14-letter words containing a, r, e, n
- bactrian camel — a two-humped camel, Camelus bactrianus, used as a beast of burden in the cold deserts of central Asia
- badger baiting — an illegal sport in which dogs are encouraged to draw a badger out of its burrow and attack it
- balance bridge — a bascule bridge
- balance spring — hairspring.
- ballroom dance — a social dance, popular since the beginning of the 20th century, in conventional rhythms, such as the foxtrot and the quickstep
- bamboo network — a network of close-knit Chinese entrepreneurs with large corporate empires in southeast Asia
- ban-the-bomber — a person who vigorously advocates banning the development or use of nuclear weapons.
- banach algebra — (mathematics) An algebra in which the vector space is a Banach space.
- banana problem — (programming, humour) From the story of the little girl who said "I know how to spell "banana", but I don't know when to stop". Not knowing where or when to bring a production to a close (compare fencepost error). One may say "there is a banana problem" of an algorithm with poorly defined or incorrect termination conditions, or in discussing the evolution of a design that may be succumbing to featuritis (see also creeping elegance, creeping featuritis).
- bancroft prize — one of a group of annual awards for literary achievement in American history and biography: administered by Columbia University.
- banker's check — cashier's check.
- banker's draft — A banker's draft is the same as a bank draft.
- banker's order — pay order, banker's cheque
- barber-surgeon — (formerly) a barber practicing surgery and dentistry.
- bare ownership — ownership of a piece of property without the right to use and derive profit from that property
- bargain hunter — A bargain hunter is someone who is looking for goods that are value for money, usually because they are on sale at a lower price than normal.
- barnacle goose — a N European goose, Branta leucopsis, that has a black-and-white head and body and grey wings
- baroja y nessi — Pío [pee-oh;; Spanish pee-aw] /ˈpi oʊ;; Spanish ˈpi ɔ/ (Show IPA), 1872–1956, Spanish novelist.
- barrier island — a long island, parallel to the coastline, formed from a ridge of sand (barrier beach) thrown up by the waves, that serves the shore as a protective barrier against tidal waves, storms, etc.
- basque country — Theregion comprising three provinces in N Spain, on the Bay of Biscay, inhabited by Basques: 2,803 sq mi (7,260 sq km); pop. 2,104,000
- basting thread — inexpensive, loosely twisted thread that can be easily pulled out when permanent stitching is in place
- battered woman — See under battered woman syndrome.
- battered-women — the array of physical and psychological injuries exhibited by women (battered women or battered wives) who have been beaten repeatedly or otherwise abused by their partners or spouses.
- battle lantern — a portable, battery-operated light for emergency use aboard a warship.
- bavarian cream — a cold dessert consisting of a rich custard set with gelatine and flavoured in various ways
- bayonet charge — a charge by riflemen with fixed bayonets
- bazillionaires — Plural form of bazillionaire.
- be gagging for — to be very eager to have or do something
- be in bad odor — to be in ill repute
- be in the wars — If someone has been in the wars, they have been injured, for example in a fight or in an accident.
- bean bag chair — a small cloth bag filled with dried beans, as for tossing in various children's games.
- bean-bag chair — a small cloth bag filled with dried beans, as for tossing in various children's games.
- beard-stroking — deep thought
- bearded darnel — a grass, Lolium tementulum, related to rye, having bristles on the seed head and bearing seeds that yield a narcotic poison.
- bearded dragon — a large Australian lizard, Amphibolurus barbatus, with an erectile frill around the neck
- bearer channel — (communications) Originally, a channel suited for carrying one voice-grade connection. Typically a DS0 channel. Compare data channel. (1997-03-7)
- bedraggledness — The state or condition of being bedraggled.
- bedside manner — A doctor's bedside manner is the way in which they talk to their patients.
- benday process — a process for adding tone or shading, as in reproducing drawings, by the overlay on the plate of patterns, as of dots
- benzanthracene — a carcinogenic hydrocarbon
- berkner island — an island in Antarctica, in the S Weddell Sea, between the Ronne Ice Shelf and the Filchner Ice Shelf.
- bertrand meyer — The author of the Eiffel Language and many articles on object-oriented software techniques.
- beta geminorum — Pollux
- beta reduction — [lambda-calculus] The application of a lambda abstraction to an argument expression. A copy of the body of the lambda abstraction is made and occurrences of the bound variable being replaced by the argument. E.g. (\ x . x+1) 4 --> 4+1 Beta reduction is the only kind of reduction in the pure lambda-calculus. The opposite of beta reduction is beta abstraction. These are the two kinds of beta conversion. See also name capture.
- beta-endorphin — a potent endorphin released by the anterior pituitary gland in response to pain, trauma, exercise, or other forms of stress.
- betray oneself — to reveal one's true character, intentions, etc
- betterment tax — a tax on an increase in the value of property effected by improvement
- beveridge plan — the plan for comprehensive social insurance, proposed by Sir William Beveridge in Great Britain in 1941.
- beyond compare — If you describe something as beyond compare, you mean that it is extremely good or extremely great.
- beyond measure — If you say that something has changed or that it has affected you beyond measure, you are emphasizing that it has done this to a great extent.