12-letter words containing a, b, o
- backboneless — lacking backbone; cowardly
- backcourtman — any of the players stationed in the backcourt; a guard
- backcrossing — (genetics) The crossing of a hybrid with one of its parents or an individual genetically similar to its parent.
- backgrounded — Simple past tense and past participle of background.
- backgrounder — A backgrounder is a short article in a newspaper or magazine that provides background information about a particular subject.
- backroom boy — You can refer to a man as a backroom boy when he does important work in an organization and has good ideas but is not seen or known about by the public.
- backsolution — The process or result of backsolving.
- backstopping — a wall, wire screen, or the like, serving to prevent a ball from going too far beyond the normal playing area.
- backswordman — a person who uses a backsword.
- backwoodsman — Backwoodsmen are people, especially politicians, who like the old ways of doing things, or who are involved in an organization at a local level.
- backwoodsmen — Plural form of backwoodsman.
- bacon-slicer — a machine for cutting bacon into slices
- bacteriocide — Alternative form of bactericide.
- bacteriology — Bacteriology is the science and the study of bacteria.
- bacteriostat — any substance that arrests the growth or reproduction of bacteria but does not kill them
- bad scran to — bad luck to
- baden-powell — Robert Stephenson Smyth (smɪθ, smaɪθ), 1st Baron Baden-Powell. 1857–1941, British general, noted for his defence of Mafeking (1899–1900) in the Boer War; founder of the Boy Scouts (1908) and (with his sister Agnes) the Girl Guides (1910)
- baffle board — a plate or mechanical device designed to restrain or regulate the flow of a fluid, the emission of light or sound, or the distribution of sound, esp in a loudspeaker or microphone
- bagworm moth — any moth of the family Psychidae
- baked potato — a large potato baked in its skin
- baker's oven — an oven used esp for baking bread
- baklava code — (humour, programming) Code with too many layers. Also known as Lasagne Code.
- ball control — the skill of controlling the ball in a game such as football or tennis
- ball of fire — a very lively person
- ballad opera — an opera consisting of popular tunes to which appropriate words have been set, interspersed with spoken dialogue
- balladmonger — (formerly) a seller of ballads, esp on broadsheets
- balletomanes — Plural form of balletomane.
- balletomania — passionate enthusiasm for ballet
- balloon loan — a loan in respect of which interest and capital are paid off in instalments at irregular intervals
- balloon sail — a large light bellying sail used in light winds
- balloon seat — (on some 18th-century chairs) a seat having an outline resembling that of a bell.
- balloon tire — a wide, deep-walled pneumatic tire with relatively low air pressure to lessen the shock of bumps
- balloon tyre — a pneumatic tyre containing air at a relatively low pressure and having a wide tread
- balloon vine — a tropical tendril-climbing sapindaceous plant, Cardiospermum halicacabum, cultivated for its ornamental balloon-like seed capsules
- ballot paper — A ballot paper is a piece of paper on which you indicate your choice or opinion in an election or ballot.
- ballottement — a technique of feeling for a movable object in the body, esp confirmation of pregnancy by feeling the rebound of the fetus following a quick digital tap on the wall of the uterus
- balsamaceous — any of various fragrant exudations from certain trees, especially trees of the genus Commiphora, as balm-of-Gilead. Compare balm (def 1).
- balto-slavic — the Baltic and Slavic languages, when considered as constituting a subfamily within the Indo-European family of languages: the Baltic and Slavic branches are now generally considered by scholars as independently derived from Indo-European
- banalization — the process of becoming or making something banal
- band of hope — a society promoting lifelong abstention from alcohol among young people: founded in Britain in 1847
- banderillero — a bullfighter's assistant who sticks banderillas into the bull
- bandoneonist — One who plays the bandoneon.
- bank account — A bank account is an arrangement with a bank which allows you to keep your money in the bank and to take some out when you need it.
- bank deposit — money placed in a bank account
- bank holiday — A bank holiday is a public holiday.
- bank robbery — theft from a bank
- bank swallow — a swallow, Riparia riparia, of the Northern Hemisphere, that nests in tunnels dug in sand or clay banks.
- banksia rose — a climbing rose, Rosa banksiae, native to China, having long, serrated leaves and white or yellow flowers.
- banner cloud — a plume-shaped cloud extending downwind from an isolated mountain peak. Also called cloud banner. Compare cap cloud (def 1).
- banquet room — A banquet room is a room in a hotel where large formal meals for many people can be held.