14-letter words containing a, b, d, s
- dissociability — Lack of sociability; unsociableness.
- distributaries — Plural form of distributary.
- distributional — an act or instance of distributing.
- do a slow burn — If someone does a slow burn, their angry feelings grow slowly but steadily.
- dodecasyllabic — consisting of or pertaining to 12 syllables.
- dodecasyllable — a word or line of verse containing 12 syllables.
- domestic abuse — physical or mental abuse towards a member of one's own household
- double bassoon — a bassoon an octave lower in pitch than the ordinary bassoon: the largest and deepest-toned instrument of the oboe class; contrabassoon.
- double harness — harness for a pair of horses.
- double measure — A double measure is a drink that is twice the normal measure.
- double spacing — text layout: extra space between lines
- doubly serrate — biserrate
- dragon's blood — a deep-red, water-insoluble resin exuding from the fruit of a palm, Daemonorops draco, of the Malay Archipelago, used chiefly in the preparation of varnishes and in photoengraving for protecting certain areas of the metal plate from the acid.
- drainage basin — the area drained by a river and all its tributaries. Also called catchment area, drainage area. Compare watershed (def 2).
- draughts board — A draughts board is a square board for playing draughts, with 64 equal-sized, black and white squares.
- draw the crabs — to attract unwelcome attention
- dressing table — a table or stand, usually surmounted by a mirror, in front of which a person sits while dressing, applying makeup, etc.
- drinks cabinet — a cocktail cabinet
- dumbarton oaks — an estate in the District of Columbia: site of conferences held to discuss proposals for creation of the United Nations, August–October, 1944.
- dunbartonshire — a historical county of W Scotland: became part of Strathclyde region in 1975; administered since 1996 by the council areas of East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire
- dungeness crab — an edible crab, Cancer magister, of shallow Pacific coastal waters from northern California to Alaska.
- expansion bend — a loop in a pipe conveying hot fluid that provides flexibility which takes up thermal expansion and thus reduces temperature-induced stress in the pipe to an acceptable level
- flabberghasted — Simple past tense and past participle of flabberghast.
- flat-bed press — a printing press in which a flat bed holding the printing form moves against a rotating cylinder that carries the paper.
- formidableness — The quality of being formidable.
- fraise du bois — a wild strawberry.
- free as a bird — really free
- gambling debts — debts acquired as a result of money spent gambling
- garden rubbish — organic refuse generated by gardening
- girls' brigade — (in Britain) an organization for girls, founded in 1893, with the aim of promoting self-discipline and self-respect
- grylloblattids — Plural form of grylloblattid.
- gyrostabilized — stabilized by means of a gyrostabilizer.
- haberdasheries — Plural form of haberdashery.
- hair's breadth — A hair's breadth is a very small degree or amount.
- hair's-breadth — a very small space or distance: We escaped an accident by a hairsbreadth.
- half-submerged — under the surface of water or any other enveloping medium; inundated.
- hand's-breadth — handbreadth
- hastings banda — Hastings Kamuzu [kah-moo-zoo] /kɑˈmu zu/ (Show IPA), 1906–97, Malawi physician, political leader, and public official: 1st president of Malawi 1966–94.
- hold sb's hand — If you ask someone to hold your hand at an event that you are worried about, you ask them to support you by being there with you.
- hors de combat — disabled or injured
- hospital board — the group of people responsible for the safe and efficient running of a hospital
- hubbard squash — a variety of winter squash having a green or yellow skin and yellow flesh.
- inadvisability — not advisable; inexpedient; unwise.
- inboard brakes — Inboard brakes are brakes located close to the center of the vehicle rather than at the wheel hub.
- inconsiderable — small, as in value, amount, or size.
- inconsiderably — To an inconsiderable degree.
- indecomposable — incapable of being decomposed.
- indemonstrable — not demonstrable; incapable of being demonstrated or proved.
- indemonstrably — In a way that cannot be demonstrated.
- indestructable — Misspelling of indestructible.