| b | (noun) the 2nd letter of the Roman alphabet | Synonyms: B |
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| (noun) (physics) a unit of nuclear cross section; the effective circular area that one particle presents to another as a target for an encounter | Synonyms: barn |
| baa | (noun) the cry made by sheep | - |
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| baas | (noun) South African term for `boss' | - |
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| baba | (noun) a small cake leavened with yeast | - |
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| babassu | (noun) tall feather palm of northern Brazil with hard-shelled nuts yielding valuable oil and a kind of vegetable ivory | Synonyms: babassu palm, coco de macao, Orbignya martiana, Orbignya phalerata, Orbignya spesiosa |
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| babbitt | (noun) an alloy of tin with some copper and antimony; a lining for bearings that reduces friction | Synonyms: Babbitt metal |
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| babbitting | (noun) lining a surface or bearing with Babbitt metal | - |
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| babble | (noun) gibberish resembling the sounds of a baby | Synonyms: babbling, lallation |
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| babbler | (noun) any of various insectivorous Old World birds with a loud incessant song; in some classifications considered members of the family Muscicapidae | Synonyms: cackler |
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| (noun) an obnoxious and foolish and loquacious talker | Synonyms: chatterbox, chatterer, magpie, prater, spouter |
| babbling | (noun) gibberish resembling the sounds of a baby | Synonyms: babble, lallation |
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| babe | (noun) a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk | Synonyms: baby, infant |
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| babel | (noun) a confusion of voices and other sounds | - |
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| babiroussa | (noun) Indonesian wild pig with enormous curved canine teeth | Synonyms: babirusa, babirussa, Babyrousa Babyrussa |
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| babirusa | (noun) Indonesian wild pig with enormous curved canine teeth | Synonyms: babiroussa, babirussa, Babyrousa Babyrussa |
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| babirussa | (noun) Indonesian wild pig with enormous curved canine teeth | Synonyms: babiroussa, babirusa, Babyrousa Babyrussa |
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| babka | (noun) a coffee cake flavored with orange rind and raisins and almonds | - |
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| baboo | (noun) used as a Hindi courtesy title; equivalent to English `Mr' | Synonyms: babu |
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| baboon | (noun) large terrestrial monkeys having doglike muzzles | - |
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| babu | (noun) used as a Hindi courtesy title; equivalent to English `Mr' | Synonyms: baboo |
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| babushka | (noun) a woman's headscarf folded into a triangle and tied under the chin; worn by Russian peasant women | - |
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| baby | (noun) a project of personal concern to someone | - |
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| (noun) a very young mammal | - |
| (noun) a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk | Synonyms: babe, infant |
| (noun) the youngest member of a group (not necessarily young) | - |
| (noun) an immature childish person | Synonyms: child |
| (noun) an unborn child; a human fetus | - |
| (noun) a beloved person; used as terms of endearment | Synonyms: beloved, darling, dear, dearest, dearie, deary, honey, love, sweetheart, sweetie |
| babygram | (noun) an X-ray of the entire body of an infant. | - |
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| babyhood | (noun) the earliest state of immaturity | Synonyms: infancy |
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| (noun) the early stage of growth or development | Synonyms: early childhood, infancy |
| babyminder | (noun) a person who looks after babies (usually in the person's own home) while the babys' parents are working | Synonyms: baby minder, minder |
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| babysitter | (noun) a person engaged to care for children when the parents are not home | Synonyms: baby-sitter, sitter |
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| babysitting | (noun) the work of a baby sitter; caring for children when their parents are not home | Synonyms: baby sitting |
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| babytalk | (noun) the developing speech of a young child | Synonyms: baby talk |
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| (noun) an adult's imitation of the speech of a young child | Synonyms: baby talk, motherese |
| bacca | (noun) an indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp: e.g. grape, tomato, cranberry | Synonyms: simple fruit |
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| baccalaureate | (noun) an academic degree conferred on someone who has successfully completed undergraduate studies | Synonyms: bachelor's degree |
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| (noun) a farewell sermon to a graduating class at their commencement ceremonies | - |
| baccarat | (noun) a card game played in casinos in which two or more punters gamble against the banker; the player wins who holds 2 or 3 cards that total closest to nine | Synonyms: chemin de fer |
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| bacchanal | (noun) a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity | Synonyms: bacchanalia, debauch, debauchery, drunken revelry, orgy, riot, saturnalia |
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| (noun) someone who engages in drinking bouts | Synonyms: bacchant, drunken reveler, drunken reveller |
| (noun) a drunken reveller; a devotee of Bacchus | Synonyms: bacchant |
| bacchanalia | (noun) a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity | Synonyms: bacchanal, debauch, debauchery, drunken revelry, orgy, riot, saturnalia |
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| bacchant | (noun) (classical mythology) a priest or votary of Bacchus | - |
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| (noun) a drunken reveller; a devotee of Bacchus | Synonyms: bacchanal |
| (noun) someone who engages in drinking bouts | Synonyms: bacchanal, drunken reveler, drunken reveller |
| bacchante | (noun) (classical mythology) a priestess or votary of Bacchus | - |
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| baccy | (noun) leaves of the tobacco plant dried and prepared for smoking or ingestion | Synonyms: tobacco |
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| bachelor | (noun) a man who has never been married | Synonyms: unmarried man |
