ExpertGlossary terms starting with B

2,026 terms

beclomethasone A drug being studied in the treatment of graft-versus-host disease. It belongs to a family of drugs called corticosteroids.
BECO Before Engine Cutoff.
becquerel The special name for the unit that expresses a measure of activity. One becquerel corresponds to one disintegration per second of any radionuclide.
BECS Battlefield Electronic CEOI System (See RBECS) .
Bed and breakfast (B&B) Overnight accommodations usually in a private home or boarding house, often with a full American-style or Continental breakfast included in one rate.
Bed elevation Height of streambed above a specified level.
Bed layer The flow layer, several grain diameters thick (usually taken as two grain diameters thick), immediately above the bed.
Bed Load Sediment that moves by rolling or sliding along the bed and is essentially in contact with the streambed in the bed layer.
Bed material Unconsolidated material, or sediment mixture, of which a streambed is composed.
Bed-load discharge The quantity of bed load passing a cross section of a stream in a unit of time.
Bed-material discharge That part of the total sediment discharge which is composed of grain sizes found in the bed.
Bedding In fishing, this term refers to bedding fish during the spawning period.
Bedding plane A separation or weakness between two layers of rock, caused by changes during the building up of the rock-forming material.
Bedload Coarse sediments carried along near the bottom of a river.
Bedrock General term referring to the solid rock or ledge underlying other unconsolidated material, i.e., soil, loose gravel, etc.
beeping Synonym paging, radio paging.
beer A fermented broth that consists of water, ethanol, and small amounts of ether and assorted alcohols.
Before-Tax Income Income before taxes are deducted. Also known as "gross income."
Beginning Document Number or BegDoc# The Bates Number identifying the first page of a document or record.
Beginning of Freezup Date on which ice forming a stable winter ice cover is first observed on the water surface.
Beginning of the Breakup Date of definite breaking, movement, or melting of ice cover or significant rise of water level.
Behavior Reaction of an animal to its environment.
behavior modification (bee-HAY-vyer MAH-dih-fih-KAY-shun) A technique used to help people change the way they react to certain triggers in the environment that cause a negative…
Behavioral Biometric Characteristic A biometric characteristic that is learned and acquired over time rather than one based primarily on biology.
Behavioral finance Behavioral finance combines psychology and economics to explain why and how investors act and to analyze how that behavior affects the market.
Behavioral genetics The study of genes that may influence behavior.
Behavioral Outcome What an individual who has completed the specific training module is expected to be able to accomplish in terms of IT security-related job performance.
Behavioral Targeting Ad targeting based on past recent experience and/or implied intent. For example, if I recently searched for mortgages then am later reading a book review…
Beige Book Beige book is the colloquial name for the Federal report that is formally titled Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve…
bel (B) A unit of measure of ratios of power levels, i.e., relative power levels. Note 1: The number of bels for a given ratio of power levels is calculated by…
belinostat (beh-LIN-oh-STAT) A substance being studied in the treatment of cancer. Belinostat blocks enzymes needed for cell division and may kill cancer cells.
Bell An expanded, or enlarged, end of a pipe section, into which the next pipe fits. See spigot.
bell (BEL) character A transmission control character that is used when there is a need to call for user or operator attention in a communications system, and that usually…
Bell captain The person in charge of luggage at a hotel.
Bell housing A cover, shaped like a bell, that surrounds the flywheel, clutch that connects the engine to the transmission.
Bell Operating Company (BOC) Historically, any of the 22 operating companies that were divested from AT&T by court order. Note: Cincinnati Bell Telephone Co.
bell sinker A bell-shaped fishing weight.
Bell- Lapadula Model A formal state transition model of computer security policy that describes a set of access control rules.
Bell-La Padula security model 1. [A] formal state-transition model of a computer security policy that describes a formal set of access controls based on information sensitivity and…
BELLCORE Bell Communications Research, Incorporated.
Bellini duct carcinoma (beh-LEE-nee dukt KAR-sih-NOH-muh) A rare type of kidney cancer that grows and spreads quickly. It begins in the duct of Bellini in the kidney.
Bellwether A market bellwether is a security whose changing price is considered a signal that the market is changing direction.
Belly Boat A trademark for a brand of rubber inner tube boat used for fishing in quiet water.
Bence Jones protein A small protein made by plasma cells (white blood cells that produce antibodies).
Bench The seat occupied by the judge. More broadly, the court itself.
Bench mark (BM) A permanent or temporary monument of known elevation above sea level, used for vertical control at a construction site.
bench trial Trial without a jury in which a judge decides the facts.
Bench warrant An order issued by a judge for the arrest of a person.
bench-scale process A small- or laboratory-scale process; commonly used in connection with fermentation.
bench-to-bedside A term used to describe the process by which the results of research done in the laboratory are directly used to develop new ways to treat patients.
Benching Benching refers to workers who are in nonproductive status due to a decision by the employer, such as lack of work or a permit.
Benchmark A standard unit used as the basis of comparison; a universal unit that is identified with sufficient detail so that other similar classifications can be…
Benchmark (BM) A permanent point whose known elevation is tied to a national network. These points are created to serve as a point of reference.
