13-letter words containing a, b, u
- attributively — pertaining to or having the character of attribution or an attribute.
- aubervilliers — an industrial suburb of Paris, on the Seine. Pop: 63 136 (1999)
- auction block — Also called block. a platform from which an auctioneer sells: the old courthouse where slaves were sold from the auction block.
- austin dobson — (Henry) Austin, 1840–1921, English poet, biographer, and essayist.
- autobiography — Your autobiography is an account of your life, which you write yourself.
- autostability — the property of being stable either as a result of inherent characteristics or of built-in devices
- baba ghanoush — a thick purée of aubergines, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic, originating in North Africa and the Mediterranean
- baccalaureate — The baccalaureate is an examination taken by students at the age of eighteen in France and some other countries.
- back mutation — the reversion of a mutant to the original phenotype
- back pressure — the pressure that opposes the motion of a piston on its exhaust stroke in an internal-combustion engine
- back-up light — a light on the rear of a motor vehicle to warn others that the vehicle is being reversed
- backgrounders — Plural form of backgrounder.
- backgrounding — Present participle of background.
- backing group — a group of musicians providing an instrumental or vocal accompaniment for a pop singer
- badminton cup — a long refreshing drink of claret with soda water and sugar
- balanced fund — a mutual fund made up of both stocks and bonds
- balloon chuck — a lathe chuck having the form of a hollow hemisphere, for enclosing and holding small parts, as balance staffs of watches, so that only their ends are exposed.
- balsam spruce — either of two North American coniferous trees of the genus Picea, P. pungens (the blue spruce) or P. engelmanni
- balsamiferous — yielding or producing balsam
- baluster stem — a stem of a drinking glass or the like having a gradual swelling near the top or bottom.
- banbury tarts — small baked pastries filled with raisins, currants, etc.
- bancassurance — the selling of insurance products by a bank to its customers
- band spectrum — a spectrum consisting of a number of bands of closely spaced lines that are associated with emission or absorption of radiation by molecules
- banded purple — any color having components of both red and blue, such as lavender, especially one deep in tone.
- bang on about — If someone bangs on about something, they keep talking about it in a boring or annoying way.
- 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.
- banking hours — the hours during which a bank is open for business
- banking house — a more formal term for a bank
- bankrupt worm — a roundworm (genus Trichostrongylus) that is an intestinal parasite of birds and mammals, especially devastating to young livestock.
- barbarousness — The state or quality of being barbarous.
- barcoo salute — a movement of the hand to brush flies away from the face
- barium yellow — a yellow, crystalline compound, BaCrO 4 , used as a pigment (barium yellow)
- baroque organ — a pipe organ dating from or built to the specifications of the baroque period at the time of J. S. Bach.
- barosinusitis — aerosinusitis.
- barrel cactus — any of several large, cylindrical, ribbed, spiny cacti of the genera Echinocactus and Ferocactus.
- barrier-nurse — to tend (infectious patients) in isolation, to prevent the spread of infection
- baryon number — the number of baryons in a system minus the number of antibaryons
- basic plumage — the plumage assumed by an adult bird at its complete, usually annual, molt.
- basket clause — an all-inclusive or comprehensive clause in a contract
- 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.
- bathurst burr — an Australian plant, Xanthium spinosum, having numerous hooked burrs that became entangled in sheep's wool
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- bearer cheque — a cheque payable to the person who has it