16-letter words containing a, i, r, v
- back-seat driver — If you refer to a passenger in a car as a back-seat driver, they annoy you because they constantly give you advice.
- balsamic vinegar — Balsamic vinegar is a type of vinegar which tastes sweet and is made from grape juice.
- bargaining level — the level within an organizational hierarchy, such as company level, national level, etc, at which collective bargaining takes place
- basic vocabulary — the set of lexical items in a language that are most resistant to replacement, referring to the most common and universal elements of human experience, such as parts of the body (foot, eye), universal features of the environment (water, star), common activities (eat, sleep), and the lowest numerals.
- 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).
- behavior pattern — a recurrent way of acting by an individual or group toward a given object or in a given situation.
- behavior therapy — therapy employing behavior modification
- 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.
- bioenvironmental — pertaining to the environment of living organisms: Bioenvironmental engineers seek to reduce air and water pollution.
- brain-fever bird — an Indian cuckoo, Cuculus varius, that utters a repetitive call
- branchial groove — one of a series of rudimentary depressions on the surface of the embryo between adjacent branchial arches, homologous to the branchial clefts of gill-breathing ancestral forms.
- brave west winds — the strong west and west-northwest winds blowing between latitudes 40° S and 60° S.
- break-even point — When a company reaches break-even point, the money it makes from the sale of goods or services is just enough to cover the cost of supplying those goods or services, but not enough to make a profit.
- buying behaviour — the behaviours displayed by consumers when they purchase things, such as preferences, price points, etc
- capital reserves — the money which a company holds in reserve
- captive breeding — Captive breeding is the breeding of wild animals in places such as zoos, especially animals which have become rare in the wild.
- cardinal virtues — the most important moral qualities, traditionally justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude
- caregiver speech — baby talk (def 2).
- careless driving — the offence of driving without due care
- carry conviction — to be convincing
- cash on delivery — If you pay for goods cash on delivery, you pay for them in cash when they are delivered. The abbreviation C.O.D. is also used.
- cavity resonator — a conducting surface enclosing a space in which an oscillating electromagnetic field can be maintained, the dimensions of the cavity determining the resonant frequency of the oscillations. It is used in microwave devices for frequencies exceeding 300 megahertz
- cedar revolution — the popular protests in 2005 that brought down the Lebanese cabinet and prompted Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon
- cepheid variable — any of a class of variable stars with regular cycles of variations in luminosity (most ranging from three to fifty days). There is a relationship between the periods of variation and the absolute magnitudes, which is used for measuring the distance of such stars
- chancellorsville — hamlet in NE Va. (now called Chancellor): site of a Civil War battle (May, 1863) won by Confederate forces
- chevaux-de-frise — plural of cheval-de-frise.
- chuvash republic — a constituent republic of W central Russia, in the middle Volga valley: generally low-lying with undulating plains and large areas of forest. Capital: Cheboksary. Pop: 1 313 900 (2002). Area: 18 300 sq km (7064 sq miles)
- circumnavigating — Present participle of circumnavigate.
- circumnavigation — to sail or fly around; make the circuit of by navigation: to circumnavigate the earth.
- circumnavigatory — Pertaining to circumnavigation.
- civil air patrol — a voluntary organization performing emergency services, as assisting the U.S. Air Force on search missions, and offering aerospace-education and youth programs: founded 1941. Abbreviation: CAP.
- cloistered vault — a vault having the form of a number of intersecting coves.
- cluster variable — RR Lyrae star.
- come/bring alive — If a story or description comes alive, it becomes interesting, lively, or realistic. If someone or something brings it alive, they make it seem more interesting, lively, or realistic.
- complex variable — a variable to which complex numbers may be assigned as value.
- compression wave — a shock wave that compresses the medium through which it is transmitted.
- conservation law — any law stating that some quantity or property remains constant during and after an interaction or process, as conservation of charge or conservation of linear momentum.
- conservationists — Plural form of conservationist.
- conservative jew — a Jew who adheres for the most part to the principles and practices of traditional Judaism with the reservation that, taking into account contemporary conditions, certain modifications or rejections are permissible.
- conservativeness — disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
- contour interval — the difference in altitude represented by the space between two contour lines on a map
- contraindicative — Serving as a contraindication.
- control variable — Also called control. Statistics. a person, group, event, etc., that is used as a constant and unchanging standard of comparison in scientific experimentation. Compare dependent variable (def 2), independent variable (def 2).
- controversialism — The attitude or tendency to engage in controversy.
- controversialist — a person who takes part in controversy or likes to do so
- controversiality — The quality or state of being controversial.
- controversialize — (transitive) To make to appear controversial.
- conversation pit — a usually sunken portion of a room or living area with chairs, sofas, etc., often grouped around a fireplace, where people can gather to talk.