“Bess”

The following 3 entries include the term Bess.

bess-bug

noun

: any of various gregarious flattened dark-colored beetles constituting a family (Passalidae) and living in decaying wood

See the full definition

brown Bess

noun

: the flintlock smoothbore musket with bronzed barrel that was formerly used in the British army

See the full definition

brown Bess

noun

: prairie wake robin

See the full definition

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tendentious

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

Commonly Misspelled Words Vol. 2 Quiz

  • sequel spelled three ways with the incorrect ways crossed out and the correct spelling circled
  • Rachel seemed to be _____ in every endeavor she started.
Name That Thing

You know what it looks like… but what is it called?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.

You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!

PLAY
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...