Words that start with B

A bandage is a long, thin strip of fabric that you wrap around a part of your body that is hurt. You often see people who have a sprained ankle with a bandage wrapped around it.

A bangle is a stiff, usually round piece of jewelry worn around the wrist. Unlike a soft bracelet, it keeps its shape and may slide over the hand or open with a small clasp. Bangles can be made of gold, silver, glass, wood, plastic, or other materials. They may be plain or decorated with colors, patterns, beads or stones. People may wear lots of bangles at once.

Bangles are worn by people in many countries, especially in South Asia, where glass and metal bangles are part of traditional clothing and celebrations. The word comes from a Hindi word meaning a glass bracelet.

Banjos were originally made by African slaves in America to look like an instrument from their homeland. Banjos are today used in bluegrass and folk music, and have a distinctive sound. The body of a banjo is round and does not have a hole in it.

Banksias are a large group of Australian flowers that grow in the more temperate regions of Australia. They range from small shrubs to large trees. Their most distinctive feature is their flower spikes, which are generally quite large and make an excellent cut flower. Many types of birds eat the nectar from banksia flowers.

A banquet is a very large formal dinner, usually with several courses, that is served to a large number of people at once. A less formal large dinner for many people is called a feast.

A barb is a type of hook that is designed for things to get caught on. Barbs are found on barbed wire, some fish hooks, some arrows, some plant seeds and some animals have barbed claws or teeth.
A hook that is barbed is usually very difficult to get out of whatever it is stuck into. Barbed seeds are bad for animals, as they can get stuck in the animal's skin or inside their mouths and are very hard to get out, so can cause bad infections.

Barbed wire, or barb wire, is a type of wire usually used for fencing that has twists of sharp wire along its length. Barbed wire is most often used on fences that keep livestock like cows and sheep from escaping. The sharp barbs on the wire will hurt anything that tries to climb over it.
Barbed wire is not just used to keep animals in or out. Barbed wire was used extensively during war time to protect soldiers, and is also used around prisons to keep the prisoners in.

A barge is a low boat with a flat bottom that was originally designed to move by being towed or pushed along. Barges were once propelled by pushing them along using a bargepole, or were pulled by a horse walking along the shore. Modern barges are propelled by motors.

Bark is the outer layer of a tree or large plant. Many types of trees usually shed their bark once a year and grow fresh bark underneath the old. Insects like beetles and spiders like to live under loose bark.

A barn is a building usually found on farms. It can be used to keep animals in, for storing hay or straw, or for storing farm machinery.