16-letter words containing n, e, r
- boeuf bourgignon — casserole of beef, vegetables, herbs, etc, cooked in red wine
- bon gre, mal gre — whether willing or not; willy-nilly.
- bonded warehouse — a warehouse in which dutiable goods are deposited until duty is paid or the goods are cleared for export
- bonhomme richard — the flagship of John Paul Jones.
- boolean-operator — any operation in which each of the operands and the result take one of two values.
- bornholm disease — an epidemic virus infection characterized by pain round the base of the chest
- boston cream pie — a cake of two layers with icing and a creamy filling
- boston tea party — a raid in 1773 made by citizens of Boston (disguised as Indians) on three British ships in the harbour as a protest against taxes on tea and the monopoly given to the East India Company. The contents of several hundred chests of tea were dumped into the harbour
- botanical garden — a place where collections of plants and trees are kept for scientific study and exhibition
- bouches-du-rhone — a department of S central France, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Capital: Marseille. Pop: 1 883 645 (2003 est). Area: 5284 sq km (2047 sq miles)
- boulogne-sur-mer — a port in N France, on the English Channel. Pop: 44 859 (1999)
- boundary dispute — dispute between neighbours about the boundary between their properties
- bracknell forest — a unitary authority in SE England, in E Berkshire. Pop: 110 100 (2003 est). Area: 109 sq km (42 sq miles)
- bragg scattering — the diffraction phenomenon exhibited by a crystal bombarded with x-rays in such a way that each plane of the crystal lattice acts as a reflector (Bragg reflector)
- brain-fever bird — an Indian cuckoo, Cuculus varius, that utters a repetitive call
- braking distance — the distance a vehicle travels from the point at which its brakes are applied to the point at which it comes to a stop
- branchial groove — one of a series of rudimentary depressions on the surface of the embryo between adjacent branchial arches, homologous to the branchial clefts of gill-breathing ancestral forms.
- branchiopneustic — breathing by means of gills, as certain aquatic insect larvae.
- brand acceptance — the extent to which consumers recognize and welcome a brand
- brandenburg gate — the only remaining city gate in Berlin, built by Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia in 1788–1791 as a symbol of peace and now one of the city's landmarks
- brandy alexander — an Alexander cocktail made with brandy
- brass instrument — a musical wind instrument of brass or other metal with a cup-shaped mouthpiece, as the trombone, tuba, French horn, trumpet, or cornet.
- brave west winds — the strong west and west-northwest winds blowing between latitudes 40° S and 60° S.
- bread and butter — Something that is the bread and butter of a person or organization is the activity or work that provides the main part of their income.
- bread-and-butter — providing a livelihood or basic source of income; supplying the basic needs of life: a bread-and-butter job; the agency's bread-and-butter account.
- break new ground — to do something that has not been done before
- break one's back — to overwork or work very hard
- break one's fast — to eat food for the first time after fasting, or for the first time in the day
- break one's neck — to exert oneself greatly, esp by hurrying, in order to do something
- break one's word — to fail to keep one's promise
- break-even point — When a company reaches break-even point, the money it makes from the sale of goods or services is just enough to cover the cost of supplying those goods or services, but not enough to make a profit.
- breast screening — a radiological or other examination of a woman's breasts to check for signs of cancer
- breath freshener — a mint or other sweet that one can suck or chew to release a scent that freshens the breath
- bred-in-the-bone — firmly instilled or established as if by heredity: the bred-in-the-bone integrity of the school's headmaster.
- breeding plumage — the plumage assumed by a male bird during the courtship period, especially in those species that are more colorful at this period.
- bren gun carrier — (esp in World War II) a small armoured vehicle equipped with a Bren gun
- bridge financing — interim or emergency financing through a short- or medium-term loan (bridge loan)
- bridging finance — money borrowed temporarily to cover the period before a particular event occurs, for example, until a house purchaser receives money under a mortgage
- bright and early — very early in the morning
- bright-blindness — blindness occurring in sheep grazing pastures heavily infested with bracken
- bring sb to heel — If you bring someone to heel, you force them to obey you.
- bring to bear on — to cause to have an effect on
- bring to justice — to capture, try, and usually punish (a criminal, an outlaw, etc)
- bristlecone pine — a coniferous tree, Pinus aristata, of the western US, bearing cones with bristle-like prickles: one of the longest-lived trees, useful in radiocarbon dating
- brittany spaniel — a short-tailed French bird dog that typically has a smooth orange- or liver-and-white coat
- brompton mixture — a mixture of narcotics, tranquilizers, and alcohol, used to kill pain for terminally ill patients
- bronchopneumonia — inflammation of the lungs, originating in the bronchioles
- brother jonathan — the United States or its people: predecessor of Uncle Sam
- brown house moth — a species of micro moth, Hofmannophila pseudospretella, which, although it usually inhabits birds' nests, sometimes enters houses where its larvae can be very destructive of stored fabrics and foodstuffs
- brown-eyed susan — a composite plant, Rudbeckia triloba, of the southeastern U.S., having a single flower with yellow rays darkening to an orange orbrown at the base and a brownish-black disk.