12-letter words containing a, r, i, s
- biscuit ware — unglazed earthenware
- bismarck sea — an arm of the Pacific Ocean north of New Britain and north-east of New Guinea
- bitter aloes — a bitter purgative drug made from the leaves of several species of aloe
- bitter lakes — two lakes, the Great Bitter Lake and Little Bitter Lake in NE Egypt: part of the Suez Canal
- blatherskite — a talkative silly person
- blazing star — a North American liliaceous plant, Chamaelirium luteum, with a long spike of small white flowers
- bliss carman — (William) Bliss, 1861–1929, Canadian poet and journalist in the U.S.
- blister pack — a type of packet in which small items are displayed and sold, consisting of a transparent dome of plastic or similar material mounted on a firm backing such as cardboard
- blues guitar — blues guitar music
- bluesnarfing — the practice of using one Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone to steal contact details, ring tones, images, etc from another
- boardsailing — windsurfing
- body repairs — repairs to the bodywork of cars
- borosilicate — a salt of boric and silicic acids
- bradykinesia — abnormal slowness of physical movement, esp as an effect of Parkinson's disease
- braggadocios — empty boasting; bragging.
- 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.
- brake assist — a part of a vehicle's braking system that automatically boosts braking pressure in an emergency situation
- braunschweig — Brunswick
- breast drill — a geared drill that can be braced against the chest for additional leverage.
- bridal suite — a room or set of rooms in a hotel for newly married couples
- bright spark — If you say that some bright spark had a particular idea or did something, you mean that their idea or action was clever, or that it seemed clever but was silly in some way.
- 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.
- british rail — the organization that ran the British railway system from 1948 until privatization in the mid-1990s
- british warm — an army officer's short thick overcoat
- brittle star — any echinoderm of the class Ophiuroidea, having the body composed of a central, rounded disk from which radiate long, slender, fragile arms.
- brittle-star — any echinoderm of the class Ophiuroidea, occurring on the sea bottom and having five long slender arms radiating from a small central disc
- broadcasting — Broadcasting is the making and sending out of television and radio programmes.
- brushability — the quality of being brushable
- 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
- 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.
- by-a-whisker — whiskers, a beard.
- byelorussian — Byelorussian means belonging or relating to Byelorussia or to its people or culture.
- bypass ratio — the ratio of the amount of air that bypasses the combustion chambers of an aircraft gas turbine to that passing through them
- cabot strait — a channel in Canada, connecting the Gulf of St. Lawrence with the Atlantic Ocean. 68 miles (109 km) wide.
- calibrations — Plural form of calibration.
- calorimeters — Plural form of calorimeter.
- calumniators — Plural form of calumniator.
- camaraderies — comradeship; good-fellowship.
- camel's hair — the hair of the camel
- camel's-hair — made of camel's hair.
- cameralistic — of or relating to public finance.