Word.ws English Dictionary

bc

/biːˈsiː/

bc is the initialism of Before Christ.

bc is the abbreviation of because.

bc is the abbreviation of basso continuo.

bc is the initialism of bodycam.

bc is the initialism of blind carbon copy.

Meaning of because

Conjunction

because

  1. By or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that.
    • I hid myself because I was afraid.
    Synonyms:
    therefore
  2. As is known, inferred, or determined from the fact that.
    • It must be broken, because I pressed the button and nothing happened.
  3. (obsolete) So that, in order that.
    • Simon[…]set the house on fire where he was born, because nobody should point at it.1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II...

See all 7 meanings of because

Meaning of basso continuo

Noun

basso continuo (usually uncountable, plural basso continuos)

  1. (usually) The continuous realization of harmony throughout a musical piece, usually by a harpsichord and/or cello, typical of the Baroque period. Abbreviation: bc.
    Synonyms:
    bc, continuo

Adverb capitalized: BC

IPA/ˌbiːˈsiː/

BC (not comparable)

  1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of Before Christ.
    • The Han Dynasty ruled China from 206 BC to AD 220.
    • [...]Hi vang, King of Yen and of Corea, was defeated, taken and killed in the Year 259 before the Birth of Chriſt, according to the Chineſe Hiſtory, and Tſin vang was acknowledged for Emperor of all China by the Name of Tſin chi hoang ti.[1739 [1735], P. Du Halde, “Geographical Obſervations on the Kingdom of Corea”, in The General History Of China, 2nd edition, volume IV, →OCLC, page 388
    Synonyms:
    BCE

Proper noun capitalized: BC

IPA/ˌbiːˈsiː/

BC

  1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of British Columbia: a province of Canada.
  2. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of Baja California: a state of Mexico.
  3. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of Boston College.
  4. (Philippines, abbreviation, initialism, chiefly Baguio) Initialism of Baguio City.

Noun capitalized: BC

IPA/ˌbiːˈsiː/

BC (countable and uncountable, plural BCs)

  1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of birth control.
  2. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of benzalkonium chloride.
  3. (US, abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of battlecruiser.
  4. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of backward compatibility.
    • This would be a BC-breaking change.
  5. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of border collie.
  6. (abbreviation, initialism, often) Initialism of borough council.

Adjective capitalized: BC

IPA/ˌbiːˈsiː/

BC (not comparable)

  1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of board-certified.

Synonyms of bc

Antonyms

Forms of bc

pluralBCs

Origin of bc

Calque of Latin ante Christum, popularized with the 1627 publication of De doctrina temporum by French theologian Denis Pétau.

Words formed from bc

Phrases with bc

Words that rhyme with bc

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about bc

What is bc the initialism of?
Bc is the initialism of Before Christ.
What part of speech is bc?
Bc can be an adverb, a proper noun, a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce bc?
Bc is pronounced /biːˈsiː/.

Words near bc in the dictionary

  1. BBSWs
  2. BBT
  3. BBW
  4. BBWs
  5. bby
  6. bc
  7. BC Coast
  8. BC Interior
  9. BCA
  10. BCAA
  11. BCAAs

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: bc (page history and authors); BC (page history and authors); because (page history and authors); basso continuo (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-bc.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-BC.wav.

Cite this entry: “bc.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/bc. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.