12-letter words containing a, n, d, e
- backgrounded — Simple past tense and past participle of background.
- backgrounder — A backgrounder is a short article in a newspaper or magazine that provides background information about a particular subject.
- backhandedly — In a backhanded manner.
- backpedaling — to retard the forward motion by pressing backward on the pedal, especially of a bicycle with coaster brakes.
- backwardness — toward the back or rear.
- backwoodsmen — Plural form of backwoodsman.
- bad-mannered — having bad manners; impolite
- 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.
- badger skunk — hog-nosed skunk (def 1).
- badger-skunk — Also called badger skunk, rooter skunk. a large, naked-muzzled skunk, Conepatus mesoleucus, common in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, having a black coat with one broad white stripe down the back and tail.
- baker island — an island in the central Pacific near the equator, belonging to the U.S. 1 sq. mi. (2.6 sq. km).
- balladmonger — (formerly) a seller of ballads, esp on broadsheets
- band of hope — a society promoting lifelong abstention from alcohol among young people: founded in Britain in 1847
- bandaranaike — Chandrika
- banderillero — a bullfighter's assistant who sticks banderillas into the bull
- bandersnatch — a fictional creature created by Lewis Carroll in his poem Jabberwocky, and appearing also in The Hunting of the Snark and Through the Looking-Glass
- bandjermasin — a seaport on the S coast of Borneo, in Indonesia.
- bandoneonist — One who plays the bandoneon.
- bandy-legged — bow-legged
- bank deposit — money placed in a bank account
- banner cloud — a plume-shaped cloud extending downwind from an isolated mountain peak. Also called cloud banner. Compare cap cloud (def 1).
- barking deer — muntjac.
- basset hound — A basset hound is a dog with short strong legs, a long body, and long ears. It is kept as a pet or used for hunting.
- battleground — A battleground is the same as a battlefield.
- battlemented — Furnished with battlements, as the ramparts of a city or castle.
- be damned if — If someone says 'I'm damned if I'm going to do it' or 'I'll be damned if I'll do it', they are emphasizing that they do not intend to do something and think it is unreasonable for anyone to expect them to do it.
- beaconsfield — a town in SE England, in Buckinghamshire. Pop: 12 292 (2001)
- bead molding — bead (def 12).
- bear down on — to press down on; exert pressure on
- bear in mind — to remember
- beardtongues — Plural form of beardtongue.
- bearing down — to hold up; support: to bear the weight of the roof.
- 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.
- behenic acid — a crystalline, saturated fatty acid, C 22 H 44 O 2 , obtained from plant sources, used chiefly in the manufacture of cosmetics, waxes, and plasticizers.
- bell gardens — a town in SW California, near Los Angeles.
- belly dancer — A belly dancer is a woman who performs a Middle Eastern dance in which she moves her hips and abdomen about.
- beneficiated — to treat (ore) to make more suitable for smelting.
- 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
- benzoic acid — a white crystalline solid occurring in many natural resins, used in the manufacture of benzoates, plasticizers, and dyes and as a food preservative (E210). Formula: C6H5COOH
- beyond reach — inaccessible
- bid defiance — to resist boldly
- bird fancier — a person who keeps, breeds, or sells birds
- bird-brained — silly; stupid
- bladder fern — a small fern, Cystoperis fragilis, with graceful lanceolate leaves, typically growing on limestone rocks and walls
- blandishment — the act of blandishing; cajolery
- blind flange — a disk for closing the end of a pipe, having holes for bolting it to a flange.
- blood orange — a variety of orange all or part of the pulp of which is dark red when ripe