15-letter words containing a, b, u, t
- barium titanate — a crystalline ceramic used in capacitors and piezoelectric devices. Formula: BaTiO3
- barry mountains — a mountain range in SE Australia, in E Victoria: part of the Australian Alps
- basic autocoder — Early system on IBM 7070. Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959).
- basic education — (in India) education in which all teaching is correlated with the learning of a craft
- basidiomycetous — belonging or pertaining to the basidiomycetes.
- bateau neckline — a wide, high neckline that follows the curve of the collarbone and ends in points on the shoulder seams.
- bathing costume — A bathing costume is a piece of clothing that is worn for swimming, especially by women and girls.
- bathurst island — an island off the coast of N Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic Archipelago: present south of the North Magnetic Pole nearby. 7609 sq. mi. (19,707 sq. km).
- bayeux tapestry — an 11th- or 12th-century embroidery in Bayeux, nearly 70.5 m (231 ft) long by 50 cm (20 inches) high, depicting the Norman conquest of England
- be a wake-up to — to be fully alert to (a person, thing, action, etc)
- be just as well — If you say that something that has happened is just as well, you mean that it is fortunate that it happened in the way it did.
- beam-power tube — a vacuum tube in which the stream of electrons flowing to the plate is focused by the action of a set of auxiliary, charged elements, giving an increase in output power.
- bearded vulture — lammergeier
- beast of burden — A beast of burden is an animal such as an ox or a donkey that is used for carrying or pulling things.
- beat one's gums — to talk much and idly
- beat oneself up — to reproach oneself
- beat the bounds — (formerly) to define the boundaries of a parish by making a procession around them and hitting the ground with rods
- beat the bushes — a low plant with many branches that arise from or near the ground.
- benzyl butyrate — a liquid, C 11 H 14 O 2 , having a fruitlike odor, used as a plasticizer and in flavoring.
- bernoulli trial — one of a sequence of independent experiments each of which has the same probability of success, such as successive throws of a die, the outcome of which is described by a binomial distribution
- bioaccumulation — the process in which industrial waste, toxic chemicals, etc. gradually accumulate in living tissue
- bioastronautics — the study of the effects of space flight on living organisms
- bituminous coal — a soft black coal, rich in volatile hydrocarbons, that burns with a smoky yellow flame. Fixed carbon content: 46–86 per cent; calorific value: 1.93 × 107 – 3.63 × 107 J/kg
- black guillemot — a common guillemot, Cepphus grylle: its summer plumage is black with white wing patches and its winter plumage white with greyish wings
- black mountains — a mountain range running from N Monmouthshire and SE Powys (Wales) to SW Herefordshire (England). Highest peak: Waun Fach, 811 m (2660 ft)
- blue cattle dog — an Australian breed of dog with a bluish coat, developed for herding cattle
- blue wood aster — a composite plant, Aster cordifolius, of North America, having heart-shaped leaves and pale-blue flowers.
- bluegrass state — Kentucky (used as a nickname).
- book of account — a book to keep accounts in; ledger
- bouillotte lamp — a table lamp of the 18th century, having two or three adjustable candle brackets and a common shade sliding on a central shaft.
- brachystomatous — having a short proboscis, as certain insects.
- brake parachute — a parachute attached to the rear of a vehicle and opened to assist braking
- branchiostegous — branchiostegal.
- breach of trust — a violation of duty by a trustee or any other person in a fiduciary position
- break the mould — If you say that someone breaks the mould, you mean that they do completely different things from what has been done before or from what is usually done.
- break-out group — a group of people who detach themselves from a larger group or meeting in order to hold separate discussions
- bronchial tubes — the bronchi or their smaller divisions
- brushback pitch — a fast ball deliberately thrown at or too near a batter's head
- brussels carpet — a worsted carpet with a heavy pile formed by uncut loops of wool on a linen warp
- bucket elevator — a chain of buckets for raising liquids or materials to a higher level
- buffalo currant — an ornamental shrub, Ribes odoratum, of the central U.S., having showy, drooping clusters of fragrant yellow flowers and edible black fruit.
- building trades — the trades and professions concerned with the creation and finishing of buildings, such as carpenters, plasterers, masons, electricians, etc.
- bullock's heart — the large, edible fruit of a tropical American tree, Annona reticulata.
- bullock's-heart — the large, edible fruit of a tropical American tree, Annona reticulata.
- buried treasure — A surprising piece of code found in some program. While usually not wrong, it tends to vary from crufty to bletcherous, and has lain undiscovered only because it was functionally correct, however horrible it is. Used sarcastically, because what is found is anything *but* treasure. Buried treasure almost always needs to be dug up and removed. "I just found that the scheduler sorts its queue using bubble sort! Buried treasure!"
- burt l standish — Burt L. pseudonym of Gilbert Patten.
- buryat republic — a constituent republic of SE central Russia, on Lake Baikal: mountainous, with forests covering over half the total area. Capital: Ulan-Ude. Pop: 981 000 (2002). Area: 351 300 sq km (135 608 sq miles)
- butler's pantry — a pantry in a large house where crockery, glassware, cutlery, etc is kept
- butter spreader — a small knife with a wide, flat blade, as for spreading butter on bread or rolls.
- butter-and-eggs — any of various plants, such as toadflax, the flowers of which are of two shades of yellow