13-letter words containing a, b, t, e
- barytocalcite — a mineral, double carbonate of calcium and barium, CaCO 3 ⋅BaCO 3 , usually found in veins of lead minerals.
- base hospital — a hospital serving a large rural area
- baseline cost — the projected cost for an undertaking at the time it is budgeted
- basement flat — a flat below the ground floor of a building
- basement-rock — the undifferentiated assemblage of rock (basement rock) underlying the oldest stratified rocks in any region: usually crystalline, metamorphosed, and mostly, but not necessarily, Precambrian in age.
- 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
- basket clause — an all-inclusive or comprehensive clause in a contract
- basket dinner — a group social gathering, as of church members, to which participants contribute casseroles or other dishes to share.
- basket flower — a composite plant, Centaurea americana, of central U.S. to Mexico, having raylike heads of tubular rose-colored flowers, each surrounded by a whorl of bracts making the flower head appear as if it is set in a basket.
- bass clarinet — a clarinet with the lowest range, in the octave below the B-flat clarinet
- bass trombone — the lower-pitched of the two main types of trombone
- 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)
- bastard amber — a color of gelatin commonly used in stage lighting, similar to light amber but having a pinkish cast.
- 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.
- bat-eared fox — a fox, Vulpes chama, inhabiting dry areas of southern Africa and having large pointed ears, silvery gray coat, and a bushy tail with a black tip.
- batch-process — to perform batch processing on (files)
- bathtub curve — Common term for the curve (resembling an end-to-end section of one of those claw-footed antique bathtubs) that describes the expected failure rate of electronics with time: initially high, dropping to near 0 for most of the system's lifetime, then rising again as it "tires out". See also burn-in period, infant mortality.
- bathylimnetic — (of an organism) living in the depths of lakes and marshes
- baton twirler — someone who twirls a baton, esp a drum major or majorette
- battered wife — See under battered woman syndrome.
- battering ram — A battering ram is a long heavy piece of wood that is used to knock down the locked doors of buildings.
- battering-ram — an ancient military device with a heavy horizontal ram for battering down walls, gates, etc.
- batting order — the sequence in which hitters will bat in a given game, determined in advance by the team manager.
- battle it out — If one group or person battles it out with another, they take part in a fight or contest against each other until one of them wins or a definite result is reached. You can also say that two groups or two people battle it out.
- battle jacket — a closefitting jacket reaching to the waist
- 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.
- battlegrounds — Plural form of battleground.
- bay of plenty — a large bay of the Pacific on the NE coast of the North Island, New Zealand
- be nuts about — to be greatly in love with
- 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
- be wild about — If you are wild about someone or something, you like them very much.
- beacon status — a ranking awarded by the government to an organization, rendering it eligible for extra funding, and aimed at encouraging organizations to share good practice with each other
- beaking joint — a straight joint made by several members, as strips of flooring, ending at the same line.
- beam splitter — a system that divides a beam of light, electrons, etc, into two or more paths
- bear the palm — to be the winner; take the prize
- bearing plate — a heavy metal plate for receiving and distributing concentrated weight, as from a column or one end of a truss.
- beast of prey — any animal that hunts other animals for food
- beat sb to it — If you intend to do something but someone beats you to it, they do it before you do.
- beat the band — a company of persons or, sometimes, animals or things, joined, acting, or functioning together; aggregation; party; troop: a band of protesters.
- beat the drum — a musical percussion instrument consisting of a hollow, usually cylindrical, body covered at one or both ends with a tightly stretched membrane, or head, which is struck with the hand, a stick, or a pair of sticks, and typically produces a booming, tapping, or hollow sound.
- beatification — a beatifying or being beatified
- beauteousness — The state or quality of being beauteous.
- 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.
- beauty editor — the person in charge of a section of newspaper or magazine devoted to cosmetics, etc
- beauty parlor — A beauty parlor is a place where women can go to have beauty treatments, for example, to have their hair, nails, or makeup done.
- beaux esprits — bel esprit
- beaux-esprits — plural of bel-esprit.