12-letter words containing a, b, u
- buccaneering — If you describe someone as buccaneering, you mean that they enjoy being involved in risky or even dishonest activities, especially in order to make money.
- buccaneerish — of or relating to a buccaneer
- buccolingual — of or relating to the cheek and tongue.
- buck private — a common soldier
- buck's party — a party for men only, esp one held for a man before he is married
- bucket about — (esp of a boat in a storm) to toss or shake violently
- bud mutation — a variation produced by a genetic alteration in the bud such that the seeds produced by the resulting growth perpetuate the change in succeeding generations.
- buenaventura — a major port in W Colombia, on the Pacific coast. Pop: 250 000 (2005 est)
- buenos aires — the capital of Argentina, a major port and industrial city on the Río de la Plata estuary: became capital in 1880; university (1821). Pop: 13 349 000 (2005 est)
- buffalo bill — nickname of William Frederick Cody. 1846–1917, US showman who toured Europe and the US with his famous Wild West Show
- buffalo bird — a cowbird, Molothrus ater, of North America.
- buffalo fish — any of a genus (Ictiobus) of large, humpbacked, freshwater sucker fishes found in North America
- buffalo gnat — any of various small North American blood-sucking dipterous insects of the genus Simulium and related genera: family Simuliidae
- buffalo robe — a carriage robe or rug made of the skin of the bison, dressed with the hair on
- buffaloberry — any shrub of the genus Shepherdia native to North America
- buffel grass — grass used for pasture in Africa, India, and Australia
- buffer state — A buffer state is a peaceful country situated between two or more larger hostile countries.
- bugger about — If someone buggers about or buggers around, they waste time doing unnecessary things.
- bulk carrier — a ship that carries unpackaged cargo, usually consisting of a single dry commodity, such as coal or grain
- bull mastiff — a large powerful breed of dog with a short usually fawn or brindle coat, developed by crossing the bulldog with the mastiff
- bull-baiting — the setting of dogs on a chained or confined bull, formerly a popular pastime in England
- bullamakanka — an imaginary very remote and backward place
- bullet train — a passenger train that travels at very high speed
- bullock cart — a cart pulled by one or two bullocks
- bumbleheaded — clumsy, plodding, or foolish: He stumbled through the talk in his bumbleheaded way.
- bumper guard — either of two vertical crosspieces attached to a bumper of a motor vehicle to prevent it from locking bumpers with another vehicle.
- bumping race — (esp at Oxford and Cambridge) a race in which rowing eights start an equal distance one behind the other and each tries to bump the boat in front
- bunco artist — a confidence trickster or con artist
- bunny rabbit — rabbit
- buoyancy aid — a type of usually foam-filled lifejacket designed for use in sports such as canoeing
- bur marigold — any plant of the genus Bidens that has yellow flowers and pointed fruits that cling to fur and clothing: family Asteraceae (composites)
- bureaucratic — Bureaucratic means involving complicated rules and procedures which can cause long delays.
- burglarproof — safeguarded or secure against burglary.
- burial mound — a barrow
- burj khalifa — a slender tapering skyscraper in Dubai; completed in 2009; the world's tallest man-made structure, standing at 828m (2716 ft)
- burkina faso — an inland republic in W Africa: dominated by Mossi kingdoms (10th–19th centuries); French protectorate established in 1896; became an independent republic in 1960; consists mainly of a flat savanna plateau. Official language: French; Mossi and other African languages also widely spoken. Religion: mostly animist, with a large Muslim minority. Currency: franc. Capital: Ouagadougou. Pop: 17 812 961 (2013 est). Area: 273 200 sq km (105 900 sq miles)
- burmese jade — jadeite of the finest quality: a true jade.
- burning ghat — a platform at the top of a riverside ghat where Hindus cremate their dead.
- burnt almond — a sweet consisting of an almond enclosed in burnt sugar
- burnt orange — of a dark orange colour, sometimes due to calcination of orange pigment
- burnt sienna — a reddish-brown dye or pigment obtained by roasting raw sienna in a furnace
- burro's tail — a succulent Mexican plant, Sedum morganianum, of the stonecrop family, bearing small, rose-colored flowers and long, hanging, nearly cylindrical stems with closely packed whitish-green leaves.
- burseraceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Burseraceae, a tropical family of trees and shrubs having compound leaves and resin or balsam in their stems. The family includes bdellium and some balsams
- bush leaguer — Also called busher. Baseball. a player in a minor league. an incompetent player, as one who behaves or plays as if he or she belonged in a minor league.
- bush-leaguer — (in baseball) someone who plays in a minor league
- bushelbasket — a rounded basket with a capacity of one bushel
- bushwhacking — to make one's way through woods by cutting at undergrowth, branches, etc.
- bushy-tailed — bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, fresh, alert, eager, and lively
- butter paper — a semi-transparent, waterproof paper used for wrapping butter, etc
- butter sauce — a sauce made of melted butter, often diluted with water, sometimes thickened with flour or egg yolk, or both, and seasoned with lemon juice.