16-letter words containing a, b, u
- baluster measure — an antique liquid measure usually made of pewter, having a concave top on a convex base.
- banana republics — any of the small countries in the tropics, especially in the Western Hemisphere, whose economies are largely dependent on fruit exports, tourism, and foreign investors.
- bankruptcy court — a section of the United States federal court which specializes in the handling of bankruptcy cases
- bankruptcy order — a court order appointing a receiver to manage the property of a debtor or bankrupt
- banned substance — In sport, banned substances are drugs that competitors are not allowed to take because they could artificially improve their performance.
- barbecue stopper — a controversial current-affairs issue
- barbed tributary — a tributary that joins its mainstream in an upstream direction rather than in the more common downstream direction.
- barium carbonate — a white, poisonous, water-insoluble powder, BaCO 3 , used chiefly in the manufacture of rodenticides, paints, and dyes.
- barium hydroxide — a white poisonous crystalline solid, used in the manufacture of organic compounds and in the preparation of beet sugar. Formula: Ba(OH)2
- baron tweedsmuir — the title of Scottish novelist John Buchan
- bartholomeu dias — Bartholomeu [bahr-too-loo-me-oo] /ˌbɑr tʊ lʊˈmɛ ʊ/ (Show IPA), c1450–1500, Portuguese navigator: discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope.
- bashkir republic — a constituent republic of E central Russia, in the S Urals: established as the first Soviet autonomous republic in 1919; rich mineral resources. Capital: Ufa. Pop: 4 012 900 (2002). Area: 143 600 sq km (55 430 sq miles)
- basic curriculum — in England and Wales, the National Curriculum plus religious education
- basic vocabulary — the set of lexical items in a language that are most resistant to replacement, referring to the most common and universal elements of human experience, such as parts of the body (foot, eye), universal features of the environment (water, star), common activities (eat, sleep), and the lowest numerals.
- basque provinces — an autonomous region of N Spain, comprising the provinces of Álava, Guipúzcoa, and Vizcaya: inhabited mainly by Basques, who retained virtual autonomy from the 9th to the 19th century. Pop: 1 840 700 (2003 est). Area: about 7250 sq km (2800 sq miles)
- bastard culverin — a 16th-century cannon, smaller than a culverin, firing a shot of between 5 and 8 pounds (11 and 17.6 kg).
- bastard daughter — an illegitimate daughter
- batch production — production of goods in batches, rather than continuously
- be out of breath — If you are out of breath, you are breathing very quickly and with difficulty because you have been doing something energetic.
- beautiful people — wealthy, fashionable people of the leisure class
- beauty therapist — a person whose job is to carry out treatments to improve a person's appearance, such as facials, manicures, removal of unwanted hair, etc
- beauty treatment — the use of some form of treatment to improve someone's beauty such as a facial, manicure or depilation
- beaux' stratagem — a comedy (1707) by George Farquhar.
- beefsteak fungus — an edible reddish bracket fungus, Fistulina hepatica, that grows esp on oak trees and oozes a bloodlike juice
- behavioural sink — a small area in which people or animals live in overcrowded conditions
- belgian tervuren — one of a Belgian breed of medium-sized dogs having a long, straight coat, fawn to mahogany in color, differing from the Belgian sheepdog only in color.
- benguela current — a strong ocean current in the South Atlantic, flowing northward along the SW coast of Africa
- benoit samuelson — Joan (Joan Benoit) born 1957, U.S. distance runner: first Olympic marathon women's winner, 1984.
- bermuda palmetto — a palm, Sabal bermudana, of Bermuda, having small, roundish, black fruit and leaves that are checkered beneath.
- bermuda triangle — an area in the Atlantic Ocean bounded by Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Florida where ships and aeroplanes are alleged to have disappeared mysteriously
- bertrand russell — (person) (1872-1970) A British mathematician, the discoverer of Russell's paradox.
- biliary calculus — an abnormal stonelike mass, usually of cholesterol, formed in the gallbladder or bile passages.
- binocular fusion — fusion (def 5a).
- binocular-fusion — the act or process of fusing; the state of being fused.
- binuclear family — a social unit composed of an extended family, usually the children and subsequent spouses of divorced parents.
- biological value — the nutritional effectiveness of the protein in a given food, expressed as the percentage used by the body of either the total protein consumed or the digestible protein available.
- birthday honours — (in Britain) honorary titles conferred on the official birthday of the sovereign
- black-eyed susan — any of several North American plants of the genus Rudbeckia, esp R. hirta, having flower heads of orange-yellow rays and brown-black centres: family Asteraceae (composites)
- blind man's buff — a game in which a blindfolded person tries to catch and identify the other players
- blind man's rule — a carpenter's rule having large numbers to permit its reading in dim light.
- blue dawn-flower — a tropical American vine, Ipomoea acuminata, of the morning glory family, having large, funnel-shaped flowers that turn from blue to pink.
- blue in the face — the pure color of a clear sky; the primary color between green and violet in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 450 and 500 nm.
- blue-green algae — any of a division (Cyanophycota) of photosynthetic monerans, microorganisms that contain a blue pigment which obscures the chlorophyll; cyanobacteria
- blue-winged teal — a small North American duck (Anas discors) found on ponds and rivers
- bluegrass region — a region in central Kentucky, famous for its horse farms and fields of bluegrass.
- board of inquiry — a group set up to inquire into accidents, etc
- bonded warehouse — a warehouse in which dutiable goods are deposited until duty is paid or the goods are cleared for export
- bordeaux mixture — a fungicide consisting of a solution of equal quantities of copper sulphate and quicklime
- bordelaise sauce — a dark sauce made from meat stock, flour, wine, onions, seasonings, etc., served over broiled meat
- bouillotte table — a small round table of the 18th century, having around its top a gallery within which a bouchon could be set for the playing of card games.