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| (noun) a knight of the lowest order; could display only a pennon | Synonyms: bachelor-at-arms, knight bachelor |
| bachelorette | (noun) a young unmarried woman who lives alone | Synonyms: bachelor girl |
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| bachelorhood | (noun) the state of being an unmarried man | - |
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| (noun) the time of a man's life prior to marriage | - |
| bacillus | (noun) aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in soil | Synonyms: B |
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| bacitracin | (noun) a polypeptide antibiotic of known chemical structure effective against several types of Gram-positive organisms; usually applied locally | - |
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| back | (noun) (American football) the position of a player on a football team who is stationed behind the line of scrimmage | - |
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| (noun) the side that goes last or is not normally seen | Synonyms: rear |
| (noun) a support that you can lean against while sitting | Synonyms: backrest |
| (noun) the part of a garment that covers the back of your body | - |
| (noun) the protective covering on the front, back, and spine of a book | Synonyms: binding, book binding, cover |
| (noun) the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine | Synonyms: dorsum |
| (noun) the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord | Synonyms: backbone, rachis, spinal column, spine, vertebral column |
| (noun) the part of something that is furthest from the normal viewer | Synonyms: rear |
| (noun) (football) a person who plays in the backfield | - |
| backache | (noun) an ache localized in the back | - |
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| backband | (noun) a broad band that passes over the back of a horse and supports the shafts of a vehicle | - |
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| backbeat | (noun) a loud steady beat | - |
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| backbench | (noun) any of the seats occupied by backbenchers in the House of Commons | - |
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| backbencher | (noun) a member of the House of Commons who is not a party leader | - |
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| backbend | (noun) an acrobatic feat in which the trunk is bent backward from a standing position until the hands touch the floor | - |
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| backbiter | (noun) one who attacks the reputation of another by slander or libel | Synonyms: defamer, libeler, maligner, slanderer, traducer, vilifier |
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| backblast | (noun) backfire from a recoilless weapon | Synonyms: back-blast |
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| backboard | (noun) a board used to support the back of someone or something | - |
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| (noun) a raised vertical board with basket attached; used to play basketball | Synonyms: basketball backboard |
| backbone | (noun) the part of a network that connects other networks together | - |
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| (noun) the part of a book's cover that encloses the inner side of the book's pages and that faces outward when the book is shelved | Synonyms: spine |
| (noun) fortitude and determination | Synonyms: grit, gumption, guts, moxie, sand |
| (noun) the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord | Synonyms: back, rachis, spinal column, spine, vertebral column |
| (noun) a central cohesive source of support and stability | Synonyms: anchor, keystone, linchpin, lynchpin, mainstay |
| backchat | (noun) light teasing repartee | Synonyms: banter, give-and-take, raillery |
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| backcloth | (noun) scenery hung at back of stage | Synonyms: backdrop, background |
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| backdoor | (noun) a secret or underhand means of access (to a place or a position) | Synonyms: back door |
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| (noun) an entrance at the rear of a building | Synonyms: back door, back entrance |
| (noun) an undocumented way to get access to a computer system or the data it contains | Synonyms: back door |
| backdown | (noun) a retraction of a previously held position | Synonyms: climb-down, withdrawal |
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| backdrop | (noun) scenery hung at back of stage | Synonyms: backcloth, background |
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| backer | (noun) someone who provides financial support for some venture | Synonyms: angel |
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| backfield | (noun) the offensive football players who line up behind the linemen | - |
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| backfire | (noun) a miscalculation that recoils on its maker | Synonyms: boomerang |
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| (noun) a loud noise made by the explosion of fuel in the manifold or exhaust of an internal combustion engine | - |
| (noun) the backward escape of gases and unburned gunpowder after a gun is fired | Synonyms: blowback |
| (noun) a fire that is set intentionally in order to slow an approaching forest fire or grassfire by clearing a burned area in its path | - |
| backflow | (noun) a flow that returns toward its source | Synonyms: backflowing |
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| backflowing | (noun) a flow that returns toward its source | Synonyms: backflow |
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| backgammon | (noun) a board game for two players; pieces move according to throws of the dice | - |
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| background | (noun) scenery hung at back of stage | Synonyms: backcloth, backdrop |
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| (noun) (computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear | Synonyms: desktop, screen background |
| (noun) a person's social heritage: previous experience or training | - |
| (noun) the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground | Synonyms: ground |
| (noun) information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem | Synonyms: background knowledge |
| (noun) extraneous signals that can be confused with the phenomenon to be observed or measured | Synonyms: background signal |
| (noun) relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation | - |
| (noun) the state of the environment in which a situation exists | Synonyms: scope, setting |
| backgrounder | (noun) a press conference or interview in which a government official explains to reporters the background of an action or policy | - |
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| backgrounding | (noun) the execution of low priority programs while higher priority programs are not using the processing system | Synonyms: background processing |
