15-letter words containing b, o, m
- before the mast — as an apprentice seaman
- bergamot orange — a small Asian spiny rutaceous tree, Citrus bergamia, having sour pear-shaped fruit
- bevelled mirror — a mirror with a bevelled edge
- bide one's time — to wait patiently for an opportunity
- billings method — a natural method of birth control that involves examining the colour and viscosity of the cervical mucus to discover when ovulation is occurring
- binomial series — an infinite series obtained by expanding a binomial raised to a power that is not a positive integer.
- bioaccumulation — the process in which industrial waste, toxic chemicals, etc. gradually accumulate in living tissue
- biogeochemistry — the science of biological, chemical, and geological aspects of the environment
- bioluminescence — the production of light by living organisms as a result of the oxidation of a light-producing substance (luciferin) by the enzyme luciferase: occurs in many marine organisms, insects such as the firefly, etc
- biomathematical — relating to biomathematics
- biomechanically — from a biomechanical point of view
- bit-mapped font — a computer font whose characters are held in memory as series of dots.
- bituminous coal — a soft black coal, rich in volatile hydrocarbons, that burns with a smoky yellow flame. Fixed carbon content: 46–86 per cent; calorific value: 1.93 × 107 – 3.63 × 107 J/kg
- black guillemot — a common guillemot, Cepphus grylle: its summer plumage is black with white wing patches and its winter plumage white with greyish wings
- black mountains — a mountain range running from N Monmouthshire and SE Powys (Wales) to SW Herefordshire (England). Highest peak: Waun Fach, 811 m (2660 ft)
- bladder campion — a European caryophyllaceous plant, Silene vulgaris, having white flowers with an inflated calyx
- blasphemousness — the quality of being blasphemous
- blenheim orange — a type of apple tree bearing gold-coloured apples
- blossom-end rot — a disease of tomato and pepper caused by a deficiency of calcium, characterized by decay at the blossom end of the fruit.
- blow one's mind — (in a human or other conscious being) the element, part, substance, or process that reasons, thinks, feels, wills, perceives, judges, etc.: the processes of the human mind.
- blueback salmon — sockeye salmon.
- body mass index — A person's body mass index is a measurement that represents the relationship between their weight and their height.
- bohemia-moravia — a former German protectorate including Bohemia and Moravia, 1939–45.
- bohemian forest — a mountain range between the SW Czech Republic and SE Germany. Highest peak: Arber, 1457 m (4780 ft)
- bombing mission — a major bomb attack on a specific target or series of targets
- bookmaking firm — an organization that accepts bets from gamblers and pays out winnings
- boom-bust cycle — A boom-bust cycle is a series of events in which a rapid increase in business activity in the economy is followed by a rapid decrease in business activity, and this process is repeated again and again.
- boston marriage — (especially in 19th-century New England) an intimate friendship between two women often maintaining a household together.
- boston massacre — an outbreak (1770) in Boston against British troops, in which a few citizens were killed
- bottom-up model — (programming) A method for estimating the cost of a complete software project by combining estimates for each component.
- botulinum toxin — a pharmaceutical formulation of botulin used in minute doses to treat various forms of muscle spasm and for the cosmetic removal of wrinkles
- bouillotte lamp — a table lamp of the 18th century, having two or three adjustable candle brackets and a common shade sliding on a central shaft.
- bowel complaint — bowel disease or condition
- box chronometer — a ship's chronometer, supported on gimbals in a wooden box
- box the compass — to name the compass points in order
- brachystomatous — having a short proboscis, as certain insects.
- break the mould — If you say that someone breaks the mould, you mean that they do completely different things from what has been done before or from what is usually done.
- british telecom — the popular name for British Telecommunications Group plc, the dominant fixed line telecommunications and broadband internet provider in the United Kingdom
- broadcast storm — (networking) A broadcast on a network that causes multiple hosts to respond by broadcasting themselves, causing the storm to grow exponentially in severity. See network meltdown.
- broken pediment — a pediment, as over a doorway or window, having its raking cornice interrupted at the crown or apex.
- bromoil process — a process for making an offset reproduction by first making a photographic print on paper with a silver bromide emulsion, wetting it, and then using it as a lithographic plate, the lighter parts of the emulsion tending to repel the oil base of the ink and the darker parts tending to hold it.
- brompheniramine — a substance, C 16 H 19 BrN 2 , used as an antihistamine in the management of various allergies, as hay fever.
- brother-in-arms — a fellow soldier or comrade in a shared struggle
- brown-tail moth — a white moth, Nygmia phaerrhoea, having a brown tuft at the end of the abdomen, the larvae of which feed on the foliage of various shade and fruit trees.
- brownian motion — the irregular motion of small particles suspended in a liquid or a gas, caused by the bombardment of the particles by molecules of the medium: first observed by Robert Brown in 1827.
- bulimia nervosa — a disorder characterized by compulsive overeating followed by vomiting: sometimes associated with anxiety about gaining weight
- bum someone off — to disappoint, annoy, or upset someone
- bum someone out — to upset, distress, annoy, depress, bore, etc. someone
- bureau of mines — a division of the Department of the Interior, created in 1910, that studies the nation's mineral resources and inspects mines.
- butcher's-broom — a liliaceous evergreen shrub, Ruscus aculeatus, that has stiff prickle-tipped flattened green stems, which resemble and function as true leaves. The plant was formerly used for making brooms