13-letter words containing s, a
- autumn crocus — a liliaceous plant, Colchicum autumnale, of Europe and N Africa having pink or purplish autumn flowers
- availableness — Competent power; validity; efficacy; as, the availableness of a title.
- avant-gardism — the attitudes, techniques, etc., of the cultural avant-garde.
- average speed — a scalar measure of the rate of movement of a body expressed as the distance travelled divided by the time taken
- awe-inspiring — If you describe someone or something as awe-inspiring, you are emphasizing that you think that they are remarkable and amazing, although sometimes rather frightening.
- baal shem tov — original name Israel ben Eliezer ?1700–60, Jewish religious leader, teacher, and healer in Poland: founder of modern Hasidism
- baal-shem-tov — (Israel ben Eliezer"Besht") c1700–60, Ukrainian teacher and religious leader: founder of the Hasidic movement of Judaism.
- baba ghanoush — a thick purée of aubergines, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic, originating in North Africa and the Mediterranean
- baby primrose — a tender primrose, Primula forbesii, native to China and Burma, having white, hairy leaves and rose- or lilac-colored flowers with a yellow center.
- baby snatcher — a person who steals a baby from its pram
- baby's-breath — a tall Eurasian caryophyllaceous plant, Gypsophila paniculata, bearing small white or pink fragrant flowers
- bachelor seal — a young male seal, esp a fur seal, that has not yet mated
- bachelorettes — Plural form of bachelorette.
- back emission — the secondary emission of electrons from an anode
- back pressure — the pressure that opposes the motion of a piston on its exhaust stroke in an internal-combustion engine
- back straight — a straight part of a circuit, esp of an athletics track or a racecourse, furthest from the finishing point
- back-slapping — Back-slapping is noisy, cheerful behaviour which people use in order to show affection or appreciation to each other.
- back-stabbing — Back-stabbing consists of unkind and disloyal actions or remarks that are likely to harm someone such as a friend or colleague.
- backbone site — A key Usenet, electronic mail and/or Internet site; one that processes a large amount of third-party traffic, especially if it is the home site of any of the regional coordinators for the Usenet maps. Notable backbone sites as of early 1993 include uunet and the mail machines at Rutgers University, UC Berkeley, DEC's Western Research Laboratories, Ohio State University and the University of Texas. Compare rib site, leaf site.
- backgrounders — Plural form of backgrounder.
- backing store — a computer storage device, usually a disk, that provides additional storage space for information so that it can be accessed and referred to when required and may be copied into the processor if needed
- backscratcher — an implement with a long handle, used for scratching one's back
- backspace key — a key on a typewriter or computer keyboard that makes the carriage or cursor move backwards one space
- backstitching — Present participle of backstitch.
- bacteriolysin — an antibody which, when it combines with bacterial cells, causes lysis of those cells, thus destroying them
- bacteriolysis — the destruction or disintegration of bacteria
- bacterioscopy — the examination of bacteria with a microscope.
- bacteriostats — Plural form of bacteriostat.
- bad godesberg — official name of Godesberg.
- baffin island — the largest island of the Canadian Arctic, between Greenland and Hudson Bay. Area: 476 560 sq km (184 000 sq miles)
- bag of tricks — a container or receptacle of leather, plastic, cloth, paper, etc., capable of being closed at the mouth; pouch.
- bag of waters — a fluid-filled membranous sac in the pregnant uterus that encloses and cushions the fetus, normally breaking at or just before the time of birth; the amnion.
- bag-snatching — theft that involves snatching women's handbags
- baggagemaster — a person employed, especially by a railroad, bus company, or steamship line, to take charge of passengers' baggage.
- bail bondsman — an individual or firm that lends bail money to defendants awaiting trial
- baily's beads — the brilliant points of sunlight that appear briefly around the moon, just before and after a total eclipse
- baker's dozen — thirteen
- baker's yeast — a yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) used in baking as a leavening, as for certain breads
- balance shaft — a shaft in a vehicle engine that is designed to reduce the amount of vibration from other moving parts as it rotates
- balance sheet — A balance sheet is a written statement of the amount of money and property that a company or person has, including amounts of money that are owed or are owing. Balance sheet is also used to refer to the general financial state of a company.
- balance staff — a pivoted axle or shaft on which the balance is mounted.
- balanced step — any of a series of staircase winders so planned that they are nearly as wide at the inside of the stair as the adjacent fliers.
- balch springs — a town in NE Texas.
- balkan states — the countries of the Balkan Peninsula: the former Yugoslavian Republics, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, and the European part of Turkey
- ballad stanza — a four-line stanza, often used in ballads, in which the second and fourth lines rhyme and have three stresses each and the first and third lines are unrhymed and have four stresses each
- ballet lesson — a class in which ballet is taught
- ballet master — a man who teaches and rehearses the dancers in a ballet company
- ballet school — a school where professional ballet dancers are trained
- ballistically — of or relating to ballistics.
- ballistospore — a spore, esp a fungal spore, that is forcefully ejected from its source