14-letter words containing a, c, e
- bearded collie — a medium-sized breed of dog having a profuse long straight coat, usually grey or fawn and often with white on the head, legs, and chest, a long tail, and a distinctive beard
- bearer channel — (communications) Originally, a channel suited for carrying one voice-grade connection. Typically a DS0 channel. Compare data channel. (1997-03-7)
- beaten biscuit — a hard, unleavened biscuit, made to rise by pounding and folding the dough.
- beaufort scale — an international scale of wind velocities ranging for practical purposes from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane force). In the US an extension of the scale, from 13 to 17 for winds over 64 knots, is used
- beautification — Making beautiful, beautifying, improving the appearance of something.
- beauty contest — A beauty contest is a competition in which young women are judged to decide which one is the most beautiful.
- beauty culture — the skill or occupation of a beautician
- béchamel sauce — a thick white sauce flavoured with onion and seasonings
- bechamel-sauce — a white sauce, sometimes seasoned with onion and nutmeg.
- beclomethasone — a potent synthetic corticosteroid, C 28 H 37 ClO 7 , prepared as an inhalant in the treatment of bronchial asthma.
- becquerel rays — rays given off by radioactive substances
- beggar's-ticks — tick trefoil
- belaying cleat — a cleat used for belaying
- belisha beacon — a flashing light in an orange globe mounted on a post, indicating a pedestrian crossing on a road
- belletristical — relating to the fine arts
- belvoir castle — a castle in Leicestershire, near Grantham (in Lincolnshire): seat of the Dukes of Rutland; rebuilt by James Wyatt in 1816
- benday process — a process for adding tone or shading, as in reproducing drawings, by the overlay on the plate of patterns, as of dots
- beneficialness — the state of being beneficial
- bengal catechu — catechu.
- benzanthracene — a carcinogenic hydrocarbon
- benzyl acetate — a colorless liquid, C 9 H 10 O 2 , having a flowerlike odor: used chiefly for flavoring tobacco and in soaps and cosmetics.
- benzyl alcohol — a colorless, faintly aromatic, slightly water-soluble liquid, C 7 H 8 O, used chiefly as a solvent in the manufacture of perfumes and flavorings, and as an intermediate in the synthesis of benzyl esters and ethers.
- berberidaceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Berberidaceae, a mainly N temperate family of flowering plants (mostly shrubs), including barberry and barrenwort
- bermuda collar — a narrow, pointed collar on a woman's dress or blouse
- bermuda cutter — a marconi-rigged cutter.
- beta reduction — [lambda-calculus] The application of a lambda abstraction to an argument expression. A copy of the body of the lambda abstraction is made and occurrences of the bound variable being replaced by the argument. E.g. (\ x . x+1) 4 --> 4+1 Beta reduction is the only kind of reduction in the pure lambda-calculus. The opposite of beta reduction is beta abstraction. These are the two kinds of beta conversion. See also name capture.
- beta structure — a secondary structure occurring in many proteins, consisting of several polypeptide chains running in parallel or alternating directions and joined by intermolecular hydrogen bonds, creating a flexible, strong arrangement.
- beyond compare — If you describe something as beyond compare, you mean that it is extremely good or extremely great.
- bezier surface — (graphics) A surface defined by mathematical formulae, used in computer graphics. A surface P(u, v), where u and v vary orthogonally from 0 to 1 from one edge of the surface to the other, is defined by a set of (n+1)*(m+1) "control points" (X(i, j), Y(i, j), Z(i, j)) for i = 0 to n, j = 0 to m.
- bib and tucker — an outfit of clothes (esp in the phrase best bib and tucker)
- biceps brachii — See under biceps.
- bicuspid valve — mitral valve
- bicycle-racing — the act or sport of riding or traveling by bicycle, motorcycle, etc.
- bidialectalism — the state of being bidialectal
- binary counter — (electronics, hardware) A digital circuit which has a clock input and a number of count outputs which give the number of clock cycles. The output may change either on rising or falling clock edges. The circuit may also have a reset input which sets all outputs to zero when asserted. The counter may be either a synchronous counter or a ripple counter.
- binary package — (software) An archive file that contains all files and directories that must be installed in order to make a working installation of the program(s) included in the package, and the maintainer scripts necessary for the installation. A binary package is usually specific to a certain platform, in contrast to a source package.
- bioaeronautics — the use of aircraft in the discovery, development, and protection of natural and biological resources
- bioarchaeology — the branch of archaeology that deals with the remains of living things
- biocontainment — the confinement, as by sealed-off chambers, of materials that are harmful or potentially harmful to life.
- bioequivalence — the equality of strength, bioavailability, and dosage of various drug products
- biogeochemical — of or relating to biogeochemistry
- biomathematics — the study of the application of mathematics to biology
- biosystematics — the study of the variation and evolution of a population of organisms in relation to their taxonomic classification
- birdcage clock — lantern clock.
- biscuit barrel — an airtight container of circular section equipped with a lid and used for storing biscuits
- bitter cassava — a species of cassava (Manihot esculenta) whose poisonous roots when processed yield tapioca starch
- black and blue — discolored, as by bruising; exhibiting ecchymosis: a black-and-blue mark on my knee.
- black basaltes — basaltware.
- black bindweed — a twining polygonaceous European plant, Polygonum convolvulus, with heart-shaped leaves and triangular black seed pods
- black bullhead — a common freshwater catfish, Ictalurus melas, of North America, considered by some to be a food delicacy.