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16-letter words containing a, e, n, u

  • autumnal equinox — the time at which the sun crosses the plane of the equator away from the relevant hemisphere, making day and night of equal length. It occurs about Sept 23 in the N hemisphere (March 21 in the S hemisphere)
  • avalon peninsula — a large peninsula of Newfoundland, between Trinity and Placentia Bays. Area: about 10 000 sq km (4000 sq miles)
  • azuero peninsula — a peninsula in SW Panama, bordered on the E by the Gulf of Panama.
  • background check — an investigation into a person's origins and previous history
  • background noise — any type of noise that is not the sound that you are specifically listening to or monitoring
  • background paper — a report or other piece of writing that is intended to provide contextual and historical information that will help people understand a particular topic or situation
  • balkan peninsula — a large peninsula in SE Europe, between the Adriatic and Aegean Seas
  • 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.
  • bankruptcy order — a court order appointing a receiver to manage the property of a debtor or bankrupt
  • banned substance — In sport, banned substances are drugs that competitors are not allowed to take because they could artificially improve their performance.
  • barium carbonate — a white, poisonous, water-insoluble powder, BaCO 3 , used chiefly in the manufacture of rodenticides, paints, and dyes.
  • baron tweedsmuir — the title of Scottish novelist John Buchan
  • 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)
  • bastard culverin — a 16th-century cannon, smaller than a culverin, firing a shot of between 5 and 8 pounds (11 and 17.6 kg).
  • beauty treatment — the use of some form of treatment to improve someone's beauty such as a facial, manicure or depilation
  • beefsteak fungus — an edible reddish bracket fungus, Fistulina hepatica, that grows esp on oak trees and oozes a bloodlike juice
  • behavioural sink — a small area in which people or animals live in overcrowded conditions
  • belgian tervuren — one of a Belgian breed of medium-sized dogs having a long, straight coat, fawn to mahogany in color, differing from the Belgian sheepdog only in color.
  • benguela current — a strong ocean current in the South Atlantic, flowing northward along the SW coast of Africa
  • benoit samuelson — Joan (Joan Benoit) born 1957, U.S. distance runner: first Olympic marathon women's winner, 1984.
  • bermuda triangle — an area in the Atlantic Ocean bounded by Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Florida where ships and aeroplanes are alleged to have disappeared mysteriously
  • bertrand russell — (person)   (1872-1970) A British mathematician, the discoverer of Russell's paradox.
  • binuclear family — a social unit composed of an extended family, usually the children and subsequent spouses of divorced parents.
  • black-eyed susan — any of several North American plants of the genus Rudbeckia, esp R. hirta, having flower heads of orange-yellow rays and brown-black centres: family Asteraceae (composites)
  • blind man's rule — a carpenter's rule having large numbers to permit its reading in dim light.
  • blue dawn-flower — a tropical American vine, Ipomoea acuminata, of the morning glory family, having large, funnel-shaped flowers that turn from blue to pink.
  • blue in the face — the pure color of a clear sky; the primary color between green and violet in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 450 and 500 nm.
  • blue-green algae — any of a division (Cyanophycota) of photosynthetic monerans, microorganisms that contain a blue pigment which obscures the chlorophyll; cyanobacteria
  • blue-winged teal — a small North American duck (Anas discors) found on ponds and rivers
  • bluegrass region — a region in central Kentucky, famous for its horse farms and fields of bluegrass.
  • bonded warehouse — a warehouse in which dutiable goods are deposited until duty is paid or the goods are cleared for export
  • boundary dispute — dispute between neighbours about the boundary between their properties
  • 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.
  • 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
  • brass instrument — a musical wind instrument of brass or other metal with a cup-shaped mouthpiece, as the trombone, tuba, French horn, trumpet, or cornet.
  • 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.
  • break new ground — to do something that has not been done before
  • breeding plumage — the plumage assumed by a male bird during the courtship period, especially in those species that are more colorful at this period.
  • bren gun carrier — (esp in World War II) a small armoured vehicle equipped with a Bren gun
  • bronchopneumonia — inflammation of the lungs, originating in the bronchioles
  • brown-eyed susan — a composite plant, Rudbeckia triloba, of the southeastern U.S., having a single flower with yellow rays darkening to an orange orbrown at the base and a brownish-black disk.
  • buckley's chance — no chance at all
  • bullet-resistant — not allowing bullets to pass through
  • bundled software — software sold as part of a package with computers or other hardware or software
  • bunker mentality — a defensive attitude in which others are seen as hostile or potentially hostile
  • bunya-bunya pine — a tall dome-shaped Australian coniferous tree, Araucaria bidwillii, having edible cones (bunya nuts) and thickish flattened needles
  • buoyancy chamber — an enclosed section of a canoe, float, ship or other object that contains air, foam, or another buoyant substance in order to help maintain buoyancy
  • bureau de change — a place where foreign currencies can be exchanged
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