12-letter words containing a, b, o, i
- boarding out — the local-authority practice of placing a client in a foster family or voluntary establishment and paying for it
- boardsailing — windsurfing
- boatbuilding — Boatbuilding is the craft or industry of making boats.
- boating lake — a lake in a park where rowing boats can be hired
- boating trip — a trip or holiday in a boat such as a sailing boat or canal boat
- boatsmanship — seamanship as applied to boats, especially rowboats and motorboats.
- body fascism — intolerance of those whose bodies do not conform to a particular view of what is desirable
- body repairs — repairs to the bodywork of cars
- bodyboarding — the sport of surfing using a bodyboard
- boilermaking — metal-working in heavy industry; plating or welding
- boletic acid — fumaric acid.
- bombay hills — a row of hills marking the southern boundary of greater Auckland on the North Island, New Zealand
- bond washing — a series of deals in bonds made with the intention of avoiding taxation
- boniface iii — pope a.d. 607.
- boniface vii — antipope a.d. 974, 984–985.
- boogie board — a small, flexible plastic surfboard, ridden lying down.
- boolean ring — a nonempty collection of sets having the properties that the union of two sets of the collection is a set in the collection and that the relative complement of each set with respect to any other set is in the collection.
- boomeranging — a bent or curved piece of tough wood used by the Australian Aborigines as a throwing club, one form of which can be thrown so as to return to the thrower.
- born-digital — relating to or noting documents, images, etc., that are created and managed in electronic form: electronic preservation of born-digital content; a born-digital e-book that will not be available in print.
- borosilicate — a salt of boric and silicic acids
- botticellian — Sandro [san-droh,, sahn-;; Italian sahn-draw] /ˈsæn droʊ,, ˈsɑn-;; Italian ˈsɑn drɔ/ (Show IPA), (Alessandro di Mariano dei Filipepi) 1444?–1510, Italian painter.
- boudin blanc — a boiled sausage made with light-colored meat, as veal or chicken, and without blood
- bougainville — an island in the W Pacific, in Papua New Guinea: the largest of the Solomon Islands: unilaterally declared independence in 1990; occupied by government troops in 1992, and granted autonomy in 2001. Chief town: Kieta. Area: 10 049 sq km (3880 sq miles)
- boulangerite — a bluish lead-gray mineral, lead antimony sulfide, Pb 5 Sb 4 S 11 , a minor ore of lead.
- boulevardier — (originally in Paris) a fashionable man, esp one who frequents public places
- bowling ball — a round, heavy ball for bowling, usually made of hard rubber or plastic, with holes drilled into it for the bowler's thumb and two fingers.
- box magazine — a rectangular cartridge holder in a submachine or light machine gun.
- boxing match — a competition between two boxers
- braggadocios — empty boasting; bragging.
- brain tumour — a tumour that is situated in the brain
- brainstormer — a person who brainstorms
- branch point — Electricity. a point in an electric network at which three or more conductors meet.
- bring action — to start a lawsuit
- bring around — If you bring someone around when they are unconscious, you make them become conscious again.
- bring to bay — to force into a position from which retreat is impossible
- brisbane box — a broad-leaved evergreen tree, Tristania conferta, native to Australia, having a deciduous outer bark.
- broad-minded — If you describe someone as broad-minded, you approve of them because they are willing to accept types of behaviour which other people consider immoral.
- broadcasting — Broadcasting is the making and sending out of television and radio programmes.
- brown bag it — to bring (one's own liquor) to a restaurant or club, especially one that has no liquor license.
- buccolingual — of or relating to the cheek and tongue.
- bud mutation — a variation produced by a genetic alteration in the bud such that the seeds produced by the resulting growth perpetuate the change in succeeding generations.
- buenos aires — the capital of Argentina, a major port and industrial city on the Río de la Plata estuary: became capital in 1880; university (1821). Pop: 13 349 000 (2005 est)
- buffalo bill — nickname of William Frederick Cody. 1846–1917, US showman who toured Europe and the US with his famous Wild West Show
- buffalo bird — a cowbird, Molothrus ater, of North America.
- buffalo fish — any of a genus (Ictiobus) of large, humpbacked, freshwater sucker fishes found in North America
- bunco artist — a confidence trickster or con artist
- buoyancy aid — a type of usually foam-filled lifejacket designed for use in sports such as canoeing
- bur marigold — any plant of the genus Bidens that has yellow flowers and pointed fruits that cling to fur and clothing: family Asteraceae (composites)
- burial mound — a barrow
- burkina faso — an inland republic in W Africa: dominated by Mossi kingdoms (10th–19th centuries); French protectorate established in 1896; became an independent republic in 1960; consists mainly of a flat savanna plateau. Official language: French; Mossi and other African languages also widely spoken. Religion: mostly animist, with a large Muslim minority. Currency: franc. Capital: Ouagadougou. Pop: 17 812 961 (2013 est). Area: 273 200 sq km (105 900 sq miles)