15-letter words containing b, o, n, s
- bombing mission — a major bomb attack on a specific target or series of targets
- book of changes — an ancient Chinese book of divination, in which 64 pairs of trigrams are shown with various interpretations.
- booster cushion — an extra seat or cushion placed on an existing seat for a child to sit on in a car
- borderline case — a person or thing that is not clearly classifiable as something
- borough-english — (until 1925) a custom in certain English boroughs whereby the youngest son inherited land to the exclusion of his older brothers
- 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
- bourbon biscuit — a rich chocolate-flavoured biscuit with a chocolate-cream filling
- boustrophedonic — of or relating to lines written in opposite directions
- bowstring truss — a structural truss consisting of a curved top chord meeting a bottom chord at each end.
- boys' night out — an evening spent outside of the home by a group of men
- brachistochrone — the curve between two points through which a body moves under the force of gravity in a shorter time than for any other curve; the path of quickest descent
- branchiostegous — branchiostegal.
- brand extension — the practice of using a well-known brand name to promote new products or services in unrelated fields
- breeding season — the time of year during which animals breed
- bristol channel — an inlet of the Atlantic, between S Wales and SW England, merging into the Severn estuary. Length: about 137 km (85 miles)
- bristol fashion — clean and neat, with newly painted and scrubbed surfaces, brass polished, etc
- british council — an organization founded (1934) to extend the influence of British culture and education throughout the world
- brocken specter — an optical phenomenon sometimes occurring at high altitudes when the image of an observer placed between the sun and a cloud is projected on the cloud as a greatly magnified shadow.
- bronchial tubes — the bronchi or their smaller divisions
- bronze diabetes — hemochromatosis.
- brother-in-arms — a fellow soldier or comrade in a shared struggle
- brown-and-serve — requiring only a brief period of browning, as in an oven, before being ready to serve: brown-and-serve rolls.
- brownfield site — a disused site envisaged for redevelopment
- buffer solution — a solution to which a salt of a weak acid or base has been added
- bulimia nervosa — a disorder characterized by compulsive overeating followed by vomiting: sometimes associated with anxiety about gaining weight
- bullnose header — bull header (def 1).
- bullnose-header — Also called bullnose header. a brick having one of the edges across its width rounded for laying as a header in a sill or the like.
- 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.
- business double — a double made to increase the penalty points earned when a player believes the opponents cannot make their bid.
- business office — the office where the financial transactions, bookkeeping, etc. for a firm or institution are carried on
- business person — Business people are people who work in business.
- business school — A business school is a school or college which teaches business subjects such as economics and management.
- button mushroom — Button mushrooms are small mushrooms used in cooking.
- by all accounts — according to everyone
- cannibalisation — Alternative form of cannibalization.
- carry one's bat — (of an opening batsman) to reach the end of an innings without being dismissed
- cartesian doubt — willful suspension of all interpretations of experience that are not absolutely certain: used as a method of deriving, by elimination of such uncertainties, axioms upon which to base theories.
- cartier-bresson — Henri (ɑ̃ri). 1908–2004, French photographer
- chamber counsel — a counsel who advises in private and does not plead in court
- chestnut bottle — an American glass bottle or flask of the 19th century, having slightly flattened sides.
- chicken lobster — a young lobster weighing 1 pound (0.4 kg) or less.
- chief constable — A Chief Constable is the officer who is in charge of the police force in a particular county or area in Britain.
- chromosome band — any of the transverse bands that appear on a chromosome after staining. The banding pattern is unique to each type of chromosome, allowing characterization
- chronobiologist — A person who is involved in chronobiology.
- color blindness — inability to distinguish one or several chromatic colors, independent of the capacity for distinguishing light and shade.
- combat neurosis — battle fatigue.
- combined forces — the forces of two or more countries, fighting together