12-letter words containing k, e, l
- kill oneself — to overexert oneself
- killer micro — [Popularised by Eugene Brooks] A microprocessor-based machine that infringes on mini, mainframe, or supercomputer performance turf. Often heard in "No one will survive the attack of the killer micros!", the battle cry of the downsizers. Used especially of RISC architectures. The popularity of the phrase "attack of the killer micros" is doubtless reinforced by the movie title "Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes" (one of the canonical examples of so-bad-it's-wonderful among hackers). This has even more flavour now that killer micros have gone on the offensive not just individually (in workstations) but in hordes (within massively parallel computers).
- killer whale — any of several predatory dolphins, especially the black-and-white Orcinus orca, found in all seas.
- kilocalories — Plural form of kilocalorie.
- kindred soul — like-minded person
- kinetoplasts — Plural form of kinetoplast.
- king vulture — a large, black-and-white vulture, Sarcorhamphus papa, of Central and South America, having colorful wattles and wartlike protuberances on its head and neck.
- kiss of life — medicine
- kitchen foil — aluminium foil used in cooking or storing food
- kitchen salt — coarse salt that is used in cooking but not at the table
- kite balloon — a barrage balloon intended for use in information-gathering and observation; it is usually tethered to the ground and has lobes to keep it stable and pointing into the wind
- kitty litter — litter (sense 4)
- klamath weed — the St.-John's-wort, Hypericum perforatum.
- klein bottle — a one-sided figure consisting of a tapered tube the narrow end of which is bent back, run through the side of the tube, and flared to join the wide end, thereby allowing any two points on the figure to be joined by an unbroken line.
- kleptocratic — a government or state in which those in power exploit national resources and steal; rule by a thief or thieves.
- kleptomaniac — a person who has kleptomania.
- kletterschuh — a lightweight climbing boot with a canvas or suede upper and Vibram (originally felt or cord) sole
- klipspringer — a small, agile African antelope, Oreotragus oreotragus, of mountainous regions from the Cape of Good Hope to Ethiopia.
- kluge around — (jargon) To avoid a bug or difficult condition by inserting a kluge. Compare workaround.
- knee-slapper — a joke evoking boisterous hilarity.
- kneeling bus — a bus that can lower its body or entrance door to facilitate boarding by the elderly or people with disabilities.
- knightliness — Knightly behaviour; chivalry.
- knowableness — the quality of being knowable
- knowledgable — possessing or exhibiting knowledge, insight, or understanding; intelligent; well-informed; discerning; perceptive.
- knuckle ball — a slow pitch that moves erratically toward home plate, usually delivered by holding the ball between the thumb and the knuckles of the first joints of the first two or three fingers.
- knuckle down — a joint of a finger, especially one of the articulations of a metacarpal with a phalanx.
- knuckleballs — Plural form of knuckleball.
- knucklebones — (in humans) any of the bones forming a knuckle of a finger.
- knuckleheads — Plural form of knucklehead.
- kolyma range — a mountain range in NE Russia, in NE Siberia, extending about 1100 km (700 miles) between the Kolyma River and the Sea of Okhotsk. Highest peak: 1862 m (6109 ft)
- kona cyclone — a slow-moving cyclone occuring during the winter over the subtropical Pacific Ocean.
- kosher-style — (of a cuisine, restaurant, etc.) featuring traditional Jewish dishes, but not adhering to the dietary laws: kosher-style cooking.
- kremlinology — the study of the government of the former Soviet Union, especially the study of those factors governing its foreign affairs.
- kupfernickel — (archaic) cupronickel.
- kylie effect — the increased awareness of breast cancer caused by the publicity surrounding its diagnosis in Kylie Minogue, born 1968, Australian singer and actress
- labor market — the available supply of labor considered with reference to the demand for it.
- ladder track — a railroad track linking a series of parallel tracks.
- ladder truck — hook and ladder.
- ladylikeness — Ladylike behaviour.
- lake balaton — a large shallow lake in W Hungary. Area: 689 sq km (266 sq miles)
- lake charles — a city in SW Louisiana.
- lake dweller — an inhabitant of a lake dwelling.
- lake herring — a cisco or whitefish, especially Coregonus artedii, of the Great Lakes.
- lake jackson — a town in S Texas.
- lake lucerne — a lake in central Switzerland: fed and drained chiefly by the River Reuss. Area: 115 sq km (44 sq miles)
- lake mälaren — a lake in S Sweden, extending 121 km (75 miles) west from Stockholm, where it joins with an inlet of the Baltic Sea (the Saltsjön). Area: 1140 sq km (440 sq miles)
- lake managua — a lake in W Nicaragua: drains into Lake Nicaragua by the Tipitapa River. Length: 61 km (38 miles). Width: about 26 km (16 miles)
- lake nipigon — a lake in central Canada, in NW Ontario, draining into Lake Superior via the Nipigon River. Area: 4843 sq km (1870 sq miles)
- lake ontario — a province in S Canada, bordering on the Great Lakes. 412,582 sq. mi. (1,068,585 sq. km). Capital: Toronto.
- lake station — a town in NW Indiana.