16-letter words containing a, u, v, o
- leveraged buyout — the purchase of a company with borrowed money, using the company's assets as collateral, and often discharging the debt and realizing a profit by liquidating the company. Abbreviation: LBO.
- make a virtue of — If you make a virtue of something, you pretend that you did it because you chose to, although in fact you did it because you had to.
- microvasculature — the system of tiny blood vessels, including capillaries, venules, and arterioles, that perfuse the body's tissues.
- molecular volume — the volume occupied by one mole of a substance
- nevado de toluca — a volcano in central Mexico, in Mexico state near Toluca: crater partly filled by a lake. Height: 4577 m (15 017 ft)
- no-fault divorce — a divorce granted without anyone being found guilty of marital misconduct
- non-accumulative — tending to accumulate or arising from accumulation; cumulative.
- non-remunerative — affording remuneration; profitable: remunerative work.
- noncommunicative — inclined to communicate or impart; talkative: He isn't feeling very communicative today.
- nuclear envelope — the double membrane surrounding the nucleus within a cell.
- nueva ocotepeque — a town in W Honduras.
- nusslein-volhard — Christiane [kris-tee-ah-nuh,, kris-tyah-] /ˌkrɪs tiˈɑ nə,, krɪsˈtyɑ-/ (Show IPA), born 1942, German biologist: Nobel prize 1995.
- over-communicate — to impart knowledge of; make known: to communicate information; to communicate one's happiness.
- over-cultivation — the act or art of cultivating.
- over-speculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- overaccumulation — Accumulation of too much.
- overcautiousness — the quality or state of being too cautious, wary, or careful
- overenthusiastic — full of or characterized by enthusiasm; ardent: He seems very enthusiastic about his role in the play.
- overurbanization — the act or fact of urbanizing, or taking on the characteristics of a city: Urbanization has led to more air pollution and increasing childhood asthma.
- prerevolutionary — of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of a revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change: a revolutionary junta.
- redemption value — the price at which the issuing company may choose to repurchase a security before its maturity date
- relative pronoun — one of the pronouns who, whom, which, what, their compounds with -ever or -soever, or that used as the subordinating word to introduce a subordinate clause, especially such a pronoun referring to an antecedent.
- reserve buoyancy — the difference between the volume of a hull below the designed waterline and the volume of the hull below the lowest opening incapable of being made watertight.
- saturation level — carrying capacity.
- save as you earn — (in Britain) a savings scheme which offers a tax-free bonus and allows employees to buy shares in the company they work for at a fixed price
- self-cultivation — the act or art of cultivating.
- sexual deviation — a type of mental disorder characterized by a preference for or obsession with unusual sexual practices, as pedophilia, sadomasochism, or exhibitionism.
- social evolution — the gradual development of society and social forms, institutions, etc., usually through a series of peaceful stages. Compare revolution (def 2).
- south vietnamese — of or relating to the former South Vietnam (now part of Vietnam) or its inhabitants
- surveyor's chain — a series of objects connected one after the other, usually in the form of a series of metal rings passing through one another, used either for various purposes requiring a flexible tie with high tensile strength, as for hauling, supporting, or confining, or in various ornamental and decorative forms.
- texas revolution — a revolutionary movement, 1832–36, in which U.S. settlers asserted their independence from Mexico and established the republic of Texas.
- the unobservable — something that cannot be observed
- the vienna union — an international conference of socialists who came together in Vienna in 1921 in an attempt to reconstruct a united International by offering an alternative to the right-wing remnant of the Second International and to the Comintern: merged into the Labour and Socialist International in 1923
- to move a muscle — If you say that someone did not move a muscle, you mean that they stayed absolutely still.
- to overabound in — to have or contain too large a quantity or number of something
- to speak volumes — If something such as an action speaks volumes about a person or thing, it gives you a lot of information about them.
- treaty of verdun — an agreement reached in 843 ad by three grandsons of Charlemagne, dividing his empire into an E kingdom (later Germany), a W kingdom (later France), and a middle kingdom (containing what became the Low Countries, Lorraine, Burgundy, and N Italy)
- unconventionally — not conventional; not bound by or conforming to convention, rule, or precedent; free from conventionality: an unconventional artist; an unconventional use of material.
- unconversational — of, relating to, or characteristic of conversation: a conversational tone of voice.
- unimproved value — the valuation of land for rating purposes, disregarding the value of buildings or other development
- universalization — to make universal.
- vancouver island — an island of SW Canada, off the SW coast of British Columbia: separated from the Canadian mainland by the Strait of Georgia and Queen Charlotte Sound, and from the US mainland by Juan de Fuca Strait; the largest island off the W coast of North America. Chief town: Victoria. Pop: 706 243 (2001). Area: 32 137 sq km (12 408 sq miles)
- vapor combustion — Vapor combustion is a closed burn system used for treating liquid waste which contains volatile organic compounds.
- ventriculography — radiography of the ventricles of the heart after injection of a contrast medium
- venus and adonis — a narrative poem (1593) by Shakespeare.
- vertebral column — spinal column.
- victorian values — qualities considered to characterize the Victorian period, including enterprise and initiative and the importance of the family
- video journalism — the techniques, methods, etc., of preparing and broadcasting informational, social, political, and other nonfiction subjects via news and documentary programs.
- vitruvian scroll — a scroll forming a stylized wave pattern.
- vocabulary entry — (in dictionaries) a word, phrase, abbreviation, symbol, affix, name, etc., listed with its definition or explanation in alphabetical order or listed for identification after the word from which it is derived or to which it is related.