15-letter words containing a, b, p
- bear comparison — to be sufficiently similar in class or range to be compared with (something else), esp favourably
- beat oneself up — to reproach oneself
- beefsteak plant — an Asian plant, Perilla frutescens crispa, with aromatic red or green leaves which are used in cooking: family Lamiaceae
- beet leafhopper — a small leafhopper (Circulifer tenellus) that transmits a very destructive virus to sugar beets
- ben day process — a method of adding texture, shading, or detail to line drawings by overlaying a transparent sheet of dots or any other pattern during platemaking
- benefit payment — a payment of money by the government to people who are ill, unemployed, poor or who have children
- beyond the pale — If you think that someone's actions or behaviour are not acceptable, you can say that they are beyond the pale.
- bias (ply) tire — a motor vehicle tire having a foundation of plies of rubberized cords in a crisscross pattern of lines diagonal to the center line of the tread
- biblia pauperum — any of the picture books illustrating Biblical events and usually containing a short text, used chiefly in the Middle Ages for purposes of religious instruction.
- bibliographical — a complete or selective list of works compiled upon some common principle, as authorship, subject, place of publication, or printer.
- billiard parlor — poolroom (def 1).
- biobibliography — a bibliography containing biographical sketches of the authors listed.
- biostratigraphy — the examination of the ages of rock strata by using fossils
- bipartite graph — complete graph
- birch partridge — ruffed grouse
- bird of passage — If you refer to someone as a bird of passage, you mean that they are staying in a place for a short time before going to another place.
- bishop auckland — a town in N England, in central Durham: seat of the bishops of Durham since the 12th century: light industries. Pop: 24 764 (2001)
- bit-mapped font — a computer font whose characters are held in memory as series of dots.
- bitmapped image — a computer image that is held in memory as a series of colored dots in a grid, each dot represented by one or more bits.
- bits and pieces — You can use bits and pieces or bits and bobs to refer to a collection of different things.
- black operation — a covert and undocumented military operation
- black raspberry — a plant, Rubus occidentalis, of E North America, that has black berry-like fruits
- black september — a Palestinian Terrorist group, responsible for the assassinations of Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games at Munich in 1972
- bladder campion — a European caryophyllaceous plant, Silene vulgaris, having white flowers with an inflated calyx
- blasphemousness — the quality of being blasphemous
- blasting powder — a form of gunpowder made with sodium nitrate instead of saltpeter, used chiefly for blasting rock, ore, etc.
- blenheim palace — a palace in Woodstock in Oxfordshire: built (1705–22) by Sir John Vanbrugh for the 1st Duke of Marlborough as a reward from the nation for his victory at Blenheim; gardens laid out by Henry Wise and Capability Brown; birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill (1874)
- board of parole — an agency that determines which prisoners are to be released on parole
- boiled potatoes — potatoes, usually peeled, cooked in boiling water
- bouillotte lamp — a table lamp of the 18th century, having two or three adjustable candle brackets and a common shade sliding on a central shaft.
- bowel complaint — bowel disease or condition
- box the compass — to name the compass points in order
- brachial plexus — a network of nerves in the armpits and neck, innervating the shoulders, arms, and hands.
- brachiocephalic — of, relating to, or supplying the arm and head
- braille display — (hardware) (Or "refreshable braille display", "refreshable display") An electromechanical device that renders braille with tiny, independently controlled pins used to represent the state of dots in braille cells. Each pin, in its "on" state, raises above the top of its hole in the screen; in its "off" state, it drops below the top of its hole. Older systems used tiny solenoids to control the state of the pins; modern systems are piezoelectric. Typical dimensions of a braille display are 1 line of 40 cells, each cell of two-by-eight dots.
- braille printer — (printer) (Or "(Braille) embosser") A printer, necessarily an impact printer, that renders text as Braille. Blind users call other printers ink printers.
- brake parachute — a parachute attached to the rear of a vehicle and opened to assist braking
- branchial pouch — one of a series of rudimentary outcroppings of the inner pharyngeal wall, corresponding to the branchial grooves on the surface.
- brazilian plume — a tropical American plant, Justicia carnea, of the acanthus family, having hairy, prominently veined leaves and a short, dense cluster of purple or pink flowers, grown in greenhouses or outdoors in warm regions.
- break-in period — a period during which certain restrictions or moderation in operating should be followed, as the avoidance of high speed, rapid acceleration, or severe braking for a new automobile.
- break-out group — a group of people who detach themselves from a larger group or meeting in order to hold separate discussions
- breakeven point — a point at which the total revenue and total cost are equal
- breaking plough — a plough with a long shallow mouldboard for turning virgin land or sod land
- breathing space — A breathing space is a short period of time between two activities in which you can recover from the first activity and prepare for the second one.
- broca's aphasia — a type of aphasia caused by a lesion in Broca's area of the brain, characterized by misarticulated speech and lack of grammatical morphemes.
- brompheniramine — a substance, C 16 H 19 BrN 2 , used as an antihistamine in the management of various allergies, as hay fever.
- brushback pitch — a fast ball deliberately thrown at or too near a batter's head
- brussels carpet — a worsted carpet with a heavy pile formed by uncut loops of wool on a linen warp
- buryat republic — a constituent republic of SE central Russia, on Lake Baikal: mountainous, with forests covering over half the total area. Capital: Ulan-Ude. Pop: 981 000 (2002). Area: 351 300 sq km (135 608 sq miles)
- butler's pantry — a pantry in a large house where crockery, glassware, cutlery, etc is kept