12-letter words containing a, n, s
- blue jasmine — a southern U.S. shrubby vine, Clematis crispa, of the buttercup family, having solitary, bell-shaped, blue or bluish-purple to pink flowers and bearing fruit with silky appendages.
- bluesnarfing — the practice of using one Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone to steal contact details, ring tones, images, etc from another
- boardsailing — windsurfing
- boatsmanship — seamanship as applied to boats, especially rowboats and motorboats.
- body scanner — a machine using X-rays and a computer, used in medicine to look for signs of disease, or in security operations to look for drugs, weapons, etc
- bog-standard — If you describe something as bog-standard you mean that is an ordinary example of its kind, with no exciting or interesting features.
- bond servant — a person who serves in bondage; slave.
- bond washing — a series of deals in bonds made with the intention of avoiding taxation
- bonnet glass — monteith (def 2).
- bonnet-glass — a large punch bowl, usually of silver, having a notched rim for suspending punch cups.
- bounce flash — a flash lamp designed to produce a bounced flash.
- bradmanesque — (of a batsman or innings) reminiscent of Sir Don Bradman in terms of dominance over the opposing bowlers
- bradykinesia — abnormal slowness of physical movement, esp as an effect of Parkinson's disease
- brain teaser — A brain teaser is a question, problem, or puzzle that is difficult to answer or solve, but is not serious or important.
- brain-teaser — a puzzle or problem whose solution requires great ingenuity.
- brains trust — a group of knowledgeable people who discuss topics in public or on radio or television
- brainstormer — a person who brainstorms
- brainwashing — the process of brainwashing.
- brassfounder — a person who makes things from brass
- braunschweig — Brunswick
- brenner pass — a pass over the E Alps, between Austria and Italy. Highest point: 1372 m (4501 ft)
- brinkmanship — Brinkmanship is a method of behaviour, especially in politics, in which you deliberately get into dangerous situations which could result in disaster but which could also bring success.
- brisbane box — a broad-leaved evergreen tree, Tristania conferta, native to Australia, having a deciduous outer bark.
- broadcasting — Broadcasting is the making and sending out of television and radio programmes.
- bronchospasm — an abnormal contraction of the bronchi resulting in restriction of the airway
- brontosaurus — any very large herbivorous quadrupedal dinosaur of the genus Apatosaurus, common in North America during Jurassic times, having a long neck and long tail: suborder Sauropoda (sauropods)
- brooks range — a mountain range in N Alaska. Highest peak: Mount Isto, 2761 m (9058 ft)
- buccaneerish — of or relating to a buccaneer
- 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)
- bunco artist — a confidence trickster or con artist
- 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)
- burnt sienna — a reddish-brown dye or pigment obtained by roasting raw sienna in a furnace
- bushwhacking — to make one's way through woods by cutting at undergrowth, branches, etc.
- by all means — You can say 'by all means' to tell someone that you are very willing to allow them to do something.
- by any means — in any way possible; at all; somehow
- by reason of — If one thing happens by reason of another, it happens because of it.
- byelorussian — Byelorussian means belonging or relating to Byelorussia or to its people or culture.
- cablecasting — relating to broadcasting by cable
- cacophonious — cacophonous
- cadent house — any of the four houses that precede the angles: the third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth houses, which correspond, respectively, to neighborhood and relatives, work and health, philosophy and foreign travel, and secret matters and service to others.
- caenogenesis — the development of structures and organs in an embryo or larva that are adaptations to its way of life and are not retained in the adult form
- caesalpinoid — of, relating to, or belonging to the Caesalpinoideae, a mainly tropical subfamily of leguminous plants that have irregular flowers: includes carob, senna, brazil, cassia, and poinciana
- calculations — Plural form of calculation.
- calibrations — Plural form of calibration.
- caliginosity — darkness
- calisthenics — Calisthenics are simple exercises that you can do to keep fit and healthy.
- call in sick — afflicted with ill health or disease; ailing.
- callisthenes — c360–327 b.c, Greek philosopher: chronicled Alexander the Great's conquests.
- callisthenic — Alternative spelling of calisthenic.
- calorescence — the absorption of radiation by a body, subsequently re-emitted at a higher frequency (lower wavelength)