12-letter words containing o, b, s, c
- bishop's-cap — any of a genus (Mitella) of small woodland plants of the saxifrage family, with two-lobed seedcases shaped like a bishop's hat
- black cohosh — a plant of the ranunculaceous family, Cimicifuga racemosa, which is used as a natural alternative to hormone replacement therapy
- black cosmos — a garden plant, Cosmos diversifolius, of Mexico, having small, dahlialike tubers and solitary flower heads with red disk flowers and velvety, dark-red or purplish ray flowers.
- black forest — wooded mountain region in SW Germany
- black grouse — a large N European grouse, Lyrurus tetrix, the male of which has a bluish-black plumage and lyre-shaped tail
- black locust — Also called false acacia, yellow locust. a North American tree, Robinia pseudoacacia, of the legume family, having pinnate leaves and clusters of fragrant white flowers.
- black sapote — a tropical American tree, Diospyros digyna, related to the persimmon, having sweet, edible, green fruit that turns black when ripe.
- black scoter — a scoter of Eurasia and North America, Melanitta nigra, the adult male of which is black.
- blastocoelic — of or relating to the blastocoel
- blastomycete — any of a genus (Blastomyces) of yeastlike imperfect fungi that cause diseases in people and animals
- block island — an island off the coast of and a part of Rhode Island, at the E entrance to Long Island Sound.
- block signal — a fixed railroad signal governing the movements of trains entering and using a given section of track.
- block system — the system whereby a railway is divided up into separate sections of track where only one train can travel at a time
- blockbusting — A blockbusting film or book is one that is very successful, usually because it is very exciting.
- blocked shoe — a dancing shoe with a stiffened toe that enables a ballet dancer to dance on the tips of the toes
- bloodsucking — any animal that sucks blood, especially a leech.
- blue succory — a composite garden plant, Catananche caerulea, of southern Europe, having very hairy leaves and blue flower heads, used by the ancients as a love potion.
- bluestocking — A bluestocking is an intellectual woman.
- board school — (formerly) a school managed by a board elected by local ratepayers
- body fascism — intolerance of those whose bodies do not conform to a particular view of what is desirable
- body scanner — a machine using X-rays and a computer, used in medicine to look for signs of disease, or in security operations to look for drugs, weapons, etc
- bolshevistic — of, relating to, or characteristic of Bolshevists or Bolshevism.
- 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
- bonus scheme — a scheme in a company or other organization according to which employees receive a bonus if they meet specified targets
- book matches — safety matches made of paper and fastened into a small cardboard folder
- book society — book club.
- bookcrossing — the practice of deliberately leaving books in places where they will be found and read by other people
- boot-scraper — a contraption consisting of an upright metal shape formerly placed outside some houses to enable people to scrape the mud from their boots before going in
- bootylicious — sexually attractive, esp with curvaceous buttocks
- booze cruise — a day trip to a foreign country, esp from England across the English Channel to France, for the purposes of buying cheap alcohol, cigarettes, etc
- borosilicate — a salt of boric and silicic acids
- borscht belt — (sometimes initial capital letters) the hotels of the predominantly Jewish resort area in the Catskill Mountains, many of them offering nightclub or cabaret entertainment.
- bossier city — city in NW La., on the Red River opposite Shreveport: pop. 56,000
- bounce flash — a flash lamp designed to produce a bounced flash.
- box lacrosse — a form of lacrosse played indoors, usually on a hockey rink with a wooden floor, between two teams of six players.
- brachycerous — (of insects) having short antennae
- braggadocios — empty boasting; bragging.
- brass-collar — unwaveringly faithful to a political party; voting the straight ticket: a brass-collar Democrat.
- broadcasting — Broadcasting is the making and sending out of television and radio programmes.
- broca's area — the region of the cerebral cortex of the brain concerned with speech; the speech centre
- bronchoscope — an instrument for examining and providing access to the interior of the bronchial tubes
- bronchoscopy — an examination by means of a bronchoscope.
- bronchospasm — an abnormal contraction of the bronchi resulting in restriction of the airway
- broncobuster — (in the western US and Canada) a cowboy who breaks in broncos or wild horses
- buffer stock — a stock of a commodity built up by a government or trade organization with the object of using it to stabilize prices
- bunco artist — a confidence trickster or con artist
- burseraceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Burseraceae, a tropical family of trees and shrubs having compound leaves and resin or balsam in their stems. The family includes bdellium and some balsams
- butcher shop — a shop in which meat, poultry, and sometimes fish are sold.
- butterscotch — Butterscotch is a hard yellowish-brown sweet made from butter and sugar boiled together.
- by the score — If things happen or exist by the score, they happen or exist in large numbers.