16-letter words containing a, b, c, t, e, r
- paratuberculosis — Johne's disease.
- peach tree borer — the larva of any of several clearwing moths, as Sanninoidea exitiosa, that bore into the wood of the peach and other drupaceous trees.
- platform-balance — a scale with a platform for holding the items to be weighed.
- pocket billiards — pool2 (def 1).
- public relations — (used with a plural verb) the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
- rambunctiousness — difficult to control or handle; wildly boisterous: a rambunctious child.
- reaction chamber — the chamber in a rocket engine in which the reaction or combustion of fuel occurs
- reaction turbine — a turbine driven by the reactive force of a fluid passing through the rotor blades.
- rectus abdominis — a long flat muscle that extends along the whole length of both sides of the abdomen. It flexes the vertebral column, particularly the lumbar portion; it also tenses the anterior abdominal wall and assists in compressing the abdominal contents
- republican party — one of the two major political parties in the U.S.: originated 1854–56.
- rich tea biscuit — any of various semisweet biscuits
- right about face — Military. a command, given to a soldier or soldiers at attention, to turn the body about toward the right so as to face in the opposite direction. the act of so turning in a prescribed military manner.
- run the blockade — to go past or through a blockade
- sabattier effect — the alteration of the image tones of a photographic print by briefly reexposing the negative after it has been partially developed.
- scavenger beetle — any beetle of the mostly aquatic family Hydrophilidae, having clubbed antennae and long palps, and usually feeding on decaying vegetation
- security blanket — a blanket or other familiar item carried especially by a young child to provide reassurance and a feeling of psychological security.
- self-lubricating — to apply some oily or greasy substance to (a machine, parts of a mechanism, etc.) in order to diminish friction; oil or grease (something).
- self-lubrication — the process of becoming lubricated without external factors
- sodium carbonate — Also called soda ash. an anhydrous, grayish-white, odorless, water-soluble powder, Na 2 CO 3 , usually obtained by the Solvay process and containing about 1 percent of impurities consisting of sulfates, chlorides, and bicarbonates of sodium: used in the manufacture of glass, ceramics, soaps, paper, petroleum products, sodium salts, as a cleanser, for bleaching, and in water treatment.
- spectacled cobra — Indian cobra.
- stretcher bearer — a person who helps to carry a stretcher, esp in wartime
- stretcher-bearer — a person who helps carry a stretcher, as in removing wounded from a battlefield.
- strike a balance — compromise
- substance abuser — a person who takes an excessive amount of drugs in a manner that is detrimental to health
- tabernacle frame — a frame, especially of the 18th century, around a doorway, niche, etc., that suggests a small building, characteristically one with a pediment and two pilasters on a base.
- the black forest — a hilly wooded region of SW Germany, in Baden-Württemberg: a popular resort area
- the eastern bloc — (formerly) the Soviet bloc
- three-ball match — a match among three players each of whom plays a ball.
- thrombocytopenia — an abnormal decrease in the number of blood platelets.
- to break the ice — If you break the ice at a party or meeting, or in a new situation, you say or do something to make people feel relaxed and comfortable.
- to rock the boat — If you say that someone is rocking the boat, you mean that they are upsetting a calm situation and causing trouble.
- tracheobronchial — of, relating to, or affecting the trachea and bronchi.
- triacetate fiber — a textile fiber made of cellulose triacetate.
- tungsten carbide — a very hard, black or gray compound of tungsten and carbon, used in the manufacture of cutting and abrasion tools, dies, and wear-resistant machine parts.
- twin-carburettor — (of an engine) having two carburettors
- uncontradictable — to assert the contrary or opposite of; deny directly and categorically.
- unenforceability — to put or keep in force; compel obedience to: to enforce a rule; Traffic laws will be strictly enforced.
- unpredictability — not predictable; not to be foreseen or foretold: an unpredictable occurrence.
- valet de chambre — valet (def 1).
- vegetable cellar — a usually underground storage room where fresh vegetables can be stored at normally cool temperatures for later use.
- vegetable slicer — a device with a sharp blade for slicing vegetables finely;
- verbal adjective — an adjective derived from a verb, as, in English, smiling in smiling eyes, or, in Greek, batós “going,” “moving,” derived from baínen “to go,” “to move.”.
- vertebral column — spinal column.
- vocabulary entry — (in dictionaries) a word, phrase, abbreviation, symbol, affix, name, etc., listed with its definition or explanation in alphabetical order or listed for identification after the word from which it is derived or to which it is related.