12-letter words containing i, b, s, e
- ballast line — the level to which a vessel is immersed when in ballast.
- ballet skirt — a full skirt, often made with several layers of fabric, typical of those worn by ballet dancers
- ballet suite — music written for a ballet but suitable or arranged for performance in an orchestral concert.
- bandjermasin — a seaport on the S coast of Borneo, in Indonesia.
- bandoneonist — One who plays the bandoneon.
- bank deposit — money placed in a bank account
- bankruptcies — Plural form of bankruptcy.
- banksia rose — a climbing rose, Rosa banksiae, native to China, having long, serrated leaves and white or yellow flowers.
- baptisteries — Plural form of baptistery.
- bar sinister — the condition, implication, or stigma of being of illegitimate birth
- baraesthesia — the ability to sense pressure
- barbiturates — any of a group of barbituric acid derivatives, used in medicine as sedatives and hypnotics.
- bargain sale — an event at which goods are sold at low prices, usually to clear old stocks
- barophoresis — the diffusion of suspended particles at a rate dependent on external forces
- barquisimeto — a city in NW Venezuela. Pop: 1 009 000 (2005 est)
- barristerial — pertaining to a barrister
- bartlesville — a city in NE Oklahoma.
- base bullion — smelted lead containing impurities, as gold, silver, or zinc, that are later removed.
- base jumping — a sport in which a participant parachutes from any of a variety of fixed objects such as high buildings, cliffs, etc
- base pairing — the hydrogen bonding that occurs between complementary nitrogenous bases in the two polynucleotide chains of a DNA molecule
- base station — a fixed transmitter that forms part of an otherwise mobile radio network
- base-pairing — the process of binding separate DNA sequences by base pairs.
- bashkirtseff — Marie, original name Marya Konstantinovna Bashkirtseva. 1858–84, Russian painter and diarist who wrote in French, noted esp for her Journal (1887)
- basic weight — basis weight.
- basidiospore — one of the spores, usually four in number, produced in a basidium
- basilic vein — a large vein situated on the inner side of the arm
- basis weight — the weight in pounds of a ream of paper of a basic size, usually 25 × 38 inches (63 × 96 cm) for book stock, 17 × 22 inches (43 × 55 cm) for writing stock, and 20 × 26 inches (50 × 66 cm) for cover stock.
- basket chair — a chair made of wickerwork; a wicker chair
- basketmaking — The construction of baskets, especially by traditional means.
- basmati rice — a variety of long-grain rice with slender aromatic grains, used for savoury dishes
- basque shirt — a knitted pullover shirt having a crew neck, long or short sleeves, and a pattern of horizontal stripes.
- basse-taille — of or relating to an enameling technique in which transparent enamels are fused over a background carved in low relief, or to a piece, as of jewelry, so enameled.
- bastard file — a file of the commercial grade of coarseness between coarse and second-cut.
- bastille day — (in France) an annual holiday on July 14, commemorating the fall of the Bastille
- battlefields — Plural form of battlefield.
- beaconsfield — a town in SE England, in Buckinghamshire. Pop: 12 292 (2001)
- beamsplitter — Alternative spelling of beam splitter.
- bear witness — to give written or oral testimony
- bearskin rug — the pelt of a bear, used as a rug
- 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)
- beautifulest — (dated) Most beautiful; more beautiful than anyone or anything else.
- beauty strip — a narrow forest corridor left uncut alongside a road or body of water.
- becomingness — The state or quality of becoming.
- bed of nails — a situation or position of extreme difficulty
- bedfordshire — a county of S central England, administered since 2009 by the unitary authorities of Bedford and Central Bedfordshire: mainly low-lying, with the Chiltern Hills in the south: the geographical county includes Luton, which became a separate unitary authority in 1997. Area (excluding Luton): 1192 sq km (460 sq miles)
- bedside lamp — a lamp beside a bed
- beggar-ticks — any of various plants, such as the bur marigold and tick trefoil, having fruits or seeds that cling to clothing, fur, etc
- behaviourism — Behaviourism is the belief held by some psychologists that the only valid method of studying the psychology of people or animals is to observe how they behave.
- beit knesset — a synagogue: often used in the names of congregations
- bell housing — A bell housing is a bell-shaped extension of an engine crankcase, that contains the flywheel and the clutch.