12-letter words containing b, a, n
- brevipennate — (of flightless birds) short-winged
- brilliantine — a perfumed oil used to make the hair smooth and shiny
- bring action — to start a lawsuit
- bring around — If you bring someone around when they are unconscious, you make them become conscious again.
- bring to bay — to force into a position from which retreat is impossible
- 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.
- broad-minded — If you describe someone as broad-minded, you approve of them because they are willing to accept types of behaviour which other people consider immoral.
- broadcasting — Broadcasting is the making and sending out of television and radio programmes.
- broken arrow — a town in NE Oklahoma.
- broken heart — If you say that someone has a broken heart, you mean that they are very sad, for example because a love affair has ended unhappily.
- broken water — a patch of water whose surface is rippled or choppy, usually surrounded by relatively calm water.
- bromoacetone — a colorless and highly toxic liquid, CH 2 BrCOCH 3 , used as a lachrymatory compound in tear gas and chemical warfare gas.
- bromomethane — methyl bromide.
- 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)
- bronze medal — A bronze medal is a medal made of bronze or bronze-coloured metal that is given as a prize to the person who comes third in a competition, especially a sports contest.
- brooks range — a mountain range in N Alaska. Highest peak: Mount Isto, 2761 m (9058 ft)
- brown bag it — to bring (one's own liquor) to a restaurant or club, especially one that has no liquor license.
- brown bagger — to bring (one's own liquor) to a restaurant or club, especially one that has no liquor license.
- brown canker — a fungous disease of roses, characterized by leaf and flower lesions, stem cankers surrounded by a reddish-purple border, and dieback.
- brown hackle — an artificial fly having a peacock herl body, golden tag and tail, and brown hackle.
- bubble dance — a solo dance by a nude or nearly nude woman, as in a burlesque show, using one or more balloons for covering.
- buccaneering — If you describe someone as buccaneering, you mean that they enjoy being involved in risky or even dishonest activities, especially in order to make money.
- buccaneerish — of or relating to a buccaneer
- buccolingual — of or relating to the cheek and tongue.
- bud mutation — a variation produced by a genetic alteration in the bud such that the seeds produced by the resulting growth perpetuate the change in succeeding generations.
- buenaventura — a major port in W Colombia, on the Pacific coast. Pop: 250 000 (2005 est)
- 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)
- buffalo gnat — any of various small North American blood-sucking dipterous insects of the genus Simulium and related genera: family Simuliidae
- bull-baiting — the setting of dogs on a chained or confined bull, formerly a popular pastime in England
- bullamakanka — an imaginary very remote and backward place
- bullet train — a passenger train that travels at very high speed
- bumping race — (esp at Oxford and Cambridge) a race in which rowing eights start an equal distance one behind the other and each tries to bump the boat in front
- bunco artist — a confidence trickster or con artist
- bunny rabbit — rabbit
- buoyancy aid — a type of usually foam-filled lifejacket designed for use in sports such as canoeing
- burial mound — a barrow
- 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)
- burning ghat — a platform at the top of a riverside ghat where Hindus cremate their dead.
- burnt almond — a sweet consisting of an almond enclosed in burnt sugar
- burnt orange — of a dark orange colour, sometimes due to calcination of orange pigment
- 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.
- button quail — any small quail-like terrestrial bird of the genus Turnix, such as T. sylvatica (striped button quail), occurring in tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World: family Turnicidae, order Gruiformes (cranes, rails, 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 and large — You use by and large to indicate that a statement is mostly but not completely true.
- 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.