12-letter words containing a, b, n, e
- belaying pin — a cylindrical, sometimes tapered pin, usually of metal or wood, that fits into a hole in a pin or fife rail: used for belaying
- beleaguering — to surround with military forces.
- belgian hare — a large red breed of domestic rabbit
- bell captain — a person in charge of a group of bellhops
- bell gardens — a town in SW California, near Los Angeles.
- belly dancer — A belly dancer is a woman who performs a Middle Eastern dance in which she moves her hips and abdomen about.
- belly-aching — Informal. a pain in the abdomen or bowels.
- ben franklin — Aretha [uh-ree-thuh] /əˈri θə/ (Show IPA), born 1942, U.S. singer.
- bench-warmer — a substitute who rarely gets to play in a game.
- benchmarking — In business, benchmarking is a process in which a company compares its products and methods with those of the most successful companies in its field, in order to try to improve its own performance.
- benefactress — a female benefactor
- beneficially — conferring benefit; advantageous; helpful: the beneficial effect of sunshine.
- beneficiated — to treat (ore) to make more suitable for smelting.
- bengal light — a firework or flare that burns with a steady bright blue light, formerly used as a signal
- bengal tiger — a large tiger found in S. Asia
- benzal group — the bivalent group C 7 H 6 –, derived from benzaldehyde.
- benzaldehyde — a yellowish fragrant volatile oil occurring in almond kernels and used in the manufacture of dyes, perfumes, and flavourings and as a solvent for oils and resins. Formula: C6H5CHO
- benzoapyrene — a carcinogenic chemical in tobacco smoke
- benzoic acid — a white crystalline solid occurring in many natural resins, used in the manufacture of benzoates, plasticizers, and dyes and as a food preservative (E210). Formula: C6H5COOH
- bequeathment — to dispose of (personal property, especially money) by last will: She bequeathed her half of the company to her niece.
- bernese alps — a mountain range in SW Switzerland, the N central part of the Alps. Highest peak: Finsteraarhorn, 4274 m (14 022 ft)
- bernina alps — a mountain group in SE Switzerland, extending from the Rhateian Alps on the Italian border. Highest peak, Piz Bernina, 13,304 feet (4055 meters).
- bernina pass — a pass in the Alps between SE Switzerland and N Italy, east of Piz Bernina. Height: 2323 m (7622 ft)
- beta orionis — Rigel
- beta testing — (programming) Evaluation of a pre-release (potentially unreliable) version of a piece of software (or possibly hardware) by making it available to selected users ("beta testers") before it goes on general distribution. Beta testign aims to discover bugs that only occur in certain environments or under certain patterns of use, while reducing the volume of feedback to a manageable level. The testers benefit by having earlier access to new products, features and fixes. Beta testing may be preceded by "alpha testing", performed in-house by a handful of users (e.g. other developers or friends), who can be expected to give rapid, high quality feedback on design and usability. Once the product is considered to be usable for its intended purpose it then moves on to "beta testing" by a larger, but typically still limited, number of ordinary users, who may include external customers. Some companies such as Google or Degree Jungle stretch the definition, claiming their products are "in beta" for many months by millions of users. The term derives from early 1960s terminology for product cycle checkpoints, first used at IBM but later standard throughout the industry. "Alpha test" was the unit test, module test or component test phase; "Beta Test" was initial system test. These themselves came from earlier A- and B-tests for hardware. The A-test was a feasibility and manufacturability evaluation done before any commitment to design and development. The B-test was a demonstration that the engineering model functioned as specified. The C-test (corresponding to today's beta) was the B-test performed on early samples of the production design.
- beta version — beta testing
- betacarotene — the most important form of the plant pigment carotene, which occurs in milk, vegetables, and other foods and, when eaten by man and animals, is converted in the body to vitamin A
- betanaphthol — a colorless, crystalline isomer of naphthol, C10H8O, used as an antiseptic and parasiticide
- betweenbrain — the posterior part of the forebrain
- beurre blanc — an emulsion of cold butter in a white wine or vinegar and shallot reduction
- beurre manie — butterpaste.
- beyond reach — inaccessible
- bhubaneshwar — a state in E India. 60,136 sq. mi. (155,752 sq. km). Capital: Bhubaneshwar.
- bible banger — Bible-thumper.
- bible-banger — Bible-thumper.
- bicentennial — A bicentennial is the same as a bicentenary.
- bid defiance — to resist boldly
- bien pensant — a right-thinking person
- billingsgate — the largest fish market in London, on the N bank of the River Thames; moved to new site at Canary Wharf in 1982 and the former building converted into offices
- bimillennial — relating to a bimillennium
- binge eating — the practice of eating excessive amounts of food over a short period of time
- bingo caller — the person who shouts out the numbers to bingo players
- biomagnetics — the study of magnetic fields as a form of therapy
- biomagnetism — animal magnetism.
- biomechanics — the study of the mechanics of the movement of living organisms
- biometrician — a person who is knowledgeable about biometry
- biotechnical — relating to biotechnology
- biparentally — from a biparental point of view
- bipropellant — a rocket propellant consisting of two substances, usually a fuel and an oxidizer
- bird fancier — a person who keeps, breeds, or sells birds