16-letter words containing a, c, k, e
- nubuck (leather) — tanned leather similar to suede, but with the nap on the grain side
- nutcracker suite — a ballet and concert suite (1892) arranged by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky from his orchestral work for a ballet, The Nutcracker.
- oak leaf cluster — a U.S. military decoration in the form of a small bronze twig bearing four oak leaves and three acorns, worn on the ribbon of another decoration for valor, wounds, or distinguished service to signify a second award of the same medal.
- observation deck — an area on a high building that is surrounded with railings or fencing and which provides panoramic views
- ocellated turkey — a wild turkey, Agriocharis ocellata, of Yucatán, Belize, and Guatemala, typically having green, blue, reddish-brown, and yellowish-brown plumage of a metallic luster and eyelike spots on the tail.
- on the back foot — at a disadvantage; outmanoeuvred or outclassed by an opponent
- packet switching — a method of efficient data transmission whereby the initial message is broken into relatively small units, or packets, that are routed independently and subsequently reassembled.
- packet-switching — a method of efficient data transmission whereby the initial message is broken into relatively small units, or packets, that are routed independently and subsequently reassembled.
- pain in the neck — source of annoyance
- pharmacokinetics — the branch of pharmacology that studies the fate of pharmacological substances in the body, as their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination.
- pocket billiards — pool2 (def 1).
- pocket secretary — a long, narrow walletlike case, usually of leather and containing pockets for credit and business cards, paper money, etc., and sometimes a notepad and pencil.
- posigrade rocket — an auxiliary rocket used to separate the sections of a multistage rocket, fired in the direction of flight.
- rack one's brain — If you rack your brains, you try very hard to think of something.
- rape of the lock — a mock-epic poem (1712) by Alexander Pope.
- river carpsucker — a carpsucker, Carpiodes carpio, found in silty rivers of the central U.S. south to Mexico.
- round lake beach — a town in NE Illinois.
- run the blockade — to go past or through a blockade
- scotch blackface — one of a Scottish breed of mountain sheep having a black face and growing long, coarse wool.
- secondary market — the market that exists for an issue after large blocks of shares have been publicly distributed.
- secondhand smoke — smoke from a cigarette, cigar, or pipe that is involuntarily inhaled, especially by nonsmokers.
- security blanket — a blanket or other familiar item carried especially by a young child to provide reassurance and a feeling of psychological security.
- sedimentary rock — rock formed from compacted minerals
- seneca snakeroot — any of various plants whose roots have been regarded as a remedy for snakebites, as the herb Aristolochia serpentaria (Virginia snakeroot) having a medicinal rhizome and rootlets, and the white-flowered Polygala senega (Seneca snakeroot) having a medicinal root.
- shakedown cruise — extortion, as by blackmail or threats of violence.
- sheepskin jacket — a short jacket made of the skin of a sheep with the wool still attached to it
- silky flycatcher — any of several passerine birds of the family Ptilogonatidae, of the southwestern U.S. to Panama, related to the waxwings.
- slap on the back — to congratulate
- sleep-wake cycle — Physiology. the species-specific biological pattern of alternating sleep and wakefulness, in humans roughly 8 hours of nocturnal sleep and 16 hours of daytime activity.
- smack in the eye — a snub or setback
- smack one's lips — If you smack your lips, you open and close your mouth noisily, especially before or after eating, to show that you are eager to eat or enjoyed eating.
- software package — bundle of files to execute computer program
- spanish mackerel — an American game fish, Scomberomorus maculatus, inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean.
- spotted mackerel — a small mackerel, Scomberomorus queenslandicus, of northern Australian waters
- stab in the back — to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon: She stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.
- stick out a mile — to be extremely obvious
- sticking plaster — an adhesive cloth or other material for covering and closing superficial wounds, holding bandages in place, etc.
- stock management — the monitoring and control of goods and stock so that new stock can be ordered as required and the right numbers and quantities made available at all times
- stocking machine — a type of knitting machine
- strike a balance — compromise
- take a back seat — a seat at the rear.
- take a raincheck — to accept the postponement of an offer
- take one's place — to take up one's usual or specified position
- take the biscuit — Take the biscuit means the same as take the cake.
- the black forest — a hilly wooded region of SW Germany, in Baden-Württemberg: a popular resort area
- the long paddock — a stockroute or roadside area offering feed to sheep and cattle in dry times
- the wheel blacks — the international wheelchair rugby football team of New Zealand
- thermal cracking — Thermal cracking is an extraction process in which hydrocarbons such as crude oil are heated to a high temperature to break the molecular bonds.
- thick as thieves — very close friends
- thick-tailed ray — Ichthyology. any ray of the order Rajiformes, having a relatively thick, fleshy tail, including the guitarfishes and the skates.