15-letter words containing a, b
- archaeobotanist — A person engaged in archaeobotany.
- archibald prize — an annual prize awarded by the Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales since 1921, for outstanding contributions to art, letters, science, and politics
- argyll and bute — a council area in W Scotland on the Atlantic Ocean: in 1975 the historical counties of Argyllshire and Bute became part of Strathclyde region; in 1996 they were reinstated as a single unitary authority. Argyll and Bute is mountainous and includes the islands of Bute, Mull, Islay, and Jura. Administrative centre: Lochgilphead. Pop: 91 300 (2003 est). Area: 6930 sq km (2676 sq miles)
- ariboflavinosis — a condition resulting from a dietary deficiency of riboflavin
- around the bend — to force (an object, especially a long or thin one) from a straight form into a curved or angular one, or from a curved or angular form into some different form: to bend an iron rod into a hoop.
- arthur brisbane — Arthur, 1864–1936, U.S. journalist.
- as best one can — If someone does something as best they can, they do it as well as they can, although it is very difficult.
- asbestos cement — a compound of asbestos fiber and Portland cement formerly used for various nonstructural building purposes.
- ascribed status — the social position assigned to a person on the basis of kinship, ethnic group, sex, etc.
- assemblypersons — Plural form of assemblyperson.
- astrobiologists — Plural form of astrobiologist.
- asymmetric bars — a pair of wooden or fibreglass bars placed parallel to each other but set at different heights, for various exercises
- at sb's bidding — If you do something at someone's bidding, you do it because they have asked you to do it.
- at sbs instance — If you do something at someone's instance, you do it because they have ordered or requested you to do it.
- atrabiliousness — The state or quality of being characterized by melancholy or glumness.
- audubon society — a North American organization devoted to the conservancy of birds
- aurora borealis — the aurora seen around the North Pole
- authenticatable — to establish as genuine.
- autobiographers — Plural form of autobiographer.
- autobiographies — Plural form of autobiography.
- autocannibalism — The eating of part of one's own body.
- available light — the natural or usual light on a subject.
- azerty keyboard — a common European version of typewriter keyboard layout with the characters a, z, e, r, t, and y positioned on the top row of alphabetic characters at the left side of the keyboard
- azobisformamide — (chemistry) azodicarbonamide.
- babinski effect — the reflex curling upwards of the toes (instead of inwards) when the sole of the foot is stroked, normal in infants below the age of two but a pathological condition in adults
- bacchanalianism — the practice of bacchanalian behaviour; drunken revelry
- back plastering — the introduction of partitions of lath and plaster between the inner and outer surfaces of a stud wall in order to improve the insulating properties of the wall.
- back projection — a method of projecting pictures onto a translucent screen so that they are viewed from the opposite side, used esp in films to create the illusion that the actors in the foreground are moving
- back-scratching — a reciprocal exchange of favors, aid, or compliments
- backseat driver — If you refer to a passenger in a car as a backseat driver, they annoy you because they constantly give you advice about how to drive.
- backup rotation — (operating system) Any system for re-using backup media, e.g. magnetic tape. One extreme would be to use the same media for every backup (e.g. copy disk A to disk B), the other extreme would be to use new media every time. The trade-off is between the cost of buying and storing media and the ability to restore any version of any file. One example is the Grandfather, Father, Son (GFS) scheme.
- backup software — (tool, software) Software for doing a backup, often included as part of the operating system. Backup software should provide ways to specify what files get backed up and to where. It may include its own scheduling function to automate the procedure or, preferably, work with generic scheduling facilities. It may include facilities for managing the backup media (e.g. maintaining an index of tapes) and for restoring files from backups. Examples are Unix's dump command and Windows's ntbackup.
- baconian method — induction (def 4a).
- baconian theory — the theory attributing the authorship of Shakespeare's plays to Francis Bacon.
- bacterial ghost — a bacterial cell that is emptied and filled artificially with another substance
- bacteriological — Of or relating to bacteriology or bacteria.
- bacteriophagous — Pertaining to the predation and consumption of bacterium.
- bad housekeeper — a person who is not an efficient and thrifty domestic manager
- badminton court — the court on which games of badminton are played
- bag and baggage — with all one's belongings
- bag on the side — An extension to an established hack that is supposed to add some functionality to the original. Usually derogatory, implying that the original was being overextended and should have been thrown away, and the new product is ugly, inelegant, or bloated. Also "to hang a bag on the side [of]". "C++? That's just a bag on the side of C." "They want me to hang a bag on the side of the accounting system."
- baggage handler — a person who moves baggage onto and off planes at an airport
- baggage reclaim — the process of passengers' getting back the baggage that they have checked in for a flight
- bahasa malaysia — the dialect of Malay used as the official language of Malaysia.
- bait and switch — Bait and switch is used to refer to a sales technique in which goods are advertised at low prices in order to attract customers, although only a small number of the low-priced goods are available.
- bait-and-switch — denoting a deceptive method of selling, by which customers, attracted to a store by sale items, are told either that the advertised bargain item is out of stock or is inferior to a higher-priced item that is available.
- baja california — peninsula in Mexico, between the Pacific & the Gulf of California: divided into a northern state (Baja California), 27,071 sq mi (70,114 sq km), pop. 1,661,000, cap. Mexicali; and a southern state (Baja California Sur), 28,447 sq mi (73,677 sq km), pop. 318,000, cap. La Paz
- balance control — a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
- balanced rudder — a rudder so designed that the center of water pressure on the forward face, when turned, lies about halfway along the length, minimizing the turning effort required.
- balanced ticket — a slate of candidates chosen to appeal to a wide range of voters, especially by including members of large regional, ethnic, or religious groups.