13-letter words containing a, s, u
- backgrounders — Plural form of backgrounder.
- 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
- 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
- barbarousness — The state or quality of being barbarous.
- barcoo salute — a movement of the hand to brush flies away from the face
- 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
- 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
- bathurst burr — an Australian plant, Xanthium spinosum, having numerous hooked burrs that became entangled in sheep's wool
- 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
- 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
- beauteousness — The state or quality of being beauteous.
- beautifulness — having beauty; possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind: a beautiful dress; a beautiful speech.
- beaux esprits — bel esprit
- beaux-esprits — plural of bel-esprit.
- bedaux system — a system of payment for work on the basis of the number of points of work done in a given amount of time, each point representing one minute of work on a given job at a normal rate of speed.
- bell purchase — a tackle consisting of two standing single blocks, two running single blocks, a fall, and a runner, so arranged that it gives a mechanical advantage of six, neglecting friction.
- benjamin-bush — Also called spice-wood. a yellow-flowered, North American shrub, Lindera benzoin, of the laurel family, whose bark and leaves have a spicy odor.
- bermuda grass — a widely distributed grass, Cynodon dactylon, with wiry creeping rootstocks and several purplish spikes of flowers arising from a single point: used for lawns, pasturage, binding sand dunes, etc
- bibliolatrous — characterized by bibliolatry
- biculturalism — the characteristics, or policy, of a two-cultured society
- bignoniaceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Bignoniaceae, a chiefly tropical family of trees, shrubs, and lianas, including jacaranda, bignonia, and catalpa
- bildungsroman — a novel concerned with a person's formative years and development
- binary pulsar — a pulsar in a binary system.
- birthday suit — If you are in your birthday suit, you are not wearing any clothes.
- biscuit bread — biscuits or a biscuit: I like biscuit bread more than corn bread for supper.
- black muslims — (esp in the US) a political and religious movement of Black people who adopt the religious practices of Islam and seek to establish a new Black nation
- black mustard — a Eurasian plant, Brassica (or Sinapsis) nigra, with clusters of yellow flowers and pungent seeds from which the condiment mustard is made: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)
- black russian — a drink made from one part coffee liqueur and two parts vodka, served over ice.
- black studies — a program of studies in black history and culture offered by a school or college, often including Afro-American history and black literature.
- blanchisseuse — a washer-woman
- blasphemously — uttering, containing, or exhibiting blasphemy; irreverent; profane.
- blast furnace — A blast furnace is a large structure in which iron ore is heated under pressure so that it melts and the pure iron metal separates out and can be collected.
- blood sausage — a kind of black sausage made from minced pork fat, pig's blood, and other ingredients
- bloody sunday — (in Northern Ireland) 30th January 1972, when British soldiers shot dead thirteen marchers in Londonderry who were protesting against the UK government's policy of internment
- blue asbestos — a common name for the mineral crocidolite, a variety of asbestos found in Africa and Australia
- blue copperas — a salt, copper sulfate, CuSO 4 ⋅5H 2 O, occurring naturally as large transparent, deep-blue triclinic crystals, appearing in its anhydrous state as a white powder: used chiefly as a mordant, insecticide, fungicide, and in engraving.