12-letter words containing an
- bradmanesque — (of a batsman or innings) reminiscent of Sir Don Bradman in terms of dominance over the opposing bowlers
- branch depot — one of a several depots receiving stock from the same central supplier
- branch plant — a plant or factory in Canada belonging to a company whose headquarters are in another country
- branch point — Electricity. a point in an electric network at which three or more conductors meet.
- branch water — water from a stream, as opposed to mineral or soda water
- brand leader — The brand leader of a particular product is the brand of it that most people choose to buy.
- brazilianite — a mineral, sodium aluminum phosphate, Na 2 Al 6 P 4 O 16 (OH) 8 , occurring in yellow-green crystals with a vitreous luster: used as a gem.
- breakdancing — a type of vigorous dance
- brilliantine — a perfumed oil used to make the hair smooth and shiny
- 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.
- brisbane box — a broad-leaved evergreen tree, Tristania conferta, native to Australia, having a deciduous outer bark.
- bromomethane — methyl bromide.
- brooks range — a mountain range in N Alaska. Highest peak: Mount Isto, 2761 m (9058 ft)
- brown canker — a fungous disease of roses, characterized by leaf and flower lesions, stem cankers surrounded by a reddish-purple border, and dieback.
- bubble dance — a solo dance by a nude or nearly nude woman, as in a burlesque show, using one or more balloons for covering.
- buccaneering — If you describe someone as buccaneering, you mean that they enjoy being involved in risky or even dishonest activities, especially in order to make money.
- buccaneerish — of or relating to a buccaneer
- bullamakanka — an imaginary very remote and backward place
- buoyancy aid — a type of usually foam-filled lifejacket designed for use in sports such as canoeing
- burnt orange — of a dark orange colour, sometimes due to calcination of orange pigment
- by all means — You can say 'by all means' to tell someone that you are very willing to allow them to do something.
- by and large — You use by and large to indicate that a statement is mostly but not completely true.
- by any means — in any way possible; at all; somehow
- byelorussian — Byelorussian means belonging or relating to Byelorussia or to its people or culture.
- cackermander — a friend
- cadet branch — the family or family branch of a younger son
- calabar bean — the dark brown very poisonous seed of a leguminous woody climbing plant, Physostigma venenosum, of tropical Africa, used as a source of the drug physostigmine
- calycanthemy — the abnormal development of the calyx of a flower into a structure resembling a corolla
- cam ranh bay — an inlet of the South China Sea, on the SE coast of Vietnam: U. S. military facility during the Vietnam War.
- campo grande — a city in SW Brazil, capital of Mato Grosso do Sul state on the São Paulo–Corumbá railway: market centre. Pop: 746 000 (2005 est)
- can of worms — a complicated problem
- can't happen — (programming) The traditional program comment for code executed under a condition that should never be true, for example a file size computed as negative. Often, such a condition being true indicates data corruption or a faulty algorithm; it is almost always handled by emitting a fatal error message and terminating or crashing, since there is little else that can be done. Some case variant of "can't happen" is also often the text emitted if the "impossible" error actually happens. Although "can't happen" events are genuinely infrequent in production code, programmers wise enough to check for them habitually are often surprised at how frequently they are triggered during development and how many headaches checking for them turns out to head off. See also firewall code, professional programming.
- canada goose — A Canada goose is a grayish-brown wild goose that comes from North America.
- canaliculate — having a groove or grooves
- canalisation — The conversion of a river or other waterway to a canal.
- canalization — the act of canalizing
- canary grass — any of various grasses of the genus Phalaris, esp P. canariensis, that is native to Europe and N Africa and has straw-coloured seeds used as birdseed
- cancellarial — relating to a chancellor
- cancellation — the fact or an instance of cancelling
- cancelpoodle — (messaging) (Or Cancelbunny) A manifestation of the Cancelmoose in the form of a more selective (and probably not automated) way to cancel Usenet articles. The term became common during the alt.religion.scientology wars of the mid-90s, during which Cancelpoodles were used. The "poodle" part is an allusion to one of the parties obliquely involved in the fray, who an earlier well-known witticism had compared to "a psychotic poodle".
- cancer stick — a cigarette.
- cancerphobia — an excessive fear of getting cancer
- candied peel — fruit skin which has been impregnated or encrusted with sugar or syrup, esp that of citrus fruits
- candlefishes — Plural form of candlefish.
- candleholder — a candlestick
- candlesticks — Plural form of candlestick.
- candy stripe — a pattern of bright stripes of one color against a plain background, used chiefly in fabrics.
- candygrammar — (language) A programming-language grammar that is mostly syntactic sugar; a play on "candygram". COBOL, Apple Computer's Hypertalk language, and many 4GLs share this property. The intent is to be as English-like as possible and thus easier for unskilled people to program. However, syntax isn't what makes programming hard; it's the mental effort and organisation required to specify an algorithm precisely. Thus "candygrammar" languages are just as difficult to program in, and far more painful for the experienced hacker.
- canine corps — a military or law enforcement body which uses dogs for the detection of explosives or drugs or for security, tracking, etc
- canine tooth — canine (def 2).