15-letter words containing a, b
- albertus magnus — Saint. original name Albert, Count von Böllstadt. ?1193–1280, German scholastic philosopher; teacher of Thomas Aquinas and commentator on Aristotle. Feast day: Nov 15
- aldabra islands — a group of four large and forty smaller islands in the Indian Ocean, part of the Republic of Seychelles. 59 sq. mi. (154 sq. km).
- alder buckthorn — a Eurasian rhamnaceous shrub, Frangula alnus, with small greenish flowers and black berry-like fruits
- algebra of sets — a nonempty collection of sets having the property that the union of two sets of the collection is a set of the collection and the complement of each set of the collection is a set in the collection.
- almirante brown — a city in E Argentina, near Buenos Aires.
- alphabetisation — The act or process of arranging in alphabetical order.
- alphabetization — Alternative form of alphabetisation.
- alpine combined — a competition for Alpine skiers in a combination of downhill and slalom races, the winner having the highest total score.
- aluminum borate — a white, granular, water-insoluble powder, 2Al 2 O 3 ⋅B 2 O 3 ⋅3H 2 O, used chiefly in the manufacture of crown glass.
- aluminum bronze — any of several alloys containing a high percentage of copper with from 5 to 11 percent aluminum and varying amounts of iron, nickel, manganese, and other elements.
- ambassadorships — Plural form of ambassadorship.
- ambisyllabicity — (poetry) The property of a consonant being analysed as acting simultaneously as the coda of one syllable and the onset of the following syllable.
- ambrose channel — a ship channel at the entrance to New York harbor, near Sandy Hook. 7½ miles (12 km) long.
- ambrosia beetle — any of various small beetles of the genera Anisandrus, Xyleborus, etc, that bore tunnels into solid wood, feeding on fungi growing in the tunnels: family Scolytidae (bark beetles)
- ambrosian chant — the liturgical chant, established by Saint Ambrose, characterized by ornamented, often antiphonal, singing.
- ambulance nurse — a nurse who works as part of an ambulance crew
- ambulance train — a train designed to carry sick or injured people
- ambulatory care — care given at a hospital to non-resident patients, including minor surgery and outpatient treatment
- american beauty — a variety of hybrid, perennial red rose
- american blight — any plant louse of the family Aphididae, characterized by a waxy secretion that appears like a jumbled mass of fine, curly, white cottony or woolly threads, as Eriosoma lanigerum (woolly apple aphid or American blight) and Prociphilus tessellatus (woolly alder aphid)
- amicable number — either of a pair of positive integers in which each member is equal to the sum of the submultiples of the other, as 220 and 284.
- ammunition belt — a belt for carrying ammunition
- animal behavior — behavior (def 2).
- anne de beaujeu — (Anne de Beaujeu) 1460–1522, daughter of Louis XI of France: regent during the minority of her brother Charles VIII 1483–91.
- anne of bohemia — 1366–94, queen consort of Richard II of England
- annulled branch — delayed control-transfer
- annus mirabilis — a year of wonders, catastrophes, or other notable events
- antarctic beech — any tree of the genus Nothofagus, related to the beech and native to temperate Australasia and South America, esp Nothofagus cunninghamii of SE Australia or Nothofagus moorei of NE Australia
- anteprohibition — before prohibition.
- anthony burgess — Anthony, 1917–93, English novelist and critic.
- anthropobiology — the biological study of the human species
- anti-globalizer — a political activist who challenges the concept of globalization and promotes practices that do not cause environmental damage
- anti-liberalism — the quality or state of being liberal, as in behavior or attitude.
- anti-republican — of, relating to, or of the nature of a republic.
- antiabortionist — An antiabortionist is someone who wants to limit or prevent the legal availability of abortions.
- antibureaucracy — Opposed to bureaucracy.
- antifashionable — not conforming to mainstream fashion
- antilibertarian — opposed to libertarianism
- antilock brakes — brakes fitted to some road vehicles that prevent skidding and improve control by sensing and compensating for overbraking
- antimetabolites — Plural form of antimetabolite.
- antituberculous — (medicine) Acting to combat or counteract tuberculosis.
- anybody's guess — a person of some importance: If you're anybody, you'll receive an invitation.
- apartment block — building: flats, apartments
- appeal tribunal — An appeal tribunal is a special court or committee that is formed to reconsider a decision made by another court or committee.
- applesoft basic — (language) A version of BASIC for Apple computers.
- approachability — capable of being approached; accessible.
- arabian jasmine — a climbing shrub, Jasminum sambac, of India, having hairy branches and very fragrant white flowers that turn purple with age, used in making jasmine tea; sampaguita.
- arabic numerals — the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and the 0 (zero) that originated in India; Hindu-Arabic numerals
- arbitration bar — a bar of cast iron used as a sample for the batch to which it belongs.
- archaebacterium — Any primitive bacteria-like organism in the kingdom Archaea.