudibras.

A wash that blackens, as opposed to whitewash; hence, figuratively, calumny. To remove as far as he can the modern layers of black wash, and let the man himself, fair or foul, be seen. C. Kingsley.

Work wrought by blacksmiths; -- so called in distinction from that wrought by whitesmiths. Knight.

The crimson dulse . . . with its waving blade. Percival. First the blade, then ear, after that the full corn in the ear. Mark iv. 28.

That which is deserving of censure or disapprobation; culpability; fault; crime; sin. Holy and without blame before him in love. Eph. i. 4.

s followed by of. A bishop then must be blameless. 1 Tim. iii. 2. Blameless still of arts that polish to deprave. Mallet. We will be blameless of this thine oath. Josh. ii. 17.

One who, or that which, blanches or whitens; esp., one who anneals and cleanses money; also, a chemical preparation for this purpose.

anch; to make blank; to damp the spirits of; to dispirit or confuse. [Obs.] Each opposite that blanks the face of joy. Shak.