12-letter words containing d
- banks island — an island of N Canada, in the Northwest Territories: the westernmost island of the Arctic Archipelago. Area: about 67 340 sq km (26 000 sq miles)
- banner cloud — a plume-shaped cloud extending downwind from an isolated mountain peak. Also called cloud banner. Compare cap cloud (def 1).
- barbados nut — an ornamental, tropical American tree, Jatropha curcas, of the spurge family, having ivylike leaves, small, yellow or greenish-yellow flowers, and olive-shaped fruit yielding a purgative, poisonous oil.
- barbary duck — the flesh of a Muscovy duck used as food
- bard of avon — Shakespeare
- bardolatrous — relating to or characterized by bardolatry
- barium oxide — a white or yellowish-white poisonous heavy powder used esp as a dehydrating agent. Formula: BaO
- barking deer — muntjac.
- barley field — a piece of land cleared of trees and undergrowth, usually enclosed with a fence or hedge and used for growing barley
- barn dancing — the act of performing a progressive round country dance
- barodynamics — the branch of mechanics concerned with heavy structures
- basal reader — an elementary-school textbook that teaches reading by combining stories with practice exercises: The Dick and Jane series was the most famous basal reader.
- basidiocarps — Plural form of basidiocarp.
- basidiospore — one of the spores, usually four in number, produced in a basidium
- basset hound — A basset hound is a dog with short strong legs, a long body, and long ears. It is kept as a pet or used for hunting.
- bastard file — a file of the commercial grade of coarseness between coarse and second-cut.
- bastard wing — a tuft of feathers attached to the first digit of a bird, distinct from the wing feathers attached to the other digits and the ulna
- bastardizing — Present participle of bastardize.
- bastardsword — Alternative spelling of bastard sword.
- bastille day — (in France) an annual holiday on July 14, commemorating the fall of the Bastille
- bastinadoing — Present participle of bastinado.
- bated breath — to moderate or restrain: unable to bate our enthusiasm.
- batter board — (at a building site) one of a number of boards set horizontally to support strings for outlining the foundation plan of a building.
- batter bread — spoon bread.
- battery acid — acid used in batteries, esp car batteries
- battle dress — military field uniform and accouterments, generally camouflaged and stripped of all ornamentation.
- battlefields — Plural form of battlefield.
- battleground — A battleground is the same as a battlefield.
- battlemented — Furnished with battlements, as the ramparts of a city or castle.
- bay of fundy — an inlet of the Atlantic in SE Canada, between S New Brunswick and W Nova Scotia: remarkable for its swift tides of up to 21 m (70 ft)
- bay-head bar — a sand bar at the head of a bay.
- be damned if — If someone says 'I'm damned if I'm going to do it' or 'I'll be damned if I'll do it', they are emphasizing that they do not intend to do something and think it is unreasonable for anyone to expect them to do it.
- be done with — to end relations with
- beaconsfield — a town in SE England, in Buckinghamshire. Pop: 12 292 (2001)
- bead molding — bead (def 12).
- beaked whale — any of a worldwide family (Ziphiidae) of medium-sized toothed whales characterized by a long, narrow snout
- bear down on — to press down on; exert pressure on
- bear in mind — to remember
- bearded clam — mollusc eaten as seafood
- bearded lady — a woman with a beard, esp in a circus or freakshow
- bearded seal — a large gray-to-golden seal, Erignathus barbatus, inhabiting the Arctic Ocean and adjacent waters, having square foreflippers and a thick mustache of long bristles on each side of the muzzle.
- beardtongues — Plural form of beardtongue.
- bearing down — to hold up; support: to bear the weight of the roof.
- beche-de-mer — trepang
- bechuanaland — former British territory (1884-1966) in S Africa: now the country of Botswana
- bed moulding — a moulding in an entablature between the corona and the frieze
- bed of nails — a situation or position of extreme difficulty
- bed of roses — If you say that a situation is not a bed of roses, you mean that it is not as pleasant as it seems, and that there are some unpleasant aspects to it.
- bed-blocking — the use of hospital beds by elderly patients who cannot leave hospital because they have no place in a residential care home
- bedazzlement — to impress forcefully, especially so as to make oblivious to faults or shortcomings: Audiences were bedazzled by her charm.