12-letter words containing m, a, b
- boilermaking — metal-working in heavy industry; plating or welding
- bomb factory — a site or building in which terrorists illicitly and secretly create bombs
- bombacaceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Bombacaceae, a family of tropical trees, including the kapok tree and baobab, that have very thick stems, often with water-storing tissue
- bombay hills — a row of hills marking the southern boundary of greater Auckland on the North Island, New Zealand
- bombe glacée — a dessert of ice cream lined or filled with custard, cake crumbs, etc
- book matches — safety matches made of paper and fastened into a small cardboard folder
- boomer state — Oklahoma
- boomeranging — a bent or curved piece of tough wood used by the Australian Aborigines as a throwing club, one form of which can be thrown so as to return to the thrower.
- bottom break — a branch coming from the bottom of a plant stem, usually formed by pinching and disbudding.
- bottom grass — any grass that grows on bottoms or lowlands.
- bottom quark — a type of quark with a mass of c. 4.7 to 5.3 GeV/c2, a negative charge that is 1⁄3 the charge of an electron, zero charm, and zero strangeness
- bottom yeast — a yeast whose cells, in the manufacture of wine and lager beer, fall to the bottom as a sediment.
- box magazine — a rectangular cartridge holder in a submachine or light machine gun.
- boxgrove man — a type of primitive man, probably Homo heidelbergensis, and probably dating from the Middle Palaeolithic period some 500 000 years ago; remains were found at Boxgrove in West Sussex in 1993 and 1995
- boxing match — a competition between two boxers
- boyoma falls — a series of seven cataracts in the NE Democratic Republic of Congo, on the upper River Congo: forms an unnavigable stretch of 90 km (56 miles), which falls 60 m (200 ft)
- braced frame — a building frame employing a heavy, braced framework of solid girts mortised into solid posts the full height of the frame, with studs one story high filling the interstices.
- bracket lamp — a wall light that is attached to the wall by a bracket
- bradmanesque — (of a batsman or innings) reminiscent of Sir Don Bradman in terms of dominance over the opposing bowlers
- brahma samaj — a modern Hindu movement advocating a monotheistic religion based on the Upanishads, and social and educational reforms according to Western principles.
- brahmacharya — the stage of life of the student, entailing study of the Vedas and complete celibacy, usually lasting for twelve years.
- brain damage — If someone suffers brain damage, their brain is damaged by an illness or injury so that they cannot function normally.
- brain tumour — a tumour that is situated in the brain
- brainstormer — a person who brainstorms
- brambleberry — the fruit of a bramble.
- breastsummer — a girder extending across a large opening in a building to support the wall above, used primarily over shop-fronts
- brigham city — a city in N Utah.
- brinkmanship — Brinkmanship is a method of behaviour, especially in politics, in which you deliberately get into dangerous situations which could result in disaster but which could also bring success.
- british warm — an army officer's short thick overcoat
- broad jumper — a participant in the long jump.
- broad-minded — If you describe someone as broad-minded, you approve of them because they are willing to accept types of behaviour which other people consider immoral.
- bromoacetone — a colorless and highly toxic liquid, CH 2 BrCOCH 3 , used as a lachrymatory compound in tear gas and chemical warfare gas.
- bromomethane — methyl bromide.
- bronchospasm — an abnormal contraction of the bronchi resulting in restriction of the airway
- bronze medal — A bronze medal is a medal made of bronze or bronze-coloured metal that is given as a prize to the person who comes third in a competition, especially a sports contest.
- bud mutation — a variation produced by a genetic alteration in the bud such that the seeds produced by the resulting growth perpetuate the change in succeeding generations.
- bull mastiff — a large powerful breed of dog with a short usually fawn or brindle coat, developed by crossing the bulldog with the mastiff
- bullamakanka — an imaginary very remote and backward place
- bumbleheaded — clumsy, plodding, or foolish: He stumbled through the talk in his bumbleheaded way.
- bumper guard — either of two vertical crosspieces attached to a bumper of a motor vehicle to prevent it from locking bumpers with another vehicle.
- bumping race — (esp at Oxford and Cambridge) a race in which rowing eights start an equal distance one behind the other and each tries to bump the boat in front
- bur marigold — any plant of the genus Bidens that has yellow flowers and pointed fruits that cling to fur and clothing: family Asteraceae (composites)
- burial mound — a barrow
- burmese jade — jadeite of the finest quality: a true jade.
- burnt almond — a sweet consisting of an almond enclosed in burnt sugar
- buy the farm — a tract of land, usually with a house, barn, silo, etc., on which crops and often livestock are raised for livelihood.
- by all means — You can say 'by all means' to tell someone that you are very willing to allow them to do something.
- by any means — in any way possible; at all; somehow
- cabbage moth — a common brownish noctuid moth, Mamestra brassicae, the larva of which is destructive of cabbages and other plants
- cabbage palm — a West Indian palm, Roystonea (or Oreodoxa) oleracea, whose leaf buds are eaten like cabbage