16-letter words containing a, g
- assigned numbers — (standard) The RFC STD 2 documenting the currently assigned values from several series of numbers used in network protocol implementations. This RFC is updated periodically and, in any case, current information can be obtained from the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). If you are developing a protocol or application that will require the use of a link, socket, port, protocol, etc., you should contact the IANA to receive a number assignment.
- assisted passage — a scheme whereby a government encourages people to emigrate or return home by agreeing to pay for their ticket
- associate degree — An associate degree is a college degree that is awarded to a student who has completed a two-year course of study.
- astroarchaeology — archaeoastronomy.
- astroengineering — (scifi) The construction of megastructures in space by technologically advanced beings.
- astrometeorology — the study of the theoretical effects of astronomical bodies and forces on the earth's atmosphere.
- astrophotography — the photography of celestial bodies used in astronomy
- at daggers drawn — If you say that two people are at daggers drawn, you mean they are having an argument and are still very angry with each other.
- at the last gasp — at the point of death
- at-risk register — an official list of people or things considered to be exposed to possible threat, such as children in potentially abusive households or historic buildings in need of maintenance
- attorney general — A country's Attorney General is its chief law officer, who advises its government or ruler.
- audience figures — the number of people regularly watching a television programme or listening to a radio programme
- aung san suu kyi — born 1945, Burmese politician; cofounder (1988) and general secretary (1988–91 and from 1995) of the National League for Democracy: Nobel peace prize 1991; released (2010) from a lengthy house arrest; elected to the Burmese House of Representatives in 2012
- aureate language — a style of poetic diction, used originally in 15th-century English poetry, characterized by the use of ornate phrases and Latinized coinages.
- austro-hungarian — of or relating to the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918)
- authority figure — a person whose real or apparent authority over others inspires or demands obedience and emulation: Parents, teachers, and police officers are traditional authority figures for children.
- autobiographical — An autobiographical piece of writing relates to events in the life of the person who has written it.
- autobogotiphobia — bogotify
- autoethnographic — Using ethnographic techniques to describe one's own life, or events in which one is a participant.
- autoradiographic — Of or pertaining to an autoradiograph, a radiographic image produced by the decay of a radioactive substance.
- autoregressively — In an autoregressive manner.
- average adjuster — a person who calculates average claims, esp for marine insurance
- babbage, charles — Charles Babbage
- back-propagation — (Or "backpropagation") A learning algorithm for modifying a feed-forward neural network which minimises a continuous "error function" or "objective function." Back-propagation is a "gradient descent" method of training in that it uses gradient information to modify the network weights to decrease the value of the error function on subsequent tests of the inputs. Other gradient-based methods from numerical analysis can be used to train networks more efficiently. Back-propagation makes use of a mathematical trick when the network is simulated on a digital computer, yielding in just two traversals of the network (once forward, and once back) both the difference between the desired and actual output, and the derivatives of this difference with respect to the connection weights.
- background check — an investigation into a person's origins and previous history
- background music — music of any kind that is played while some other activity is going on, so that people do not actively attend to it
- 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
- backward-looking — If you describe someone or something as backward-looking, you disapprove of their attitudes, ideas, or actions because they are based on old-fashioned opinions or methods.
- baggage handling — the work of dealing with and sorting passengers' baggage at an airport
- balloon mortgage — A balloon mortgage is a mortgage on which the repayments are relatively small until the large final payment.
- ballroom dancing — Ballroom dancing is a type of dancing in which a man and a woman dance together using fixed sequences of steps and movements.
- balsamic vinegar — Balsamic vinegar is a type of vinegar which tastes sweet and is made from grape juice.
- bargain basement — If you refer to something as a bargain basement thing, you mean that it is cheap and not very good quality.
- bargain-basement — very low-priced.
- bargaining agent — an organization, usually a trade union, that acts or bargains on behalf of a group of employees in collective bargaining
- bargaining level — the level within an organizational hierarchy, such as company level, national level, etc, at which collective bargaining takes place
- bargaining power — the ability of a person, group, or organization to exert influence over another party in a negotiation in order to achieve a deal which is favourable to themselves
- bargaining scope — the range of topics within the scope of a particular set of negotiations leading to a collective agreement
- bargaining table — a table around which the parties involved in a negotiation sit
- bastard daughter — an illegitimate daughter
- bastard mahogany — an Australian tree, Eucalyptus botryoides, of the myrtle family, having lance-shaped leaves and furrowed bark.
- bastard pointing — an imitation of tuck pointing, having a fillet made from the mortar of the joint.
- batch processing — manufacturing products or treating materials in batches, by passing the output of one process to subsequent processes
- bathythermograph — a device for measuring the temperature of the ocean at any specific depth down to c. 1,800 m (c. 5,900 ft)
- be as good as to — would you please
- be the making of — to cause the success of
- bearing pedestal — an independent support for a bearing, usually incorporating a bearing housing
- beaux' stratagem — a comedy (1707) by George Farquhar.
- beefsteak fungus — an edible reddish bracket fungus, Fistulina hepatica, that grows esp on oak trees and oozes a bloodlike juice