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| backhand | (noun) a return made with the back of the hand facing the direction of the stroke | Synonyms: backhand shot, backhand stroke |
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| backhander | (noun) a backhanded blow | - |
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| backhoe | (noun) an excavator whose shovel bucket is attached to a hinged boom and is drawn backward to move earth | - |
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| backing | (noun) the act of providing approval and support | Synonyms: backup, championship, patronage |
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| (noun) something forming a back that is added for strengthening | Synonyms: mount |
| (noun) financial resources provided to make some project possible | Synonyms: financial backing, financial support, funding, support |
| backlash | (noun) an adverse reaction to some political or social occurrence | - |
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| (noun) a movement back from an impact | Synonyms: rebound, recoil, repercussion |
| backlighting | (noun) lighting from behind | - |
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| backlog | (noun) an accumulation of jobs not done or materials not processed that are yet to be dealt with (especially unfilled customer orders for products or services) | - |
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| (noun) something kept back or saved for future use or a special purpose | Synonyms: reserve, stockpile |
| (noun) the large log at the back of a hearth fire | - |
| backpack | (noun) a bag carried by a strap on your back or shoulder | Synonyms: back pack, haversack, knapsack, packsack, rucksack |
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| backpacker | (noun) a hiker who wears a backpack | Synonyms: packer |
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| backpacking | (noun) carrying something in a pack on the back | Synonyms: packing |
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| backplate | (noun) plate armor protecting the back; worn as part of a cuirass | - |
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| backrest | (noun) a support that you can lean against while sitting | Synonyms: back |
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| backroom | (noun) the meeting place of a group of leaders who make their decisions via private negotiations | - |
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| backsaw | (noun) a handsaw that is stiffened by metal reinforcement along the upper edge | Synonyms: back saw |
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| backscratcher | (noun) a long-handled scratcher for scratching your back | - |
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| (noun) someone who is willing to trade favors or services for mutual advantage | - |
| backseat | (noun) a seat at the back of a vehicle (especially the seat at the back of an automobile) | - |
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| (noun) a secondary or inferior position or status | - |
| backsheesh | (noun) a relatively small amount of money given for services rendered (as by a waiter) | Synonyms: baksheesh, bakshis, bakshish, gratuity, pourboire, tip |
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| backside | (noun) the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on | Synonyms: arse, ass, behind, bottom, bum, buns, butt, buttocks, can, derriere, fanny, fundament, hind end, hindquarters, keister, nates, posterior, prat, rear, rear end, rump, seat, stern, tail, tail end, tooshie, tush |
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| (noun) the side of an object that is opposite its front | Synonyms: back end, rear |
| backslapper | (noun) someone who demonstrates enthusiastic or excessive cordiality | - |
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| backslider | (noun) someone who lapses into previous undesirable patterns of behavior | Synonyms: recidivist, reversionist |
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| backsliding | (noun) a failure to maintain a higher state | Synonyms: lapse, lapsing, relapse, relapsing, reversion, reverting |
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| backspace | (noun) the typewriter key used for back spacing | Synonyms: backspace key, backspacer |
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| backspacer | (noun) the typewriter key used for back spacing | Synonyms: backspace, backspace key |
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| backspin | (noun) spin (usually of a moving ball) that retards or reverses the forward motion | - |
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| backstage | (noun) a stage area out of sight of the audience | Synonyms: offstage, wing |
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| backstairs | (noun) a second staircase at the rear of a building | - |
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| backstay | (noun) a stay that supports the back of something | - |
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| backstitch | (noun) an overlapping stitch made by starting the next stitch at the middle of the preceding one | - |
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| backstop | (noun) a precaution in case of an emergency | - |
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| (noun) (baseball) a fence or screen (as behind home plate) to prevent the ball from traveling out of the playing field | - |
| (noun) (baseball) the person who plays the position of catcher | Synonyms: catcher |
| backstroke | (noun) a swimming stroke that resembles the crawl except the swimmer lies on his or her back | - |
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| backstroker | (noun) someone who swims the backstroke | - |
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| backswimmer | (noun) predaceous aquatic insect that swims on its back and may inflict painful bites | Synonyms: Notonecta undulata |
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| backsword | (noun) a sword with only one cutting edge | - |
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| (noun) a stick used instead of a sword for fencing | Synonyms: fencing stick, singlestick |
| backtalk | (noun) an impudent or insolent rejoinder | Synonyms: back talk, lip, mouth, sass, sassing |
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| backup | (noun) the act of providing approval and support | Synonyms: backing, championship, patronage |
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| (noun) (computer science) a copy of a file or directory on a separate storage device | Synonyms: computer backup |
| (noun) a musical part (vocal or instrumental) that supports or provides background for other musical parts | Synonyms: accompaniment, musical accompaniment, support |
| (noun) someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult) | Synonyms: backup man, fill-in, relief, reliever, stand-in, substitute |
| (noun) an accumulation caused by clogging or a stoppage | - |