16-letter words containing b, e, t, a, i
- semantic tableau — a method of demonstrating the consistency or otherwise of a set of statements by constructing a diagrammatic representation of all the circumstances that satisfy the set of statements
- semi-hibernation — Zoology. to spend the winter in close quarters in a dormant condition, as bears and certain other animals. Compare estivate.
- semisubterranean — half below the surface of the ground: the semisubterranean houses of some Indian tribes.
- shoot-to-disable — of or relating to shooting by soldiers or police that is intended to disable rather than kill
- siberian mammoth — a shaggy-coated mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius, that lived in cold regions across Eurasia and North America during the Ice Age, known from fossils, cave paintings, and well-preserved frozen carcasses.
- sir herbert read — George, 1733–98, American political leader: served in the Continental Congress 1774–77.
- slow metabolizer — A slow metabolizer is someone whose body is slow to break down, absorb, or use a particular substance.
- smooth breathing — a symbol (') used in the writing of Greek to indicate that the initial vowel over which it is placed is unaspirated.
- snakebite remedy — hard liquor.
- sodium bisulfate — a colorless crystalline compound, NaHSO 4 , soluble in water: used in dyeing, in the manufacture of cement, paper, soap, and an acid-type cleaner.
- sodium carbonate — Also called soda ash. an anhydrous, grayish-white, odorless, water-soluble powder, Na 2 CO 3 , usually obtained by the Solvay process and containing about 1 percent of impurities consisting of sulfates, chlorides, and bicarbonates of sodium: used in the manufacture of glass, ceramics, soaps, paper, petroleum products, sodium salts, as a cleanser, for bleaching, and in water treatment.
- sodium perborate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, NaBO 2 ⋅3H 2 O or NaBO 3 ⋅4H 2 O, used chiefly as a bleaching agent and antiseptic.
- software library — a collection of programs that are used to develop software
- southern baptist — a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, founded in Augusta, Georgia, in 1845, that is strictly Calvinistic and active in religious publishing and education.
- squeaky-bum time — the tense final matches in the race to a league championship, esp from the point of view of the leaders
- stab in the back — to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon: She stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.
- state-subsidized — partly paid for by the state; subsidized by the state
- steamboat gothic — a florid architectural style suggesting the gingerbread-decorated construction of river boats of the Victorian period.
- sth rings a bell — If you say that something rings a bell, you mean that it reminds you of something, but you cannot remember exactly what it is.
- strawberry blite — a plant, Chenopodium capitatum, having dense, rounded clusters of minute reddish flowers.
- strike a balance — compromise
- strike a bargain — an advantageous purchase, especially one acquired at less than the usual cost: The sale offered bargains galore.
- subjectification — to make subjective.
- subsistence wage — the lowest wage upon which a worker and his or her family can survive
- substantive rank — a permanent rank in the armed services obtained by length of service, selection, etc
- take by surprise — to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness: Her beauty surprised me.
- take the biscuit — Take the biscuit means the same as take the cake.
- take the liberty — do sth without permission
- tertiary bursary — a noncompetitive award granted to all pupils who have passed a university entrance examination
- thalidomide baby — a baby that has physical abnormalities due to the drug thalidomide being taken by the mother while the baby was still a developing fetus
- the amazon basin — the catchment area of the River Amazon
- the arabian gulf — the arm of the Arabian Sea between SW Iran and Arabia; important for the oilfields on its shores
- the red brigades — a group of urban guerrillas, based in Italy, who kidnapped and murdered the former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro (1916–78) in 1978
- the subsidiariat — a collective term for the news sources that would not survive without being subsidized directly (by a government, etc), or indirectly (through sharing a parent company with another more profitable revenue source)
- the war-disabled — those people who have been disabled by war
- thrombocytopenia — an abnormal decrease in the number of blood platelets.
- thumbnail sketch — small preliminary drawing
- tibetan buddhism — the form of Mahayana Buddhism that developed and is practiced primarily in Tibet and some nearby nations: its spiritual leader is the Dalai Lama
- to blaze a trail — If someone blazes a trail, they discover or develop something new.
- to break the ice — If you break the ice at a party or meeting, or in a new situation, you say or do something to make people feel relaxed and comfortable.
- to mean business — If you say that someone means business, you mean they are serious and determined about what they are doing.
- to miss the boat — If you say that someone has missed the boat, you mean that they have missed an opportunity and may not get another.
- to overabound in — to have or contain too large a quantity or number of something
- tracheobronchial — of, relating to, or affecting the trachea and bronchi.
- transubstantiate — to change from one substance into another; transmute.
- triacetate fiber — a textile fiber made of cellulose triacetate.
- tungsten carbide — a very hard, black or gray compound of tungsten and carbon, used in the manufacture of cutting and abrasion tools, dies, and wear-resistant machine parts.
- turn a blind eye — pretend not to see sth
- twin-carburettor — (of an engine) having two carburettors
- type ii diabetes — diabetes (def 4).