15-letter words containing b, o, s, n, i
- 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 on the side — an extramarital affair
- biting housefly — a two-winged fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, having the mouthparts adapted for biting, and commonly a household and stable pest.
- bits per second — (communications, unit) (bps, b/s) The unit in which data rate is measured. For example, a modem's data rate is usually measured in kilobits per second. In 1996, the maximum modem speed for use on the PSTN was 33.6 kbps, rising to 56 kbps in 1997. Note that kilo- (k), mega- (M), etc. in data rates denote powers of 1000, not 1024.
- bituminous coal — a soft black coal, rich in volatile hydrocarbons, that burns with a smoky yellow flame. Fixed carbon content: 46–86 per cent; calorific value: 1.93 × 107 – 3.63 × 107 J/kg
- black mountains — a mountain range running from N Monmouthshire and SE Powys (Wales) to SW Herefordshire (England). Highest peak: Waun Fach, 811 m (2660 ft)
- blast injection — the injection of liquid fuel directly into the cylinder of an internal-combustion engine using a blast of high-pressure air to atomize the spray of fuel
- blasting powder — a form of gunpowder made with sodium nitrate instead of saltpeter, used chiefly for blasting rock, ore, etc.
- blood poisoning — Blood poisoning is a serious illness resulting from an infection in your blood.
- bloodguiltiness — guilty of murder or bloodshed.
- blow one's mind — (in a human or other conscious being) the element, part, substance, or process that reasons, thinks, feels, wills, perceives, judges, etc.: the processes of the human mind.
- boa constrictor — A boa constrictor is a large snake that kills animals by wrapping itself round their bodies and squeezing them to death. Boa constrictors are found mainly in South and Central America and the West Indies.
- boarding school — A boarding school is a school which some or all of the pupils live in during the school term. Compare day school.
- body mass index — A person's body mass index is a measurement that represents the relationship between their weight and their height.
- bohemian forest — a mountain range between the SW Czech Republic and SE Germany. Highest peak: Arber, 1457 m (4780 ft)
- boiled dressing — a cooked salad dressing thickened with egg yolks and often containing mustard.
- bombing mission — a major bomb attack on a specific target or series of targets
- booster cushion — an extra seat or cushion placed on an existing seat for a child to sit on in a car
- borderline case — a person or thing that is not clearly classifiable as something
- borough-english — (until 1925) a custom in certain English boroughs whereby the youngest son inherited land to the exclusion of his older brothers
- boston marriage — (especially in 19th-century New England) an intimate friendship between two women often maintaining a household together.
- bourbon biscuit — a rich chocolate-flavoured biscuit with a chocolate-cream filling
- boustrophedonic — of or relating to lines written in opposite directions
- bowstring truss — a structural truss consisting of a curved top chord meeting a bottom chord at each end.
- boys' night out — an evening spent outside of the home by a group of men
- brachistochrone — the curve between two points through which a body moves under the force of gravity in a shorter time than for any other curve; the path of quickest descent
- branchiostegous — branchiostegal.
- brand extension — the practice of using a well-known brand name to promote new products or services in unrelated fields
- breeding season — the time of year during which animals breed
- bristol channel — an inlet of the Atlantic, between S Wales and SW England, merging into the Severn estuary. Length: about 137 km (85 miles)
- bristol fashion — clean and neat, with newly painted and scrubbed surfaces, brass polished, etc
- british council — an organization founded (1934) to extend the influence of British culture and education throughout the world
- bronchial tubes — the bronchi or their smaller divisions
- bronze diabetes — hemochromatosis.
- brother-in-arms — a fellow soldier or comrade in a shared struggle
- brownfield site — a disused site envisaged for redevelopment
- buffer solution — a solution to which a salt of a weak acid or base has been added
- bulimia nervosa — a disorder characterized by compulsive overeating followed by vomiting: sometimes associated with anxiety about gaining weight
- bureau of mines — a division of the Department of the Interior, created in 1910, that studies the nation's mineral resources and inspects mines.
- business double — a double made to increase the penalty points earned when a player believes the opponents cannot make their bid.
- business office — the office where the financial transactions, bookkeeping, etc. for a firm or institution are carried on
- business person — Business people are people who work in business.
- business school — A business school is a school or college which teaches business subjects such as economics and management.
- cannibalisation — Alternative form of cannibalization.
- cartesian doubt — willful suspension of all interpretations of experience that are not absolutely certain: used as a method of deriving, by elimination of such uncertainties, axioms upon which to base theories.
- cartier-bresson — Henri (ɑ̃ri). 1908–2004, French photographer
- chicken lobster — a young lobster weighing 1 pound (0.4 kg) or less.
- chief constable — A Chief Constable is the officer who is in charge of the police force in a particular county or area in Britain.
- chronobiologist — A person who is involved in chronobiology.
- color blindness — inability to distinguish one or several chromatic colors, independent of the capacity for distinguishing light and shade.