bc

B3C3
/biːˈsiː//ˌbiːˈsiː/

Initialism of Before Christ.

Similar
bcsBCEB.C.before Christ
Opposite
a.d.ADCE
OriginLatin ante Christum →
Very commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

bc1

adverb
  1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Before Christ.
conjunction
  1. InternetabbreviationAbbreviation of because.

    Had the cutest elderly man come for a hairy today, told me he had to put his glasses on for the photos bc thy ^([sic]) made him look better

    2018 May 15, Madison Hair (@madisonhair__), “Madison Hair on Instagram”, in Instagram

    Synonyms: bcs

noun
  1. abbreviationentertainmentAbbreviation of basso continuo.
  2. abbreviationinitialismgovernmentInitialism of bodycam.
  3. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of blind carbon copy.

BC2

adverbBC (not comparable)
  1. abbreviationinitialismnot comparableInitialism of Before Christ.

    The Han Dynasty ruled China from 206 BC to AD 220.

    1 more example

    [...]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

BC3

proper noun
  1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of British Columbia: a province of Canada.
  2. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Baja California: a state of Mexico.
  3. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Boston College.
  4. Philippinesabbreviationinitialismchiefly BaguioInitialism of Baguio City.
nounBC (countable and uncountable, plural BCs)

plural BCs

  1. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableInitialism of birth control.
  2. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablechemistryInitialism of benzalkonium chloride.
  3. USabbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablegovernmentInitialism of battlecruiser.
  4. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablecomputingInitialism of backward compatibility.

    This would be a BC-breaking change.

  5. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableInitialism of border collie.
  6. abbreviationcountableinitialismoftenuncountablelawInitialism of borough council.
adjectiveBC (not comparable)
  1. abbreviationinitialismnot comparablemedicineInitialism of board-certified.

Synonyms & antonyms

More synonyms by meaning

adverbbefore the Christian era; used following dates before the supposed year Christ was born

Similar
B.C.before Christ
Also see
acbasso continuobolt circlebritish columbia

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinante Christum
  2. EnglishBC

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

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic ق. م., قَبْلَ الْمِيلَاد
  • ق. م. (q. m.)before Christ — see also BCE
  • قَبْلَ الْمِيلَاد (qabla l-mīlād)before Christ — see also BCE
Bulgarian пр. Хр.
  • пр. Хр. (pr. Hr.)before Christ — see also BCE
Catalan aC
  • aCbefore Christ — see also BCE
Chinese Cantonese 公元前, 主前
  • 公元前 (gung¹ jyun⁴ cin⁴)before Christ — see also BCE
  • 主前 (zyu² cin⁴)before Christ — see also BCE
Chinese Mandarin 公元前, 主前
  • 公元前 (gōngyuánqián)before Christ — see also BCE
  • 主前 (zhǔqián)before Christ — see also BCE
  • 紀元前 /纪元前 (jìyuánqián)before Christ — see also BCE
Danish f.Kr. (før Kristus)
  • f.Kr. (før Kristus)before Christ — see also BCE
Dutch v. Chr. (voor Christus)
  • v. Chr. (voor Christus)before Christ — see also BCE
Esperanto a.K. (antaŭ Kristo)
  • a.K. (antaŭ Kristo)before Christ — see also BCE
Finnish eKr. (ennen Kristusta / ennen Kristuksen syntymää)
  • eKr. (ennen Kristusta / ennen Kristuksen syntymää)before Christ — see also BCE
French av. J.-C., av. JC (avant Jésus-Christ)
  • av. J.-C.before Christ — see also BCE
  • av. JC (avant Jésus-Christ)before Christ — see also BCE
  • av. n. è.before Christ — see also BCE
  • avant notre èrebefore Christ — see also BCE
German v. Chr. (vor Christus, vor Christo)
  • v. Chr. (vor Christus, vor Christo)before Christ — see also BCE
Greek π.Χ.
  • π.Χ. (p.Ch.)before Christ — see also BCE
Hebrew לפנה״ס
  • לפנה״סbefore Christ — see also BCE
Hindi ई॰पू॰, ई.पू.
  • ई॰पू॰ (ī.pū.)before Christ — see also BCE
  • ई.पू. (ī.pū.)before Christ — see also BCE
Hungarian Kr. e. (Krisztus előtt)
  • Kr. e. (Krisztus előtt)before Christ — see also BCE
Icelandic f.Kr.
  • f.Kr.before Christ — see also BCE
Indonesian SM (Sebelum Masehi)
  • SM (Sebelum Masehi)before Christ — see also BCE
Italian a.C.
  • a.C.before Christ — see also BCE
Japanese 紀元前
  • 紀元前 (kigenzen)before Christ — see also BCE
Korean 기원전
  • 기원전 (giwonjeon)before Christ — see also BCE
Latin a. C., [older] a. Chr. n. / a. C. (ante Christum natum)
  • a. C.before Christ — see also BCE
  • [older] a. Chr. n. / a. C. (ante Christum natum)before Christ — see also BCE
Malay SM (Sebelum Masihi)
  • SM (Sebelum Masihi)before Christ — see also BCE
Norwegian Bokmål f.Kr. (før Kristi fødsel)
  • f.Kr. (før Kristi fødsel)before Christ — see also BCE
Polish przed Chr. (przed Chrystusem), [obsolete] p.n.Chr. (przed narodzeniem Chrystusa)
  • przed Chr. (przed Chrystusem)before Christ — see also BCE
  • [obsolete] p.n.Chr. (przed narodzeniem Chrystusa)before Christ — see also BCE
Portuguese a.C., A.C.
  • a.C.before Christ — see also BCE
  • A.C.before Christ — see also BCE
Romanian î.Hr. (înainte de Hristos)
  • î.Hr. (înainte de Hristos)before Christ — see also BCE
Russian до Р. Хр., до н. э.
  • до Р. Хр.before Christ — see also BCE
  • до н. э.before Christ — see also BCE
  • до на́шей э́ры (do nášej éry)before Christ — see also BCE
Scottish Gaelic RC (ro Chrìosda)
  • RC (ro Chrìosda)before Christ — see also BCE
Spanish a. de J. C. (antes de Jesucristo), a. C.
  • a. de J. C. (antes de Jesucristo)before Christ — see also BCE
  • a. C.before Christ — see also BCE
  • a. de C.before Christ — see also BCE
Swahili KK (kabla ya Kristo)
  • KK (kabla ya Kristo)before Christ — see also BCE
Swedish f.Kr. (före Kristus)
  • f.Kr. (före Kristus)before Christ — see also BCE
Tagalog U.K. (Una kay Kristo)
  • U.K. (Una kay Kristo)before Christ — see also BCE
Turkish MÖ (Milattan önce)
  • MÖ (Milattan önce)before Christ — see also BCE
Ukrainian до Р. Хр., до н. е.
  • до Р. Хр.before Christ — see also BCE
  • до н. е.before Christ — see also BCE
  • до на́шої е́ри (do nášoji éry)before Christ — see also BCE
Urdu قبلِ مسیح, قبل از مسیح
  • قبلِ مسیحbefore Christ — see also BCE
  • قبل از مسیحbefore Christ — see also BCE

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with bc

thebewefreeheseeemerebtdshedepgthreevcdkeyzcommitteeiddegree
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

bc. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bc

MLA

“bc.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bc. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bc,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bc.

Source: bc on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.