16-letter words containing a, c, r, u, l, b
- cut and blow-dry — a hairdressing procedure in which the customer's hair is cut and blow-dried
- duplicate bridge — a form of contract bridge used in tournaments in which contestants play the identical series of deals, with each deal being scored independently, permitting individual scores to be compared.
- flat-track bully — a sportsperson who dominates inferior opposition, but who cannot beat top-level opponents
- globular cluster — a comparatively older, spherically symmetrical, compact group of up to a million old stars, held together by mutual gravitation, that are located in the galactic halo and move in giant and highly eccentric orbits around the galactic center.
- incommensurables — Plural form of incommensurable.
- kentucky warbler — a wood warbler, Oporornis formosus, of the U.S., olive-green above, yellow below, and marked with black on the face.
- khakass republic — a constituent republic of S central Russia, formerly in Krasnoyarsk Territory: formed in 1930. Capital: Abakan. Pop: 546 100 (2002). Area: 61 900 sq km (23 855 sq miles)
- krebs urea cycle — urea cycle.
- labrador current — a cold ocean current flowing southwards off the coast of Labrador and meeting the warm Gulf Stream, causing dense fogs off the coast of Newfoundland
- library pictures — a caption used to alert viewers that footage being broadcast is from an earlier time and is not happening now
- lumberjack shirt — a thick checked shirt, as worn by lumberjacks
- mari el republic — a constituent republic of W central Russia, in the middle Volga basin. Capital: Yoshkar-Ola. Pop: 728 000 (2002). Area: 23 200 sq km (8955 sq miles)
- mountain climber — someone who climbs or walks up mountains
- multi-way branch — switch statement
- multituberculate — a rodentlike mammal of the extinct order Multituberculata, which lived from the late Jurassic Period to the Oligocene Epoch, reaching the size of a woodchuck and having molars with two or three rows of simple pointed cusps.
- nubuck (leather) — tanned leather similar to suede, but with the nap on the grain side
- nuclear membrane — the double membrane surrounding the nucleus within a cell.
- nuclear umbrella — a guarantee from a country or state that possesses nuclear weapons to a country that does not that they will defend them
- paratuberculosis — Johne's disease.
- public relations — (used with a plural verb) the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
- public transport — fare-paying travel
- republican party — one of the two major political parties in the U.S.: originated 1854–56.
- republican river — a river flowing E from E Colorado through Nebraska and Kansas into the Kansas River. 422 miles (680 km) long.
- ribonucleic acid — RNA.
- round lake beach — a town in NE Illinois.
- run the blockade — to go past or through a blockade
- scarborough lily — a plant, Vallota speciosa, of the amaryllis family, native to southern Africa, having clusters of funnel-shaped, scarlet flowers.
- schaumburg-lippe — a former state in NW Germany.
- security blanket — a blanket or other familiar item carried especially by a young child to provide reassurance and a feeling of psychological security.
- self-lubricating — to apply some oily or greasy substance to (a machine, parts of a mechanism, etc.) in order to diminish friction; oil or grease (something).
- self-lubrication — the process of becoming lubricated without external factors
- subcartilaginous — partially or incompletely cartilaginous.
- subtropical high — one of several highs, as the Azores and Pacific highs, that prevail over the oceans at latitudes of about 30 degrees N and S. Also called subtropical anticyclone. Compare high (def 37).
- sulfocarbanilide — thiocarbanilide.
- superserviceable — overly disposed to be of service; officious.
- umbilical hernia — a hernia of the umbilicus.
- unconfirmability — to establish the truth, accuracy, validity, or genuineness of; corroborate; verify: This report confirms my suspicions.
- uncontradictable — to assert the contrary or opposite of; deny directly and categorically.
- unenforceability — to put or keep in force; compel obedience to: to enforce a rule; Traffic laws will be strictly enforced.
- unpredictability — not predictable; not to be foreseen or foretold: an unpredictable occurrence.
- vascular cambium — cambium.
- vertebral column — spinal column.
- vocabulary entry — (in dictionaries) a word, phrase, abbreviation, symbol, affix, name, etc., listed with its definition or explanation in alphabetical order or listed for identification after the word from which it is derived or to which it is related.
- vulcanized fiber — a leatherlike substance made by compression of layers of paper or cloth that have been treated with acids or zinc chloride, used chiefly for electric insulation.
- wheelchair-bound — unable to walk through injury, illness, etc and relying on a wheelchair to move around
- woodland caribou — a variety of caribou inhabiting the bogs and forests of eastern Canada, having large, palmate antlers.