16-letter words containing a, d, n, t
- bidirectionality — capable of reacting or functioning in two, usually opposite, directions.
- biodeterioration — biodegradation.
- bird in the hand — any warm-blooded vertebrate of the class Aves, having a body covered with feathers, forelimbs modified into wings, scaly legs, a beak, and no teeth, and bearing young in a hard-shelled egg.
- birthday honours — (in Britain) honorary titles conferred on the official birthday of the sovereign
- birthday present — a gift given to someone on their birthday
- black nightshade — a poisonous solanaceous plant, Solanum nigrum, a common weed in cultivated land, having small white flowers with backward-curved petals and black berry-like fruits
- block and tackle — a hoisting device in which a rope or chain is passed around a pair of blocks containing one or more pulleys. The upper block is secured overhead and the lower block supports the load, the effort being applied to the free end of the rope or chain
- blue-winged teal — a small North American duck (Anas discors) found on ponds and rivers
- board and batten — a siding consisting of wide boards or of sheets of plywood set vertically with butt joints covered by battens.
- botanical garden — a place where collections of plants and trees are kept for scientific study and exhibition
- boundary dispute — dispute between neighbours about the boundary between their properties
- braking distance — the distance a vehicle travels from the point at which its brakes are applied to the point at which it comes to a stop
- brand acceptance — the extent to which consumers recognize and welcome a brand
- brandenburg gate — the only remaining city gate in Berlin, built by Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia in 1788–1791 as a symbol of peace and now one of the city's landmarks
- brave west winds — the strong west and west-northwest winds blowing between latitudes 40° S and 60° S.
- bread and butter — Something that is the bread and butter of a person or organization is the activity or work that provides the main part of their income.
- bread-and-butter — providing a livelihood or basic source of income; supplying the basic needs of life: a bread-and-butter job; the agency's bread-and-butter account.
- brick-and-mortar — pertaining to conventional stores, businesses, etc., having physical buildings and facilities, as opposed to Internet or remote services.
- bright and early — very early in the morning
- british honduras — Belize
- bundled software — software sold as part of a package with computers or other hardware or software
- butenedioic acid — either of two geometrical isomers with the formula HOOCCH:CHCOOH
- caducibranchiate — (of many amphibians, such as frogs) having gills during one stage of the life cycle only
- camborne-redruth — a former (until 1974) urban district in SW England, in Cornwall: formed in 1934 by the amalgamation of the neighbouring towns of Camborne and Redruth. Pop: 39 936 (2001)
- candlelit dinner — a meal for a couple which is illuminated by a candle or candles, esp in order to create a romantic mood
- 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
- captive audience — a group of people who are unable by circumstances to avoid speeches, advertisements, etc
- captive breeding — Captive breeding is the breeding of wild animals in places such as zoos, especially animals which have become rare in the wild.
- carbon 14 dating — radiocarbon dating.
- carbon-14 dating — radiocarbon dating.
- cardinal virtues — the most important moral qualities, traditionally justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude
- carrot and stick — If an organization has a carrot and stick approach or policy, they offer people things in order to persuade them to do something and punish them if they refuse to do it.
- casting director — the person in charge of choosing of actors for a production
- catch red-handed — If someone is caught red-handed, they are caught while they are in the act of doing something wrong.
- catchwater drain — a channel cut along the edge of high ground to catch surface water from it and divert it away from low-lying ground
- catherine howard — Catherine, c1520–42, fifth wife of Henry VIII.
- cause and effect — You use cause and effect to talk about the way in which one thing is caused by another.
- cause-and-effect — noting a relationship between actions or events such that one or more are the result of the other or others.
- cedar revolution — the popular protests in 2005 that brought down the Lebanese cabinet and prompted Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon
- central cylinder — stele (def 4).
- central tendency — the tendency of the values of a random variable to cluster around the mean, median, and mode
- centrally heated — A centrally heated building or room has central heating.
- chanson de geste — one of a genre of Old French epic poems celebrating heroic deeds, the most famous of which is the Chanson de Roland
- chase the dragon — to smoke opium or heroin
- childcare center — a place or business offering childcare for working parents
- chlorinated lime — bleaching powder.
- christmas dinner — the main meal on Christmas day, eaten any time in the afternoon or evening
- christmas island — an island in the Indian Ocean, south of Java: administered by Singapore (1900–58), now by Australia; phosphate mining. Pop: 1496 (2013 est). Area: 135 sq km (52 sq miles)
- circumstantiated — Simple past tense and past participle of circumstantiate.