16-letter words containing a, r, c, t
- balance of trade — A country's balance of trade is the difference in value, over a period of time, between the goods it imports and the goods it exports.
- balance transfer — the act of transferring debt from one credit card to another, assuming that the second card has better terms or interest rates than the first
- ballistic camera — a camera for tracking missiles launched at night.
- balloon catheter — a type of catheter with a tiny, inflatable balloon at the tip, used in various surgical procedures
- baltimore canyon — a submarine valley cut into the continental shelf and slope seaward of Chesapeake Bay.
- bankruptcy court — a section of the United States federal court which specializes in the handling of bankruptcy cases
- bankruptcy order — a court order appointing a receiver to manage the property of a debtor or bankrupt
- barbecue stopper — a controversial current-affairs issue
- barclay de tolly — Prince Mikhail (mixaˈil). 1761–1818, Russian field marshal: commander in chief against Napoleon in 1812
- bare necessities — only the essentials
- barium carbonate — a white, poisonous, water-insoluble powder, BaCO 3 , used chiefly in the manufacture of rodenticides, paints, and dyes.
- barometric error — error of a timepiece due to the fluctuations in density of the atmosphere through which the balance or pendulum moves.
- basic dichromate — an orange-red, amorphous, water-insoluble powder, Bi 2 O 3 ⋅2CrO 3 , used chiefly as a pigment in paints.
- bastard culverin — a 16th-century cannon, smaller than a culverin, firing a shot of between 5 and 8 pounds (11 and 17.6 kg).
- batch processing — manufacturing products or treating materials in batches, by passing the output of one process to subsequent processes
- batch production — production of goods in batches, rather than continuously
- batesian mimicry — mimicry in which a harmless species is protected from predators by means of its resemblance to a harmful or inedible species
- bathroom cabinet — a wall-mounted cabinet in a bathroom, typically with a mirror front and used for the storage of medicines and toiletries
- bayonet practice — drill in the use of a bayonet
- bearish tendency — a tendency for share prices to fall
- benguela current — a strong ocean current in the South Atlantic, flowing northward along the SW coast of Africa
- beta abstraction — [lambda-calculus] The conversion of an expression to an application of a lambda abstraction to an argument expression. Some subterm of the original expression becomes the argument of the abstraction and the rest becomes its body. E.g. 4+1 --> (\ x . x+1) 4 The opposite of beta abstraction is beta reduction. These are the two kinds of beta conversion.
- bidirectionality — capable of reacting or functioning in two, usually opposite, directions.
- bimetallic strip — a strip consisting of two metals of different coefficients of expansion welded together so that it buckles on heating: used in thermostats, etc
- biofortification — the process of breeding staple crops to have higher levels of essential nutrients, either through selective breeding or genetic modification: iron biofortification of rice; biofortification of wheat with zinc.
- birchbark biting — a Native Canadian craft in which designs are bitten onto bark from birch trees
- black-letter day — an unlucky or tragic day.
- black-light trap — a trap for insects that uses ultraviolet light as an attractant.
- blacktailed deer — a mule deer, esp. the subspecies (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) found from N Calif. to British Columbia
- blackwater fever — a rare and serious complication of malaria, characterized by massive destruction of red blood cells, producing dark red or blackish urine
- blink comparator — an optical instrument used to detect small differences in two photographs of the same field or object by viewing them alternately, switching rapidly from one to the other.
- bomb calorimeter — a device for determining heats of combustion by igniting a sample in a high pressure of oxygen in a sealed vessel and measuring the resulting rise in temperature: used for measuring the calorific value of foods
- boston cream pie — a cake of two layers with icing and a creamy filling
- botanical garden — a place where collections of plants and trees are kept for scientific study and exhibition
- bracknell forest — a unitary authority in SE England, in E Berkshire. Pop: 110 100 (2003 est). Area: 109 sq km (42 sq miles)
- bragg scattering — the diffraction phenomenon exhibited by a crystal bombarded with x-rays in such a way that each plane of the crystal lattice acts as a reflector (Bragg reflector)
- 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
- branchiopneustic — breathing by means of gills, as certain aquatic insect larvae.
- brand acceptance — the extent to which consumers recognize and welcome a brand
- break the record — surpass previous highest, best
- breakfast cereal — a type of food made from a cereal plant and commonly eaten at breakfast
- breast screening — a radiological or other examination of a woman's breasts to check for signs of cancer
- brick-and-mortar — pertaining to conventional stores, businesses, etc., having physical buildings and facilities, as opposed to Internet or remote services.
- british columbia — a province of W Canada, on the Pacific coast: largely mountainous with extensive forests, rich mineral resources, and important fisheries. Capital: Victoria. Pop: 4 400 057 (2011 est). Area: 930 532 sq km (359 279 sq miles)
- broadloom carpet — any carpet woven on a wide loom and not having seams, especially one wider than 54 inches (137 cm).
- bronchial asthma — asthma.
- buckthorn family — the plant family Rhamnaceae, characterized by shrubs and trees having alternate, simple leaves, clusters of small flowers, and fruit in the form of a drupe or capsule, and including the buckthorn, cascara, and New Jersey tea.
- bureaucratically — of, relating to, or characteristic of a bureaucrat or a bureaucracy; arbitrary and routine.
- bury the hatchet — to cease hostilities and become reconciled
- buttercup family — the plant family Ranunculaceae, typified by mostly herbaceous plants having usually alternate leaves, multistaminate flowers sometimes lacking petals but with colorful sepals, and including the anemone, buttercup, clematis, columbine, delphinium, and monkshood.