13-letter words starting with b
- bass clarinet — a clarinet with the lowest range, in the octave below the B-flat clarinet
- bass response — the response of an audio reproduction system or component to low frequencies
- bass trombone — the lower-pitched of the two main types of trombone
- bass-baritone — a singer or voice in the bass range with baritone qualities
- bassenthwaite — a lake in NW England, in Cumbria near Keswick. Length: 6 km (4 miles)
- basso rilievo — bas-relief
- basso-relievo — bas-relief
- bastard amber — a color of gelatin commonly used in stage lighting, similar to light amber but having a pinkish cast.
- bastard eigne — the first-born illegitimate son of parents whose second son was legitimate.
- bastard title — half title (def 1).
- bastard-title — Also called bastard title. the first printed page of certain books, appearing after the end papers and before the title page and containing only the title of the book.
- bat-eared fox — a fox, Vulpes chama, inhabiting dry areas of southern Africa and having large pointed ears, silvery gray coat, and a bushy tail with a black tip.
- batan islands — a group of islands in the Philippines, north of Luzon. Capital: Basco. Pop: 16 467 (2000). Area: 197 sq km (76 sq miles)
- batch-process — to perform batch processing on (files)
- bathtub curve — Common term for the curve (resembling an end-to-end section of one of those claw-footed antique bathtubs) that describes the expected failure rate of electronics with time: initially high, dropping to near 0 for most of the system's lifetime, then rising again as it "tires out". See also burn-in period, infant mortality.
- bathurst burr — an Australian plant, Xanthium spinosum, having numerous hooked burrs that became entangled in sheep's wool
- bathylimnetic — (of an organism) living in the depths of lakes and marshes
- baton twirler — someone who twirls a baton, esp a drum major or majorette
- batrachotoxin — a steroidal alkaloid, C31H42N2O6, found in the skin of certain Neotropical frogs (genus Phyllobates) and used on poison arrows: one of the most powerful natural neurotoxins known
- battered wife — See under battered woman syndrome.
- battering ram — A battering ram is a long heavy piece of wood that is used to knock down the locked doors of buildings.
- battering-ram — an ancient military device with a heavy horizontal ram for battering down walls, gates, etc.
- batting order — the sequence in which hitters will bat in a given game, determined in advance by the team manager.
- battle it out — If one group or person battles it out with another, they take part in a fight or contest against each other until one of them wins or a definite result is reached. You can also say that two groups or two people battle it out.
- battle jacket — a closefitting jacket reaching to the waist
- battlecruiser — A large warship of a type built in the early 20th century, carrying similar armament to a battleship but faster and more lightly armored.
- battlegrounds — Plural form of battleground.
- bay for blood — If you say that people are baying for blood, you mean that they are demanding that someone should be hurt or punished.
- bay of bengal — a wide arm of the Indian Ocean, between India and Myanmar
- bay of biscay — a large bay of the Atlantic Ocean between W France and N Spain: notorious for storms
- bay of gdańsk — a wide inlet of the Baltic Sea on the N coast of Poland
- bay of naples — an inlet of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the SW coast of Italy
- bay of plenty — a large bay of the Pacific on the NE coast of the North Island, New Zealand
- bazillionaire — (humorous) An incredibly rich person.
- bbn butterfly — (computer) A supercomputer developed at BBN Technologies, named after the "butterfly" multi-stage switching network around which it was built. It could have up to 512 CPUs connected to allow every CPU access to every other CPU's memory, albeit with about 15 times the latency than for its own. The earlier GP-1000 models used up to 256 Motorola 68020s. The later TC-2000 models used up to 512 Motorola 88100s. Language developed for, or ported to, the BBN Butterfly were Butterfly Common LISP, Butterfly Scheme, Delirium, and MultiScheme.
- bcg (vaccine) — a vaccine prepared from an attenuated strain of the tubercle bacillus, used for immunization against tuberculosis
- be better off — If you say that someone would be better off doing something, you are advising them to do it or expressing the opinion that it would benefit them to do it.
- be hard going — If you say that something is hard going, you mean it is difficult and requires a lot of effort.
- be muffled up — If you are muffled up, you are wearing a lot of heavy clothes so that very little of your body or face is visible.
- be news to sb — If you say that something is news to you, you mean that you did not previously know what you have just been told, especially when you are surprised or annoyed about it.
- be nothing to — not to concern or be significant to (someone)
- be nuts about — to be greatly in love with
- be one's life — If you say that something or someone is your life, you are emphasizing that they are extremely important to you.
- be spoken for — If a person or thing is spoken for or has been spoken for, someone has claimed them or asked for them, so no-one else can have them.
- be upstanding — (in a court of law) a direction to all persons present to rise to their feet before the judge enters or leaves the court
- be wild about — If you are wild about someone or something, you like them very much.
- be witness to — If you are witness to something, you see it happen.
- beached whale — large sea mammal stranded on shore
- beacon school — a notably successful school whose methods and practices are brought to the attention of the education service as a whole in order that they may be adopted by other schools
- beacon status — a ranking awarded by the government to an organization, rendering it eligible for extra funding, and aimed at encouraging organizations to share good practice with each other