15-letter words containing a, l, i, n
- authenticatable — to establish as genuine.
- autocannibalism — The eating of part of one's own body.
- autocollimation — the process used in an autocollimator.
- autocorrelation — the condition occurring when successive items in a series are correlated so that their covariance is not zero and they are not independent
- autoinoculation — the inoculation of microorganisms (esp viruses) from one part of the body into another, usually in the form of a vaccine
- avian influenza — an acute, usually fatal viral disease of chickens and other domestic and wild birds except pigeons, characterized by sudden onset of symptoms including fever, swollen head and neck, bluish-black comb and wattle, and difficult respiration.
- bacchanalianism — the practice of bacchanalian behaviour; drunken revelry
- back plastering — the introduction of partitions of lath and plaster between the inner and outer surfaces of a stud wall in order to improve the insulating properties of the wall.
- baja california — peninsula in Mexico, between the Pacific & the Gulf of California: divided into a northern state (Baja California), 27,071 sq mi (70,114 sq km), pop. 1,661,000, cap. Mexicali; and a southern state (Baja California Sur), 28,447 sq mi (73,677 sq km), pop. 318,000, cap. La Paz
- balanced ticket — a slate of candidates chosen to appeal to a wide range of voters, especially by including members of large regional, ethnic, or religious groups.
- balanoposthitis — An inflammation of the glans penis and the prepuce.
- ball ammunition — live small-arms ammunition
- ballpoint (pen) — a pen having, instead of a point, a small ball bearing that picks up its ink by rolling against an interior ink reservoir
- baltic exchange — a group of companies, based in London, which engages in trading activities, esp chartering cargo vessels
- banana republic — Small, poor countries that are politically unstable are sometimes referred to as banana republics.
- bandpass filter — A bandpass filter is a filter designed to pass all frequencies within a band of frequencies.
- bandstop filter — A bandstop filter is a filter designed to eliminate all frequencies within a band of frequencies.
- bangtail muster — a roundup of cattle to be counted, each one having the hairs on its tail docked as it is counted
- banner headline — A banner headline is a large headline in a newspaper that stretches across the front page.
- banqueting hall — a large building or room used for feasts
- barbizon school — a group of French painters of landscapes of the 1840s, including Théodore Rousseau, Daubigny, Diaz, Corot, and Millet
- barcelona chair — an armless, padded leather chair on a steel frame shaped like a curved X: Barcelona is a trademark for this chair
- barley sandwich — a drink of beer, esp at lunch time
- barycentrically — In a barycentric manner.
- bat-wing sleeve — formed, shaped, etc., like the wing of a bat.
- bateau neckline — a wide, high neckline that follows the curve of the collarbone and ends in points on the shoulder seams.
- bathurst island — an island off the coast of N Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic Archipelago: present south of the North Magnetic Pole nearby. 7609 sq. mi. (19,707 sq. km).
- battle stations — the places to which soldiers, sailors, warships, etc. are assigned for a battle or an emergency
- be in the black — If a person or an organization is in the black, they do not owe anyone any money.
- bear animalcule — tardigrade (def 3).
- bedloe's island — Liberty Island
- belgian griffon — one of a variety of the Brussels griffon having a black or reddish-brown and black coat.
- belladonna lily — a tropical bulbous plant (Amaryllis belladonna) of the lily family, grown for its large pink, white, or red flowers and native to S Africa
- belted sandfish — a sea bass, Serranus subligarius, inhabiting warm, shallow waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.
- benedict arnold — Benedict, 1741–1801, American general in the Revolutionary War who became a traitor.
- benzal chloride — a colorless, oily liquid, C 7 H 6 Cl 2 , used chiefly in the synthesis of benzaldehyde, and in the manufacture of dyes.
- benzoglyoxaline — benzimidazole.
- bernoulli trial — one of a sequence of independent experiments each of which has the same probability of success, such as successive throws of a die, the outcome of which is described by a binomial distribution
- bidirectionally — in a bidirectional manner
- billing machine — a business machine used to itemize and total customer accounts, produce bills, post account records, etc.
- binomial series — an infinite series obtained by expanding a binomial raised to a power that is not a positive integer.
- bioaccumulation — the process in which industrial waste, toxic chemicals, etc. gradually accumulate in living tissue
- biomechanically — from a biomechanical point of view
- bishop auckland — a town in N England, in central Durham: seat of the bishops of Durham since the 12th century: light industries. Pop: 24 764 (2001)
- bituminous coal — a soft black coal, rich in volatile hydrocarbons, that burns with a smoky yellow flame. Fixed carbon content: 46–86 per cent; calorific value: 1.93 × 107 – 3.63 × 107 J/kg
- black and white — In a black and white photograph or film, everything is shown in black, white, and grey.
- black mountains — a mountain range running from N Monmouthshire and SE Powys (Wales) to SW Herefordshire (England). Highest peak: Waun Fach, 811 m (2660 ft)
- black operation — a covert and undocumented military operation
- black-and-white — displaying only black and white tones; without color, as a picture or chart: a black-and-white photograph.
- bladder campion — a European caryophyllaceous plant, Silene vulgaris, having white flowers with an inflated calyx