12-letter words containing a, d, l
- bachelor pad — a flat in which a bachelor lives
- bachelorhood — the state of being a bachelor.
- back molding — a molding, as a backband, applied to interior window and door trim to conceal the edge of the wall surface.
- backhandedly — In a backhanded manner.
- backpedaling — to retard the forward motion by pressing backward on the pedal, especially of a bicycle with coaster brakes.
- backpedalled — (AU, NZ, British) Simple past tense and past participle of backpedal.
- bactericidal — any substance capable of killing bacteria.
- baden-powell — Robert Stephenson Smyth (smɪθ, smaɪθ), 1st Baron Baden-Powell. 1857–1941, British general, noted for his defence of Mafeking (1899–1900) in the Boer War; founder of the Boy Scouts (1908) and (with his sister Agnes) the Girl Guides (1910)
- badger plane — a plane for finishing rabbets or the like.
- baffle board — a plate or mechanical device designed to restrain or regulate the flow of a fluid, the emission of light or sound, or the distribution of sound, esp in a loudspeaker or microphone
- baked alaska — a dessert consisting of cake and ice cream covered with meringue and cooked very quickly in a hot oven
- baker island — an island in the central Pacific near the equator, belonging to the U.S. 1 sq. mi. (2.6 sq. km).
- baklava code — (humour, programming) Code with too many layers. Also known as Lasagne Code.
- bald cypress — a tree, Taxodium distichum, of swampy areas of the southern U.S., having featherlike needles and cone-shaped projections growing up from the roots, yielding a hardwood used in construction, shipbuilding, etc.
- baldwin park — city in SW Calif.: suburb of Los Angeles: pop. 76,000
- ballad metre — the metre of a ballad stanza
- ballad opera — an opera consisting of popular tunes to which appropriate words have been set, interspersed with spoken dialogue
- balladmonger — (formerly) a seller of ballads, esp on broadsheets
- ballhandling — skill in handling the ball
- banderillero — a bullfighter's assistant who sticks banderillas into the bull
- bandy-legged — bow-legged
- bank holiday — A bank holiday is a public holiday.
- banks island — an island of N Canada, in the Northwest Territories: the westernmost island of the Arctic Archipelago. Area: about 67 340 sq km (26 000 sq miles)
- banner cloud — a plume-shaped cloud extending downwind from an isolated mountain peak. Also called cloud banner. Compare cap cloud (def 1).
- bardolatrous — relating to or characterized by bardolatry
- barley field — a piece of land cleared of trees and undergrowth, usually enclosed with a fence or hedge and used for growing barley
- basal reader — an elementary-school textbook that teaches reading by combining stories with practice exercises: The Dick and Jane series was the most famous basal reader.
- bastard file — a file of the commercial grade of coarseness between coarse and second-cut.
- bastille day — (in France) an annual holiday on July 14, commemorating the fall of the Bastille
- battle dress — military field uniform and accouterments, generally camouflaged and stripped of all ornamentation.
- battlefields — Plural form of battlefield.
- battleground — A battleground is the same as a battlefield.
- battlemented — Furnished with battlements, as the ramparts of a city or castle.
- beaconsfield — a town in SE England, in Buckinghamshire. Pop: 12 292 (2001)
- bead molding — bead (def 12).
- beaked whale — any of a worldwide family (Ziphiidae) of medium-sized toothed whales characterized by a long, narrow snout
- bearded clam — mollusc eaten as seafood
- bearded lady — a woman with a beard, esp in a circus or freakshow
- bearded seal — a large gray-to-golden seal, Erignathus barbatus, inhabiting the Arctic Ocean and adjacent waters, having square foreflippers and a thick mustache of long bristles on each side of the muzzle.
- bechuanaland — former British territory (1884-1966) in S Africa: now the country of Botswana
- bed of nails — a situation or position of extreme difficulty
- bedazzlement — to impress forcefully, especially so as to make oblivious to faults or shortcomings: Audiences were bedazzled by her charm.
- bedraggledly — In a bedraggled manner.
- bedside lamp — a lamp beside a bed
- beetleheaded — like a beetlehead; stupid
- bell gardens — a town in SW California, near Los Angeles.
- belleau wood — a forest in N France: site of a battle (1918) in which the US Marines halted a German advance on Paris
- belly dancer — A belly dancer is a woman who performs a Middle Eastern dance in which she moves her hips and abdomen about.
- benzaldehyde — a yellowish fragrant volatile oil occurring in almond kernels and used in the manufacture of dyes, perfumes, and flavourings and as a solvent for oils and resins. Formula: C6H5CHO
- bermuda lily — a lily, Lilium longiflorum eximium, having white, funnel-shaped flowers, cultivated especially as an Easter lily.