13-letter words containing h, b, a, r
- bartholinitis — Inflammation of Bartholin's cyst.
- bartholomew i — (Dimitrios Archontonis) born 1940, Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church since 1991.
- basking shark — a very large plankton-eating shark, Cetorhinus maximus, often floating at the sea surface: family Cetorhinidae
- 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.
- bathurst burr — an Australian plant, Xanthium spinosum, having numerous hooked burrs that became entangled in sheep's wool
- batrachotoxin — a steroidal alkaloid, C31H42N2O6, found in the skin of certain Neotropical frogs (genus Phyllobates) and used on poison arrows: one of the most powerful natural neurotoxins known
- be hard going — If you say that something is hard going, you mean it is difficult and requires a lot of effort.
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- bench warrant — a warrant issued by a judge or court directing that an offender be apprehended
- benton harbor — a city in SW Michigan, on Lake Michigan.
- berbice chair — large armchair with long arms that can be folded inwards to act as leg rests
- berchtesgaden — a town in Germany, in SE Bavaria: site of the fortified mountain retreat of Adolf Hitler. Pop: 7667 (2003 est)
- bethnal green — a former borough of London, England, N of the Thames.
- bharat natyam — a form of Indian classical ballet
- bharata natya — a traditional south Indian dance style, formerly performed only by devadasis.
- bibliographer — an expert in bibliography
- bibliographic — a complete or selective list of works compiled upon some common principle, as authorship, subject, place of publication, or printer.
- bibliothecary — a librarian
- bibliotherapy — the use of reading as therapy
- big-heartedly — in a big-hearted manner
- binary search — (algorithm) A search algorithm which repeatedly divides an ordered search space in half according to how the required (key) value compares with the middle element. The following pseudo-C routine performs a binary search return the index of the element of vector "thing[first..last]" equal to "target": if (target < thing[first] || target > thing[last]) return NOT_FOUND; while (first < last) { mid = (first+last)/2; /* truncate to integer */ if (target == thing[mid]) return mid; if (target < thing[mid]) last = mid-1; else first = mid+1; } if (target == thing[last]) return last; return NOT_FOUND; (2003-01-14)
- bio-autograph — an analytical technique in which organic compounds are separated by chromatography and identified by studying their effects on microorganisms.
- bioautography — an analytical technique in which organic compounds are separated by chromatography and identified by studying their effects on microorganisms.
- biobehavioral — of or relating to the application of biological methods and ideas to the study of behavior in an attempt to understand emotions and reactions in terms of brain and physiological function.
- biogeographer — a person who is knowledgeable about biogeography
- bird-watching — Bird-watching is the activity of watching and studying wild birds in their natural surroundings.
- birth parents — a child's biological parents, regardless of whether they subsequently bring up the child
- birthday bash — a birthday party
- birthday cake — a special cake eaten at a birthday party
- birthday card — a greeting card sent on someone's birthday
- birthday girl — the girl or woman whose birthday is being celebrated
- birthday suit — If you are in your birthday suit, you are not wearing any clothes.
- birthing ball — a large soft rubber ball used by women during childbirth to give support and to aid pain relief
- black hickory — a species of smooth-barked hickory, Carya tomentosa, with fragrant foliage that turns bright yellow in autumn
- black panther — (in the US) a member of a militant Black political party (1965–82) founded to end the political dominance of White people
- black-hearted — evil, malicious, or wicked
- blepharoplast — a cylindrical cytoplasmic body in protozoa
- blepharospasm — spasm of the muscle of the eyelids, causing the eyes to shut tightly, either as a response to painful stimuli or occurring as a form of dystonia
- boardinghouse — a private house in which accommodation and meals are provided for paying guests
- body snatcher — (formerly) a person who robbed graves and sold the corpses for dissection
- bohr magneton — a unit that is used to indicate the magnetic moment of the electron structure in an atom, equal to 9.27 × 10 −21 erg/gauss.
- bottle-washer — a menial or factotum