12-letter words containing b, e, n, l
- balletomania — passionate enthusiasm for ballet
- balloon seat — (on some 18th-century chairs) a seat having an outline resembling that of a bell.
- balloon tire — a wide, deep-walled pneumatic tire with relatively low air pressure to lessen the shock of bumps
- balloon tyre — a pneumatic tyre containing air at a relatively low pressure and having a wide tread
- balloon vine — a tropical tendril-climbing sapindaceous plant, Cardiospermum halicacabum, cultivated for its ornamental balloon-like seed capsules
- ballottement — a technique of feeling for a movable object in the body, esp confirmation of pregnancy by feeling the rebound of the fetus following a quick digital tap on the wall of the uterus
- banana label — (jargon) The labels used on the sides of macrotape reels, so called because they were shaped roughly like blunt-ended bananas. This term, like macrotapes themselves, is obsolete.
- banderillero — a bullfighter's assistant who sticks banderillas into the bull
- bandy-legged — bow-legged
- bank balance — Your bank balance is the amount of money that you have in your bank account at a particular time.
- banner cloud — a plume-shaped cloud extending downwind from an isolated mountain peak. Also called cloud banner. Compare cap cloud (def 1).
- barcalounger — a type of reclinable armchair with an extendable footrest
- bare-knuckle — without boxing gloves
- bargain sale — an event at which goods are sold at low prices, usually to clear old stocks
- barrel organ — A barrel organ is a large machine that plays music when you turn the handle on the side. Barrel organs used to be played in the street to entertain people.
- base bullion — smelted lead containing impurities, as gold, silver, or zinc, that are later removed.
- baselessness — The state or quality of being baseless.
- basementless — without a basement
- basilic vein — a large vein situated on the inner side of the arm
- batten plate — (in structural design) a horizontal rectangular plate that is used to connect pairs of steel sections by being riveted or welded across them to form a composite section
- battle wagon — a battleship.
- battlefronts — Plural form of battlefront.
- battleground — A battleground is the same as a battlefield.
- battlemented — Furnished with battlements, as the ramparts of a city or castle.
- battlewagons — Plural form of battlewagon.
- bayonet bulb — an electric light bulb which is inserted into the socket against spring pressure and turned so that pins on its side engage in slots in the socket
- be no slouch — If you say that someone is no slouch at a particular activity, you mean that they are skilful at it or are willing to work hard at it.
- be on a roll — to have a series of successes; go from success to success
- beacon light — a light signal for shipping
- beaconsfield — a town in SE England, in Buckinghamshire. Pop: 12 292 (2001)
- bead molding — bead (def 12).
- beam balance — a piece of apparatus used for artistic gymnastics
- bearableness — The characteristic of being bearable.
- bearing pile — a foundation pile that supports weight vertically
- bearing rail — a transverse rail carrying a drawer or drawers.
- bearing wall — any of the walls supporting a floor or the roof of a building.
- beauty salon — A beauty salon is the same as a beauty parlour.
- bechuanaland — former British territory (1884-1966) in S Africa: now the country of Botswana
- bed moulding — a moulding in an entablature between the corona and the frieze
- bed of nails — a situation or position of extreme difficulty
- bed-blocking — the use of hospital beds by elderly patients who cannot leave hospital because they have no place in a residential care home
- bedazzlement — to impress forcefully, especially so as to make oblivious to faults or shortcomings: Audiences were bedazzled by her charm.
- befuddlement — to confuse, as with glib statements or arguments: politicians befuddling the public with campaign promises.
- begging bowl — If a country or organization approaches other countries or organizations with a begging bowl, it asks them for money.
- begrudgingly — If you do something begrudgingly, you do it unwillingly.
- belaying pin — a cylindrical, sometimes tapered pin, usually of metal or wood, that fits into a hole in a pin or fife rail: used for belaying
- beleaguering — to surround with military forces.
- belgian hare — a large red breed of domestic rabbit
- belittlement — to regard or portray as less impressive or important than appearances indicate; depreciate; disparage.
- bell captain — a person in charge of a group of bellhops