13-letter words containing a, b, s, i
- bandspreading — an additional tuning control in some radio receivers whereby a selected narrow band of frequencies can be spread over a wider frequency band, in order to give finer control of tuning
- banister back — a back of a chair or the like, usually having semicircular spindles between the top rail and the cross rail or seat.
- bank discount — interest on a loan deducted from the principal amount when the loan is made and based on the loan's face value
- bank of issue — a bank, as a Federal Reserve Bank, empowered by a government to issue currency.
- banker's bill — a banknote
- banking hours — the hours during which a bank is open for business
- banking house — a more formal term for a bank
- bantamweights — Plural form of bantamweight.
- bar billiards — a table game in pubs, etc, in which short cues are used to pocket balls into holes scoring various points and guarded by wooden pegs that incur penalties if they are knocked over
- barbarossa ii — (Khair ed-Din) c1466–1546, Barbary pirate, born in Greece (brother of Barbarossa I).
- barber's itch — any of various fungal infections of the bearded portion of the neck and face
- barley stripe — a disease of barley, characterized by blighted heads and chlorotic, brown, or frayed stripes on the leaves, caused by a fungus, Helminthosporium gramineum.
- barnsbreaking — noisy and exuberant activity; boisterous mischief-making
- barosinusitis — aerosinusitis.
- barred spiral — a spiral galaxy in which the arms originate at the ends of a bar-shaped nucleus
- barrier-nurse — to tend (infectious patients) in isolation, to prevent the spread of infection
- barristership — the office of a barrister
- bartholinitis — Inflammation of Bartholin's cyst.
- basal ganglia — the thalamus together with other closely related masses of grey matter, situated near the base of the brain
- base hospital — a hospital serving a large rural area
- baseline cost — the projected cost for an undertaking at the time it is budgeted
- basic english — a simplified form of English, proposed by C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards, containing a vocabulary of approximately 850 of the commonest English words, intended as an international language
- basic fortran — (language) A subset of Fortran.
- basic plumage — the plumage assumed by an adult bird at its complete, usually annual, molt.
- basic process — Military. basic training. a soldier or airman receiving basic training.
- basidiomycete — any fungus of the phylum Basidiomycota (formerly class Basidiomycetes), in which the spores are produced in basidia. The group includes boletes, puffballs, smuts, and rusts
- basidiospores — Plural form of basidiospore.
- basket dinner — a group social gathering, as of church members, to which participants contribute casseroles or other dishes to share.
- basking shark — a very large plankton-eating shark, Cetorhinus maximus, often floating at the sea surface: family Cetorhinidae
- bass clarinet — a clarinet with the lowest range, in the octave below the B-flat clarinet
- bass-baritone — a singer or voice in the bass range with baritone qualities
- bassenthwaite — a lake in NW England, in Cumbria near Keswick. Length: 6 km (4 miles)
- basso rilievo — bas-relief
- basso-relievo — bas-relief
- bastard eigne — the first-born illegitimate son of parents whose second son was legitimate.
- bastard title — half title (def 1).
- bastard-title — Also called bastard title. the first printed page of certain books, appearing after the end papers and before the title page and containing only the title of the book.
- batan islands — a group of islands in the Philippines, north of Luzon. Capital: Basco. Pop: 16 467 (2000). Area: 197 sq km (76 sq miles)
- battlecruiser — A large warship of a type built in the early 20th century, carrying similar armament to a battleship but faster and more lightly armored.
- bay of biscay — a large bay of the Atlantic Ocean between W France and N Spain: notorious for storms
- be upstanding — (in a court of law) a direction to all persons present to rise to their feet before the judge enters or leaves the court
- beam splitter — a system that divides a beam of light, electrons, etc, into two or more paths
- bearing sword — a large sword carried for its owner by a squire or servant because of its size.
- beat sb to it — If you intend to do something but someone beats you to it, they do it before you do.
- beautifulness — having beauty; possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind: a beautiful dress; a beautiful speech.
- beaux esprits — bel esprit
- beaux-esprits — plural of bel-esprit.
- bedside table — a small table beside a bed
- beehive state — Utah (used as a nickname).
- beggar's-lice — any of several plants, esp the stickseed, having small prickly fruits that adhere to clothing, fur, etc