12-letter words containing a, b, s, i, l
- ballet skirt — a full skirt, often made with several layers of fabric, typical of those worn by ballet dancers
- ballet suite — music written for a ballet but suitable or arranged for performance in an orchestral concert.
- balloon sail — a large light bellying sail used in light winds
- 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
- banana split — A banana split is a kind of dessert. It consists of a banana cut in half along its length, with ice cream, nuts, and sauce on top.
- banks island — an island of N Canada, in the Northwest Territories: the westernmost island of the Arctic Archipelago. Area: about 67 340 sq km (26 000 sq miles)
- bargain sale — an event at which goods are sold at low prices, usually to clear old stocks
- barristerial — pertaining to a barrister
- bartlesville — a city in NE Oklahoma.
- base bullion — smelted lead containing impurities, as gold, silver, or zinc, that are later removed.
- basic jovial — (language) A subset of JOVIAL written ca. 1965.
- basic salary — base pay.
- basilic vein — a large vein situated on the inner side of the arm
- basse-taille — of or relating to an enameling technique in which transparent enamels are fused over a background carved in low relief, or to a piece, as of jewelry, so enameled.
- bastard file — a file of the commercial grade of coarseness between coarse and second-cut.
- bastille day — (in France) an annual holiday on July 14, commemorating the fall of the Bastille
- bathophilous — (of an organism) living in very deep water
- battlefields — Plural form of battlefield.
- beaconsfield — a town in SE England, in Buckinghamshire. Pop: 12 292 (2001)
- beamsplitter — Alternative spelling of beam splitter.
- beautifulest — (dated) Most beautiful; more beautiful than anyone or anything else.
- bed of nails — a situation or position of extreme difficulty
- bedside lamp — a lamp beside a bed
- below stairs — People sometimes use below stairs to refer to the servants in a rich household and the things that are connected with them.
- 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).
- bib overalls — overall (def 3a).
- bicameralism — having two branches, chambers, or houses, as a legislative body.
- bidialectism — proficient in or using two dialects of the same language.
- bilateralism — the practice of being bilateral
- bilharziasis — schistosomiasis
- bilingualism — Bilingualism is the ability to speak two languages equally well.
- bill of sale — a deed transferring personal property, either outright or as security for a loan or debt
- 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
- biosatellite — an artificial satellite for carrying living organisms
- bitter aloes — a bitter purgative drug made from the leaves of several species of aloe
- bitter lakes — two lakes, the Great Bitter Lake and Little Bitter Lake in NE Egypt: part of the Suez Canal
- black muslim — a member of the Black Muslims
- blandishment — the act of blandishing; cajolery
- blastocoelic — of or relating to the blastocoel
- blastulation — the process of blastula formation
- blatherskite — a talkative silly person
- blazing star — a North American liliaceous plant, Chamaelirium luteum, with a long spike of small white flowers
- blind casing — (in a box window frame) a rough framework to which the trim is secured.
- bliss carman — (William) Bliss, 1861–1929, Canadian poet and journalist in the U.S.
- blister pack — a type of packet in which small items are displayed and sold, consisting of a transparent dome of plastic or similar material mounted on a firm backing such as cardboard
- block island — an island off the coast of and a part of Rhode Island, at the E entrance to Long Island Sound.
- block signal — a fixed railroad signal governing the movements of trains entering and using a given section of track.
- blood spavin — a disease of the hock joint of horses in which enlargement occurs because of collected fluids (bog spavin) bony growth (bone spavin) or distention of the veins (blood spavin)
- bloodstained — Someone or something that is bloodstained is covered with blood.
- blue catfish — a large freshwater catfish, Ictalurus furcatus, that is a popular food fish in the states of the Mississippi River valley.