13-letter words containing a, b, u, l
- brilliant-cut — a cut intended to enhance the brilliance of a gem with the least possible sacrifice of weight, characterized by a form resembling two pyramids set base to base, truncated so as to give a broad table and a very small culet, and having from 18 to 104 facets, 58 being typical.
- brittany blue — a medium greenish blue.
- brussels lace — a fine lace with a raised or appliqué design
- brutalization — to make brutal.
- bucket ladder — a series of buckets that move in a continuous chain, used to dredge riverbeds, etc, or to excavate land
- bufadienolide — any of a family of steroid lactones, occurring in toad venom and squill, that possess cardiac-stimulating and antitumor activity.
- buffalo berry — a shrub (genus Shepherdia) of the oleaster family, native to W North America, with silvery leaves
- buffalo chips — the dried dung of buffalo used as fuel, especially by early settlers on the western plains.
- buffalo cloth — a heavyweight woolen fabric constructed in twill weave and having a shaggy pile.
- buffalo grass — a short grass, Buchloë dactyloides, growing on the dry plains of the central US
- buffalo grove — a city in NE Illinois.
- buffalo plaid — a plaid with large blocks formed by the intersection of two different-color yarns, typically red and black.
- buffalo wings — spicy fried segments of chicken wings, usually served with celery sticks and a sauce of blue cheese
- building land — land on which construction can take place
- built-up mast — a wooden mast formed of several shaped, longitudinal pieces joined together.
- bulbourethral — of or relating to the rounded mass of tissue surrounding the urethra at the root of the penis.
- bulkhead deck — the uppermost continuous deck in the hull of a vessel, forming watertight compartments with the main transverse bulkheads.
- bull elephant — an adult male elephant
- bullace grape — the thick-skinned musk-scented purple grape produced by this plant: used to make wine
- bullet-headed — with a head shaped like a bullet
- bullhead rail — a rail having a cross section with a bulbous top and bottom, the top being larger
- bully-ragging — to bully; harass: to bullyrag fraternity plebs.
- bumble around — When someone bumbles around or bumbles about, they behave in a confused, disorganized way, making mistakes and usually not achieving anything.
- bundle sheath — a layer of cells in plant leaves and stems that surrounds a vascular bundle.
- burgess shale — a bed of Cambrian sedimentary rock in the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia containing many unique invertebrate fossils
- burglar alarm — A burglar alarm is an electric device that makes a bell ring loudly if someone tries to enter a building by force.
- burglar-proof — designed to be secure and to frustrate any attempted burglary
- burglariously — in the manner of a burglar or buglary
- burial ground — A burial ground is a place where bodies are buried, especially an ancient place.
- burmese glass — an American art glass of the late 19th century, ranging from greenish-yellow to pink.
- burnham scale — the salary scale for teachers in English state schools, which is revised periodically
- burning glass — a convex lens for concentrating the sun's rays into a small area to produce heat or fire
- business plan — A business plan is a detailed plan for setting up or developing a business, especially one that is written in order to borrow money.
- bustard quail — button quail.
- bustard-quail — any of several birds of the family Turnicidae, of warmer parts of the Old World, resembling but not related to the true quail. Also called bustard quail, hemipode.
- buster collar — a round collar, similar to a lampshade in shape, that is fitted round the neck of an animal or bird, for example to prevent it removing or interfering with a dressing or other treatment
- butler's tray — a tray resting on or attached to an X-shaped, often folding stand, on which are kept drink bottles and glasses
- butterfly pea — any of several leguminous plants of the genus Clitoria, as C. mariana, of North America, having pale-blue flowers.
- butyl acetate — a colourless liquid with a fruity odour, existing in four isomeric forms. Three of the isomers are important solvents for cellulose lacquers. Formula: CH3COOC4H9
- butyl alcohol — any of four isomeric alcohols, C4H9OH, obtained from petroleum products: used as solvents and in organic synthesis
- butyraldehyde — a colourless flammable pungent liquid used in the manufacture of resins. Formula: CH3(CH2)2CHO
- by-your-leave — a request for permission (esp in the phrase without so much as a by-your-leave)
- cab rank rule — the rule that obliges barristers to take on any client in strict rotation
- calculability — determinable by calculation; ascertainable: This map was designed so that distances by road are easily calculable.
- call-by-value — (CBV) An evaluation strategy where arguments are evaluated before the function or procedure is entered. Only the values of the arguments are passed and changes to the arguments within the called procedure have no effect on the actual arguments as seen by the caller. See applicative order reduction, call-by-value-result, strict evaluation, call-by-name, lazy evaluation.
- carbonneutral — pertaining to or having achieved a state in which the net amount of carbon dioxide or other carbon compounds emitted into the atmosphere is reduced to zero because it is balanced by actions to reduce or offset these emissions: Since the administration installed solar panels, the campus has become carbon neutral; a carbon-neutral brewery.
- casual labour — people who are employed on a temporary, rather than a permanent or regular basis
- cause celebre — A cause célèbre is an issue, person, or criminal trial that has attracted a lot of public attention and discussion.
- cerulean blue — a light-blue to strong greenish-blue color.
- chub mackerel — a small mackerel, Scomber japonicus, of Atlantic and Pacific seas and parts of the Indian Ocean.