14-letter words containing d, b, e
- beyond dispute — not open to dispute or question; settled
- beyond measure — If you say that something has changed or that it has affected you beyond measure, you are emphasizing that it has done this to a great extent.
- bib and tucker — an outfit of clothes (esp in the phrase best bib and tucker)
- bicuspid valve — mitral valve
- bidding prayer — the formal petitionary prayer, said especially in the Anglican Church immediately before the sermon.
- bide sb's time — If you bide your time, you wait for a good opportunity before doing something.
- bidialectalism — the state of being bidialectal
- big red switch — (jargon) (BRS) IBM jargon for the power switch on a computer, especially the "Emergency Pull" switch on an IBM mainframe or the power switch on an IBM PC where it really is large and red. "This [email protected]%$% bitty box is hung again; time to hit the Big Red Switch." It is alleged that the emergency pull switch on an IBM 360/91 actually fired a non-conducting bolt into the main power feed; the BRSes on more recent mainframes physically drop a block into place so that they can't be pushed back in. People get fired for pulling them, especially inappropriately (see also molly-guard). Compare power cycle, three-finger salute, 120 reset; see also scram switch.
- bildungsromane — a type of novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist.
- billiard table — the rectangular table used for playing billiards
- binding energy — the energy that must be supplied to a stable nucleus before it can undergo fission. It is equal to the mass defect
- binding handle — (networking) An identifier representing the connection between a client and server. An association between client/server end-points and protocols.
- binding rafter — a timber for supporting rafters between their extremities, as a purlin.
- binding strake — a very strong, heavy strake of planking, especially one next to a sheer strake.
- binge drinking — Binge drinking is the consumption of large amounts of alcohol within a short period of time.
- biodegradation — to decay and become absorbed by the environment: toys that will biodegrade when they're discarded.
- bioremediation — the use of plants to extract heavy metals from contaminated soils and water
- birdcage clock — lantern clock.
- birds and bees — any warm-blooded vertebrate of the class Aves, having a body covered with feathers, forelimbs modified into wings, scaly legs, a beak, and no teeth, and bearing young in a hard-shelled egg.
- black and blue — discolored, as by bruising; exhibiting ecchymosis: a black-and-blue mark on my knee.
- black bindweed — a twining polygonaceous European plant, Polygonum convolvulus, with heart-shaped leaves and triangular black seed pods
- black bullhead — a common freshwater catfish, Ictalurus melas, of North America, considered by some to be a food delicacy.
- black redstart — a small, Passerine bird, Phoenicurus ochruros, found in Central and S Europe
- black-and-blue — (of the skin) discoloured, as from a bruise
- black-eyed pea — Black-eyed peas are beige seeds with black marks that are eaten as a vegetable. They are from a plant called the cowpea.
- bladder cancer — any cancer of the bladder
- bladder ketmia — plant with pale yellow flowers
- bladder ketmie — flower-of-an-hour
- blade-shearing — the shearing of sheep using hand shears
- bleeding heart — If you describe someone as a bleeding heart, you are criticizing them for being sympathetic towards people who are poor and suffering, without doing anything practical to help.
- blended family — a social unit consisting of two previously married parents and the children of their former marriages
- blessed virgin — the Virgin Mary
- blind register — (in the United Kingdom) a list of those who are blind and are therefore entitled to financial and other benefits
- blind staggers — the staggers
- blister-packed — presented in a blister pack
- block calendar — a calendar in the form of a block of sheets each printed with the date of one day
- blood disorder — a medical condition affecting the blood
- blood platelet — any of the minute, disklike, colorless elements of the blood that are essential for normal clotting
- blood pressure — the pressure exerted by the blood on the inner walls of the arteries, being relative to the elasticity and diameter of the vessels and the force of the heartbeat
- blood relation — A blood relation or blood relative is someone who is related to you by birth rather than by marriage.
- blow one's lid — a removable or hinged cover for closing the opening, usually at the top, of a pot, jar, trunk, etc.; a movable cover.
- blue dandelion — chicory (def 1).
- blue-arsed fly — a blowfly; bluebottle
- blue-eyed mary — a blue-flowered boraginaceous plant, Omphalodes verna, native to S Europe and cultivated in Britain
- blue-eyed soul — soul music written and performed by White singers in a style derived from the blues
- blurred vision — a condition which makes it impossible to see clearly
- board of trade — (in the United Kingdom) a ministry within the Department of Trade: responsible for the supervision of commerce and the promotion of export trade
- boarding house — A boarding house is a house which people pay to stay in for a short time.
- bodice-ripping — A bodice-ripping film or novel is one which is set in the past and which includes a lot of sex scenes. You use this word especially if you do not think it is very good and is just intended to entertain people.
- body beautiful — a beautiful body