12-letter words containing c
- beachcombers — Plural form of beachcomber.
- beachcombing — The action of a beachcomber.
- beacon light — a light signal for shipping
- beaconsfield — a town in SE England, in Buckinghamshire. Pop: 12 292 (2001)
- beam balance — a piece of apparatus used for artistic gymnastics
- beam compass — an instrument for drawing large circles or arcs, consisting of a horizontal beam along which two vertical legs slide
- bean counter — You can describe people such as accountants and business managers as bean counters if you disapprove of them because you think they are only interested in money.
- bearded clam — mollusc eaten as seafood
- beaten track — well-trodden path or route
- beatifically — bestowing bliss, blessings, happiness, or the like: beatific peace.
- beaumarchais — Pierre Augustin Caron de (pjɛr oɡystɛ̃ karɔ̃ də). 1732–99, French dramatist, noted for his comedies The Barber of Seville (1775) and The Marriage of Figaro (1784)
- beauty cream — a cosmetic cream
- beaver cloth — beaver1 (def 8).
- beche-de-mer — trepang
- bechuanaland — former British territory (1884-1966) in S Africa: now the country of Botswana
- becomingness — The state or quality of becoming.
- bed-blocking — the use of hospital beds by elderly patients who cannot leave hospital because they have no place in a residential care home
- bedford cord — a heavy corded cloth, similar to corduroy
- beech marten — stone marten.
- beef extract — a soluble paste of beef or beef blood extracts.
- beer o’clock — the time of day when it is acceptable or customary to start drinking alcohol
- beggar-ticks — any of various plants, such as the bur marigold and tick trefoil, having fruits or seeds that cling to clothing, fur, etc
- behenic acid — a crystalline, saturated fatty acid, C 22 H 44 O 2 , obtained from plant sources, used chiefly in the manufacture of cosmetics, waxes, and plasticizers.
- beijing duck — a roasted duck prized for its crisp skin, prepared by forcing air between skin and meat, brushing with sugar water, and hanging up to dry before final cooking.
- bell captain — a person in charge of a group of bellhops
- bell the cat — to undertake a very dangerous mission
- belligerence — the act or quality of being belligerent or warlike; aggressiveness
- belligerency — the state of being at war
- belly dancer — A belly dancer is a woman who performs a Middle Eastern dance in which she moves her hips and abdomen about.
- belly-aching — Informal. a pain in the abdomen or bowels.
- bench jockey — a player on the bench who taunts opposing players, the officials, etc.
- bench-warmer — a substitute who rarely gets to play in a game.
- benchmarking — In business, benchmarking is a process in which a company compares its products and methods with those of the most successful companies in its field, in order to try to improve its own performance.
- benedict iii — died a.d. 858, pope 855–58.
- benedict vii — died a.d. 983, pope 974–83.
- benedict xii — (Jacques Fournier) died 1342, French ecclesiastic: pope 1334–42.
- benedict xiv — (Prospero Lambertini) 1675–1758, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1740–58; scholar and patron of the arts.
- benedict xvi — original name Joseph Alois Ratzinger. born 1927 in Germany, pope (2005–2013): the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415: on retirement he was accorded the title pope emeritus
- benefactress — a female benefactor
- beneficially — conferring benefit; advantageous; helpful: the beneficial effect of sunshine.
- beneficiated — to treat (ore) to make more suitable for smelting.
- benefit club — a club whose members enjoy certain benefits, such as reduced prices for travel or sporting events
- benzoic acid — a white crystalline solid occurring in many natural resins, used in the manufacture of benzoates, plasticizers, and dyes and as a food preservative (E210). Formula: C6H5COOH
- berlichingen — Götz von (ɡœts fɔn), called the Iron Hand. 1480–1562, German warrior knight, who robbed merchants and kidnapped nobles for ransom
- berwickshire — (until 1975) a county of SE Scotland: part of the Borders region from 1975 to 1996, now part of Scottish Borders council area
- beseechingly — to implore urgently: They besought him to go at once.
- besom pocket — an interior pocket with edging or stitching around the opening.
- bespectacled — Someone who is bespectacled is wearing glasses.
- beta blocker — A beta blocker is a drug which is used to treat people who have high blood pressure or heart problems.
- beta-blocker — any of various substances that interfere with the action of the beta receptors: used primarily to reduce the heart rate or force in the prevention, management, or treatment of angina, hypertension, or arrythmias.