16-letter words containing a, c, p, s
- axminster carpet — a type of patterned carpet with a cut pile
- 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.
- barbecue stopper — a controversial current-affairs issue
- bargaining scope — the range of topics within the scope of a particular set of negotiations leading to a collective agreement
- basement complex — the undifferentiated assemblage of rock (basement rock) underlying the oldest stratified rocks in any region: usually crystalline, metamorphosed, and mostly, but not necessarily, Precambrian in age.
- 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)
- 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)
- batch processing — manufacturing products or treating materials in batches, by passing the output of one process to subsequent processes
- bicapitalisation — The act said to have been performed on trademarks (such as PostScript, NeXT, NeWS, VisiCalc, FrameMaker, TK!solver, EasyWriter) that have been raised above the ruck of common coinage by nonstandard capitalisation. Too many marketroid types think this sort of thing is really cute, even the 2,317th time they do it. Compare studlycaps.
- bimetallic strip — a strip consisting of two metals of different coefficients of expansion welded together so that it buckles on heating: used in thermostats, etc
- boston cream pie — a cake of two layers with icing and a creamy filling
- bowman's capsule — a membranous, double-walled capsule surrounding a glomerulus of a nephron.
- branchiopneustic — breathing by means of gills, as certain aquatic insect larvae.
- buttercup squash — a small, usually dark-green squash that is a variety of Cucurbita maxima, having sweet orange flesh.
- bypass capacitor — a capacitor which provides a low-impedance path for alternating current while not passing any direct current
- cadmium sulphide — an orange or yellow insoluble solid used as a pigment in paints, etc (cadmium yellow). Formula: CdS
- camomile shampoo — a liquid or cream preparation of soap or detergent with camomile extract to wash the hair
- canine distemper — distemper1 (def 1a).
- cantor's paradox — the paradox derived from the supposition of an all-inclusive universal set, since every set has more subsets than members while every subset of such a universal set would be a member of it
- capital reserves — the money which a company holds in reserve
- capital sentence — the punishment of death for a crime
- capitalistically — In a capitalistic manner.
- capsizing moment — the moment of an upsetting couple.
- capsule wardrobe — a collection of clothes and accessories that includes only items considered essential
- carbonless paper — a sheet of paper impregnated with dye which transfers writing or typing onto the copying surface below without the necessity for carbon pigment
- carboxypeptidase — any of several digestive enzymes that catalyze the removal of an amino acid from the end of a peptide chain having a free carbonyl group.
- cards and spades — a generous handicap
- career prospects — the probability or chance for future success in a profession
- caregiver speech — baby talk (def 2).
- caryophyllaceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Caryophyllaceae, a family of flowering plants including the pink, carnation, sweet william, and chickweed
- cascade particle — the least massive member of the xi particle family.
- castor-oil plant — a tall euphorbiaceous Indian plant, Ricinus communis, cultivated in tropical regions for ornament and for its poisonous seeds, from which castor oil is extracted
- catastrophically — of the nature of a catastrophe, or disastrous event; calamitous: a catastrophic failure of the dam.
- catch sb napping — If someone is caught napping, something happens when they are not prepared for it, although they should have been.
- celestial empire — Chinese Empire
- celestial sphere — an imaginary sphere of infinitely large radius enclosing the universe so that all celestial bodies appear to be projected onto its surface
- chattel personal — an item of movable personal property, such as furniture, domestic animals, etc
- chemical weapons — toxic chemicals used as weapons
- chemoprophylaxis — the prevention of disease using chemical drugs
- chest specialist — a physician who specializes in diseases affecting the organs in the chest
- child psychiatry — the branch of psychiatry specializing in the treatment of children.
- children's panel — (in Scotland) a group of representatives of relevant agencies, with the power to deal with a child under sixteen who is in criminal or family trouble. Its hearings are private and replace most of the functions of juvenile courts
- chinese fan palm — a fan palm, Livistona chinensis, of southern Japan, having very large, deeply cleft leaves and bluish-green, ovalish fruit.
- chinese pavilion — crescent (def 6).
- chinese shar-pei — Shar-Pei.
- chinese-pavilion — a shape resembling a segment of a ring tapering to points at the ends.
- chipped potatoes — chips
- chipping sparrow — a common North American sparrow, Spizella passerina, having brown-and-grey plumage and a white eye stripe
- cholecystography — radiography of the gall bladder after administration of a contrast medium
- chondrodysplasia — (medicine) A genetic disorder characterized by short-limbed dwarfism.