16-letter words containing a, t, s, b, c
- bypass capacitor — a capacitor which provides a low-impedance path for alternating current while not passing any direct current
- cabinet minister — a minister who is a member of the cabinet
- cable television — Cable television is a television system in which signals are sent along wires rather than by radio waves.
- canterbury bells — a cultivated bellflower (Campanula medium) with white, pink, or blue cuplike flowers
- canterbury tales — an unfinished literary work by Chaucer, largely in verse, consisting of stories told by pilgrims on their way to the shrine of St. Thomas à Becket at Canterbury
- carboxylesterase — (enzyme) Any enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of a carboxylic ester.
- carboxypeptidase — any of several digestive enzymes that catalyze the removal of an amino acid from the end of a peptide chain having a free carbonyl group.
- cassia-bark tree — a lauraceous tree, Cinnamomum cassia, of eastern Asia.
- castellated beam — a rolled metal beam the web of which is first divided by a lengthwise zigzag cut, then welded together so as to join the peaks of both halves, thus increasing its depth and strength.
- catch sb napping — If someone is caught napping, something happens when they are not prepared for it, although they should have been.
- celebrity status — the prominence of film star, footballer, musician etc who is constantly photographed and written about in tabloids and magazines
- chargeable asset — any asset that can give rise to assessment for capital gains tax on its disposal. Exempt assets include principal private residences, cars, investments held in a personal equity plan, and government securities
- charitable trust — a trust set up for the benefit of a charity that complies with the regulations of the Charity Commissioners to enable it to be exempt from paying income tax
- christmas beetle — any of various greenish-gold Australian scarab beetles of the genus Anoplognathus, which are common in summer
- clbuttic mistake — the humorous effect created by anti-obscenity filters that automatically replace offensive words in online articles with more acceptable variants
- close by/at hand — Something that is close by or close at hand is near to you.
- cluster variable — RR Lyrae star.
- collaborationism — The act of collaborating, especially with an enemy.
- collaborationist — A collaborationist government or individual is one that helps or gives support to the enemy during the war.
- columbia heights — a city in SE Minnesota, near Minneapolis.
- combination last — a shoe last that has a narrower heel or instep than the standard last.
- combination shot — a shot in pool in which the cue ball strikes at least one object ball before contact is made with the ball to be pocketed.
- combination skin — facial skin that is dry in some areas and greasy in others
- commensurability — The quality of being commensurable or commensurate.
- constant lambert — Constant [kon-stuh nt] /ˈkɒn stənt/ (Show IPA), 1905–51, English composer and conductor.
- constructability — Alternative form of constructibility.
- consubstantiated — Simple past tense and past participle of consubstantiate.
- contrabassoonist — Someone who plays the contrabassoon.
- controllableness — The state of being controllable; the capability of being controlled.
- conversion table — a diagram which shows equivalent amounts in different measuring systems
- cramp sb's style — If someone or something cramps your style, their presence or existence restricts your behavior in some way.
- cray instability — A shortcoming of a program or algorithm that manifests itself only when a large problem is being run on a powerful machine such as a Cray. Generally more subtle than bugs that can be detected in smaller problems running on a workstation or minicomputer.
- cute as a button — very sweet, adorable
- cytotrophoblasts — Plural form of cytotrophoblast.
- data abstraction — (data) Any representation of data in which the implementation details are hidden (abstracted). Abstract data types and objects are the two primary forms of data abstraction.
- database machine — (hardware) A computer or special hardware that stores and retrieves data from a database. It is specially designed for database access and is coupled to the main (front-end) computer(s) by a high-speed channel. This contrasts with a database server, which is a computer in a local area network that holds a database. The database machine is tightly coupled to the main CPU, whereas the database server is loosely coupled via the network.
- debating society — a club, e.g. at a school or university, which regularly holds debates
- deboursification — (jargon) Removal of irrelevant newsgroups from the Newsgroups header of a followup. The term applies particularly to the removal of frivolous groups added by one of the Kooks. See also: sneck.
- dehydroascorbate — (organic compound) Any salt or ester of dehydroascorbic acid.
- discombobulating — Present participle of discombobulate.
- discombobulation — to confuse or disconcert; upset; frustrate: The speaker was completely discombobulated by the hecklers.
- discriminability — The condition of being discriminable.
- fish or cut bait — any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales.
- flat-bed scanner — a type of optical scanner having a flat, stationary surface on which a page is scanned by a moving head.
- football special — a train service provided specially to transport football supporters to and from a match
- globular cluster — a comparatively older, spherically symmetrical, compact group of up to a million old stars, held together by mutual gravitation, that are located in the galactic halo and move in giant and highly eccentric orbits around the galactic center.
- ground substance — Also called matrix. the homogeneous substance in which the fibers and cells of connective tissue are embedded.
- growth substance — any substance, produced naturally by a plant or manufactured commercially, that, in very low concentrations, affects plant growth; a plant hormone
- hairbrush cactus — a stout, spiny cactus, Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum, of Mexico, having white flowers and bristly fruits sometimes used locally as combs.
- hayes-compatible — (communications) A description of a modem which understands the same set of commands as one made by Hayes.