back 




n
[ANAT] esquena
expr turn your back on (somebody / something)
girar l'esquena a (algú / alguna cosa)
back down
v.c. cedir / fer marxa enrereAustralia won't back down on its immigration policy
The Americans believe that if they put pressure on North Korea they will back down on their plans to build more nuclear missiles
The question everybody is asking is 'who will back down first, the French or the Americans?'
back into
v.c. 1. [TRANSP] xocar amb alguna cosa fent marxa enrereAt the very beginning of my driving test I put the car in reverse by mistake and managed to back into a parked car. Needless to say, I failed!
There was a crash on the M62 last night when a lorry backed into the path of an oncoming vehicle
sin. reverse into
2. [TRANSP] entrar en un espai lliure fent marxa enrere
sin. reverse into
back (someone) into a corner
v.c. arraconarThe three security guards backed Sean into a corner and started to beat him up
Firefighters returned to work after their month-long strike because they said they had been backed into a corner by the unions and had no other choice
back (someone) up
v.c. corroborarIf you don't believe me ask Sarah. She'll back me up
The man claimed he was nowhere near the house at the time of the murder and three neighbours came forward to back him up
You're my best friend. You're supposed to back me up not drop me in it!')
sin. vouch for (someone)
back up
v.c. 1. [TRANSP] fer marxa enrere
sin. reverse
2. [INFORM] fer una còpia de seguretatIf you don't regularly back up your work files you risk losing them all should your computer get hit by a virus
We strongly recommend that you back up the system every day!
3. defensarThe student insisted that the death penalty was a good way of preventing crime, but nobody took much notice of him as he always failed to provide any real evidence to back his arguments up
The protestors claimed that the government had acted illegally and should be overthrown. However, their cries fell on deaf ears as they never managed to back their statements up with any facts
bad 




adj
mal / dolent
expr that's too bad
(Am) és una llàstima
Br. = that's a pity
be 




v conj (was/been/being)
ser / ésser / estar
be down with (something)
v.c. estar (malalti i) al llit amb
be in
v.c. ser present (en un despatx, a casa, etc.)Is John in? I need to talk to him.
be into (something)
v.c. (col.loq) tenir interès (o entusiasme) per (alguna cosa)
be off
v.c. anar-se'nJohn and Julia are off now, are you coming to say goodbye?
Right, that's it, I'm off. See you later!
be on to (something)
v.c. haver descobert alguna cosa (o situació bona)
be on to (someone)
v.c. ser conscient de les malifetes o dels enganys d'un altre
be up to (something)
v.c. 1. ferWhat is he up to now?
2. trobar-se capaç a / ser prou bo per aI've put Jessica in charge of the office while I'm out. Do you think she's up to it?
become 




v conj (became/become)
esdevenir
before 




adv
abans / anteriorment
prep
1. abans de
2. davant
best 




adj
millor
big 




adj
1. gran
2. gros
big up
v.c. (Br) (argot) encomiar / enaltir alguna cosa (o algú) (potser més del que es mereix)Podcasting went mainstream when the BBC bigged it up and Apple integrated it into iTunes.
If you ask me, there's too much hype around it. The media have bigged it up to be a lot better than it actually is.
The judges bigged him up and dissed all the other contestants.
billion 




n
mil milions
pl. billion
biotechnology 




n
biotecnologia
bit 




n
1. [INFORM] bit
2. tros / xic / mica
expr bit by bit
poc a poc / de mica en mica
blog 




n
1. bloc
2. blog
book 




n
llibre
v conj reservar
sin. reserve
expr to be a turn-up for the books
ser una sorpresaUzbekistan's qualification for the World Youth Championship was a turn-up for the books
expr to throw the book at someone
caure el pèl a algúHe's shown no remorse at all for what he's done. I hope they throw the book at him!
browse 




v conj 1. [INFORM] navegar
2. fer una ullada
browse through
v.c. 1. fer una ullada a
2. fullejar
bug 




v conj (Am) (col.loq) empiparQuit bugging me!
sin. pester
n
1. [ZOOL] insecte / bitxo
sin. insect
2. [INFORM] brossa
3. [INFORM] bug
4. petit micròfon o petita camareta que utilitzen els detectius / forces de seguretat per escoltar les converses privades
bug out
v.c. (col.loq) anar-se'n / escapolir-se
build 




v conj (built/built)
construir
sin. construct
n
complexió / constitució corporal
building 