Benchmark I-O accounts See Benchmark input-output (I-O) accounts
Benchmark input-output (I-O) accounts Statistical description-presented in a make table, use table, direct requirements table, and total requirements tables-of the production of goods and…
Benchmark input-output accounts See Benchmark input-output (I-O) accounts
Benchmark rate(s) The rates set annually by the Commissioner of Insurance that rate-regulated insurance companies use to reference their rates.
Benchmarking To measure a process or practice according to specified standards or references
Bend A change of direction in piping.
bend loss See macrobend loss, microbend loss.
bendamustine (BEN-duh-MUS-teen) The active ingredient in a drug that is used to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and is being studied in the treatment of other…
bendamustine hydrochloride (BEN-duh-MUS-teen HY-droh-KLOR-ide) A drug that is used to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and is being studied in the treatment of other types…
Beneficial owner When your stocks are registered in street name, the brokerage firm has title to the stocks but you are the beneficial owner, or the person who actually…
Beneficial Ownership This term refers to the true owner of an entity, asset, or transaction as opposed to any stated ownership provided in documents or oral representations.
Beneficial use Water loss through use for the betterment of society, e.g. irrigation or municipal use. See consumptive use.
Beneficial use of water A use of water resulting in appreciable gain or benefit to the user, consistent with state law, which varies from one state to another.
Beneficiary A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract.
Beneficiary or Beneficiary Payee A person who is designated to receive, or is receiving, a retirement annuity or other benefit provided by the South Carolina Retirement Systems.
Benefit Something that promotes or enhances well-being; an advantage.
benefit claim the claiming by an applicant in a nonprovisional application of a benefit of an invention disclosed in a prior-filed copending (under examination at the…
Benefit Level A benefit level is a group of plans that have similar value. The groupings help you compare plans with similar covered benefits and costs to determine the…
Benefit-cost ratio (B/C) The ratio of the present value of project benefits to the present value of the project costs, used in economic analysis.
Benefits The health care items or services covered under a health insurance plan. Covered benefits and excluded services are defined in the health insurance plan's…
Benefits Charge The addition of a per unit tax on sales of electricity, with the revenue generated used for or to encourage investments in energy efficiency measures…
benefits received A concept of tax fairness that states that people should pay taxes in proportion to the benefits they receive from government goods and services.
benign (beh-NINE) Not cancerous. Benign tumors may grow larger but do not spread to other parts of the body.
Benign breast disease (beh-NINE brest dih-ZEEZ) A common condition marked by benign (noncancerous) changes in breast tissue.
benign environment [In security, a] nonhostile environment that may be protected from external hostile elements by physical, personnel, and procedural security…
benign proliferative breast disease (beh-NINE proh-LIH-fuh-ruh-tiv brest dih-ZEEZ) A group of noncancerous conditions that may increase the risk of developing breast cancer.
benign prostatic hyperplasia (beh-NINE prah-STA-tik HY-per-PLAY-zhuh) A benign (noncancerous) condition in which an overgrowth of prostate tissue pushes against the urethra and the…
benign prostatic hypertrophy (beh-NINE prah-STA-tik hy-PER-troh-fee) A benign (noncancerous) condition in which an overgrowth of prostate tissue pushes against the urethra and the…
benign tumor (beh-NINE TOO-mer) A noncancerous growth that does not invade nearby tissue or spread to other parts of the body.
Benthic Occurring at or near the bottom of a body of water.
benthic foraminifera single-celled animals that live near the sediment water interface and have calcium carbonate skeletons.
Benthos Organisms living in or on the bottom of a lake, pond, ocean, stream, etc.
Bentonitic clay (bentonite) A clay with a high content of the mineral montmorillonite, usually characterized by high swelling on wetting and shrinkage on drying.
benzaldehyde A colorless oily liquid used as a flavoring agent and to make dyes, perfumes, and pharmaceuticals. Benzaldehyde is chemically related to benzene.
benzene A chemical that is used widely by the chemical industry, and is also found in tobacco smoke, vehicle emissions, and gasoline fumes.
Benzodiazepine A type of CNS depressant prescribed to relieve anxiety and sleep problems. Valium and Xanax are among the most widely prescribed medications.
benzoylphenylurea A substance being studied in the treatment of cancer. It is a type of antitubulin agent. Also called BPU.
benzydamine (ben-ZIH-duh-meen) A substance being studied as a mouth rinse treatment for oral mucositis (painful mouth sores) caused by cancer therapy.
BEP Brilliant Eyes Probe.
Bequeath To give a gift to someone through a will.
Bequests Gifts made in a will.
BER Abbreviation for bit error ratio.
bereavement (beh-REEV-ment) A state of sadness, grief, and mourning after the loss of a loved one.
bergamot (BER-guh-mot) A type of orange tree grown in Italy. The essential oil from the peel of this orange is used in perfume, to get rid of insects, and to…
Bergeron Process The process by which ice crystals in a cloud grow at the expense of supercooled liquid water droplets.
Bergy Bit A piece of ice which has broken away from an iceberg, extending 1-5 meters above the sea surface and 100-300 square meters in area.
Beriplast P A substance used in surgical wound healing to cause a blood clot to form. It consists of blood-clotting factors found naturally in human blood.