16-letter words containing a, b, u, s, e
- santiago de cuba — a region in Ecuador, E of the Andes: the border long disputed by Peru.
- schaumburg-lippe — a former state in NW Germany.
- sebaceous glands — any of the cutaneous glands that secrete oily matter for lubricating hair and skin.
- 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
- self-subjugation — the act, fact, or process of subjugating, or bringing under control; enslavement: The subjugation of the American Indians happened across the country.
- semantic tableau — a method of demonstrating the consistency or otherwise of a set of statements by constructing a diagrammatic representation of all the circumstances that satisfy the set of statements
- semisubterranean — half below the surface of the ground: the semisubterranean houses of some Indian tribes.
- sodium bisulfate — a colorless crystalline compound, NaHSO 4 , soluble in water: used in dyeing, in the manufacture of cement, paper, soap, and an acid-type cleaner.
- 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.
- sodium perborate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, NaBO 2 ⋅3H 2 O or NaBO 3 ⋅4H 2 O, used chiefly as a bleaching agent and antiseptic.
- south sea bubble — the financial crash that occurred in 1720 after the South Sea Company had taken over the national debt in return for a monopoly of trade with the South Seas, causing feverish speculation in their stocks
- southern baptist — a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, founded in Augusta, Georgia, in 1845, that is strictly Calvinistic and active in religious publishing and education.
- spanish bluebell — a bulbous plant, Endymion hispanicus, of the lily family, native to Spain and Portugal, having blue, white, or pink, bell-shaped flowers.
- squeaky-bum time — the tense final matches in the race to a league championship, esp from the point of view of the leaders
- stalked puffball — a puffball-like mushroom of the genus Tulestoma, maturing in early winter.
- state-subsidized — partly paid for by the state; subsidized by the state
- strawberry guava — a shrub or small tree, Psidium littorale, of the myrtle family, native to Brazil, having smooth, grayish-brown bark, leathery leaves, white flowers, and edible, white-fleshed, purplish-red fruit.
- strawberry shrub — Carolina allspice
- subjectification — to make subjective.
- subliminal image — an image used in advertising, etc, that is too quick to be registered by the mind but is used to influence the viewer unconsciously
- submarine chaser — a small patrol vessel, 100–200 feet (30–60 meters) long, designed for military operations against submarines.
- subsistence wage — the lowest wage upon which a worker and his or her family can survive
- substance abuser — a person who takes an excessive amount of drugs in a manner that is detrimental to health
- substantive rank — a permanent rank in the armed services obtained by length of service, selection, etc
- sulfocarbanilide — thiocarbanilide.
- superserviceable — overly disposed to be of service; officious.
- take by surprise — to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness: Her beauty surprised me.
- take the biscuit — Take the biscuit means the same as take the cake.
- tertiary bursary — a noncompetitive award granted to all pupils who have passed a university entrance examination
- the easter bunny — the rabbit that brings Easter eggs
- the subsidiariat — a collective term for the news sources that would not survive without being subsidized directly (by a government, etc), or indirectly (through sharing a parent company with another more profitable revenue source)
- the unobservable — something that cannot be observed
- thumbnail sketch — small preliminary drawing
- tibetan buddhism — the form of Mahayana Buddhism that developed and is practiced primarily in Tibet and some nearby nations: its spiritual leader is the Dalai Lama
- to mean business — If you say that someone means business, you mean they are serious and determined about what they are doing.
- to pass the buck — If you pass the buck, you refuse to accept responsibility for something, and say that someone else is responsible.
- transport number — that fraction of the total electric current that anions and cations carry in passing through an electrolytic solution.
- transubstantiate — to change from one substance into another; transmute.
- 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.
- ultra-liberalism — extremely liberal, especially in politics.
- unaccomplishable — to bring to its goal or conclusion; carry out; perform; finish: to accomplish one's mission.
- under bare poles — (of a sailing vessel) with no sails set
- unimpressionable — easily impressed or influenced; susceptible: an impressionable youngster.
- unreasonableness — not reasonable or rational; acting at variance with or contrary to reason; not guided by reason or sound judgment; irrational: an unreasonable person.
- ununderstandable — capable of being understood; comprehensible.
- vestibular nerve — the part of the auditory nerve in the inner ear that carries sensory information related to body equilibrium.
- writ of subpoena — a legal document commanding the attendance in court, as a witness, of the person on whom it is served, under a penalty