n
edifici
business 




n
1. negoci
The (building/hotel) business - El negoci (de la construcció / del sector hoteler)
2. negoci / empresa / companyia
pl. businesses
sin. company, firm
3. (col.loq) assumpteWhy should I tell him? It's none of his business!
Why can't she just keep her nose out of my business?
sin. affair
adj
empresarial
but 




conj
1. però
2. sinó
expr all but
pràcticamentHe's all but told me that I've got the job.
by 




prep
1. [temps] per / per a / abans de / de / no més tard que / quan
Sadly, the party was over by the time she got there - Malauradament, la festa s'havia acabat quan ella va arribar
We had finished our meal by about 5 o'clock - Havíem acabat de menjar cap a les 5 de la tarda
Can you have my car fixed by Friday evening? - Pots tenir el meu cotxe arreglat per a divendres al vespre?
By day, the city is fairly safe but, by night, it is really quite dangerous - De (o durant el) dia, la ciutat és prou segura però, de (o durant la) nit, és veritablement força perillosa
2. [relació] per / per a
This book was written by Jasper Fforde - Aquest llibre el va escriure (o va ser escrit per) Jasper Fforde
I'm listening to Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana - Estic escoltant Smells Like Teen Spirit de Nirvana
The protest was broken up by the police - La manifestació va ser dissolta per la policia
If it's all right by you, it's all right by me - Si per a tu està bé, doncs per a mi també
3. [relació - by + pronom reflexiu] per un mateix / tot sol
He doesn't want help. He wants to do it by himself - No vol ajuda; vol fer-ho per si mateix / tot sol
Did you do that all by yourself? - Has fet tot això per tu mateix / tot sol?
4. [mitjà / agent] per / amb / per mitjà de
You can donate to our charity by mail or by phone - Podeu fer donació a la nostra institució per (mitjà de) correu o per (mitjà de) telèfon
Trade and commerce started to expand and most of this trade was by sea - Els negocis i el comerç van començar a expandir-se i molt d'aquest negoci va ser per mar
Imagine islands entirely powered by renewable energy - Imagina les illes totalment impulsades amb (o per) energies renovables
Climate-change apathy is driven by fear and resentment - L'apatia en el canvi climàtic és produïda per la por i el ressentiment
Alarmed by his behaviour, we immediately called the doctor - Alarmats pel seu comportament, de seguida vam trucar al metge
The best way to teach is by example - La millor forma d'ensenyar és amb l'exemple
5. [transport] amb
We travelled from Phoenix to Las Vegas by car - Vam viatjar des de Phoenix a Las Vegas amb cotxe
The only possible way of entering Peru by train is from Chile - L'única forma possible d'entrar al Perú amb tren és des de Xile
6. [manera] per / amb
Some people still insist on paying by cheque at the supermarket - Algunes persones encara insisteixen de pagar amb xec al supermercat
They met by chance - Es van trobar per casualitat
7. [mesura] per
I normally buy eggs by the dozen - Normalment compro els ous per dotzenes
At our local market, it is possible to buy mango(e)s by the crate - Al nostre mercat municipal es poden comprar mangos per caixes
The room is 2 metres by 3 metres - L'habitació fa 2 metres per 3 (metres)
Their team is behind by three points - El seu equip perd per tres punts
8. [by + gerundi] gerundi / en (o per) + infinitiu
Please support our work by making a donation - Doneu suport a la nostra feina fent-nos una donació
Earn money by referring people to Amazon - Guanyeu diners adreçant gent a Amazon
Joseph's reply starts by pointing to the results of our last survey - La resposta d'en Josep comença tot referint-se als resultats de la nostra darrera enquesta
The cat got her tail burnt by lying too close to the fire - El gat es va encendre la cua en / per jaure massa aprop del foc
9. [segons] per
The lists of books are sorted alphabetically by author - Les llistes de llibres estan classificades alfabèticament per autor
The papers can be browsed by publication date - Els textos poden ser fullejats per data de publicació
You can search the results by town, state or zip code - Podeu cercar els resultats per ciutat, estat o codi postal
10. [moviment] per davant de / prop de
The meteor passed by the Moon two days ago - Fa dos dies el meteorit passà per davant de (o prop de) la lluna
Suddenly, three soldiers ran / walked / stumbled by our front door - De sobte tres soldats passaven caminant / corrent / entrebancant-se per davant la porta de casa nostra
adv
passant un cert punt en l'espai o en el temps
They waved to us as we passed by - Ens han saludat (amb la mà) mentra passàvem
