13-letter words containing b, r, e
- batch-process — to perform batch processing on (files)
- bathtub curve — Common term for the curve (resembling an end-to-end section of one of those claw-footed antique bathtubs) that describes the expected failure rate of electronics with time: initially high, dropping to near 0 for most of the system's lifetime, then rising again as it "tires out". See also burn-in period, infant mortality.
- baton twirler — someone who twirls a baton, esp a drum major or majorette
- battered wife — See under battered woman syndrome.
- battering ram — A battering ram is a long heavy piece of wood that is used to knock down the locked doors of buildings.
- battering-ram — an ancient military device with a heavy horizontal ram for battering down walls, gates, etc.
- batting order — the sequence in which hitters will bat in a given game, determined in advance by the team manager.
- 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.
- bazillionaire — (humorous) An incredibly rich person.
- bbn butterfly — (computer) A supercomputer developed at BBN Technologies, named after the "butterfly" multi-stage switching network around which it was built. It could have up to 512 CPUs connected to allow every CPU access to every other CPU's memory, albeit with about 15 times the latency than for its own. The earlier GP-1000 models used up to 256 Motorola 68020s. The later TC-2000 models used up to 512 Motorola 88100s. Language developed for, or ported to, the BBN Butterfly were Butterfly Common LISP, Butterfly Scheme, Delirium, and MultiScheme.
- be better off — If you say that someone would be better off doing something, you are advising them to do it or expressing the opinion that it would benefit them to do it.
- be hard going — If you say that something is hard going, you mean it is difficult and requires a lot of effort.
- be spoken for — If a person or thing is spoken for or has been spoken for, someone has claimed them or asked for them, so no-one else can have them.
- bead and reel — a convex molding having the form of elongated beads alternating with disks placed edge-on, or with spherical beads, or with both.
- beaded lizard — a large, stout-bodied, venomous lizard, Heloderma horridum, inhabiting western Mexico, having black, beadlike scales with yellow to pinkish spots and splotches.
- beam splitter — a system that divides a beam of light, electrons, etc, into two or more paths
- beanbag chair — a chair like a large beanbag covered with vinyl, fabric, etc. and filled with foam pellets, as of polystyrene, that shift about to fit one's body
- bear the palm — to be the winner; take the prize
- bear's-breech — a widely cultivated S European acanthus plant, Acanthus mollis, having whitish purple-veined flowers
- bearer cheque — a cheque payable to the person who has it
- bearing plate — a heavy metal plate for receiving and distributing concentrated weight, as from a column or one end of a truss.
- bearing sword — a large sword carried for its owner by a squire or servant because of its size.
- beast of prey — any animal that hunts other animals for food
- beat the drum — a musical percussion instrument consisting of a hollow, usually cylindrical, body covered at one or both ends with a tightly stretched membrane, or head, which is struck with the hand, a stick, or a pair of sticks, and typically produces a booming, tapping, or hollow sound.
- beau brummell — any dandy or fop
- beauty editor — the person in charge of a section of newspaper or magazine devoted to cosmetics, etc
- beauty parlor — A beauty parlor is a place where women can go to have beauty treatments, for example, to have their hair, nails, or makeup done.
- beaux esprits — bel esprit
- beaux-esprits — plural of bel-esprit.
- bed and board — sleeping accommodation and meals
- bedroom farce — a light comedy about sexual relationships
- bedroom scene — a scene in which lovers are in bed
- bedroom suite — a set of furniture, including such things as a bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, cabinet, etc
- bedtime drink — a drink before bed, often made with milk
- bedtime story — a story read or told to a child at bedtime
- beehive round — an artillery shell that ejects thousands of naillike metal projectiles on exploding.
- beer-swilling — in the habit of drinking a lot of beer
- beetle-browed — having bushy or overhanging eyebrows
- beetlebrained — stupid
- beg to differ — politely disagree
- beggar's-lice — any of several plants, esp the stickseed, having small prickly fruits that adhere to clothing, fur, etc
- behavioristic — the theory or doctrine that human or animal psychology can be accurately studied only through the examination and analysis of objectively observable and quantifiable behavioral events, in contrast with subjective mental states.
- behaviourally — from a behavioural point of view
- beige toaster — Macintosh
- beleaguerment — a blockade or siege
- 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.
- belligerently — aggressively
- belly of pork — a fatty cut of meat from the pig's belly
- belly-flopper — an awkward, usually unintentional dive in which the front of the body strikes the water horizontally, the abdomen or chest bearing the brunt of the impact.