15-letter words containing b, r, a, n
- archaeobotanist — A person engaged in archaeobotany.
- argyll and bute — a council area in W Scotland on the Atlantic Ocean: in 1975 the historical counties of Argyllshire and Bute became part of Strathclyde region; in 1996 they were reinstated as a single unitary authority. Argyll and Bute is mountainous and includes the islands of Bute, Mull, Islay, and Jura. Administrative centre: Lochgilphead. Pop: 91 300 (2003 est). Area: 6930 sq km (2676 sq miles)
- ariboflavinosis — a condition resulting from a dietary deficiency of riboflavin
- around the bend — to force (an object, especially a long or thin one) from a straight form into a curved or angular one, or from a curved or angular form into some different form: to bend an iron rod into a hoop.
- arthur brisbane — Arthur, 1864–1936, U.S. journalist.
- assemblypersons — Plural form of assemblyperson.
- atrabiliousness — The state or quality of being characterized by melancholy or glumness.
- back plastering — the introduction of partitions of lath and plaster between the inner and outer surfaces of a stud wall in order to improve the insulating properties of the wall.
- back projection — a method of projecting pictures onto a translucent screen so that they are viewed from the opposite side, used esp in films to create the illusion that the actors in the foreground are moving
- back-scratching — a reciprocal exchange of favors, aid, or compliments
- backup rotation — (operating system) Any system for re-using backup media, e.g. magnetic tape. One extreme would be to use the same media for every backup (e.g. copy disk A to disk B), the other extreme would be to use new media every time. The trade-off is between the cost of buying and storing media and the ability to restore any version of any file. One example is the Grandfather, Father, Son (GFS) scheme.
- baconian theory — the theory attributing the authorship of Shakespeare's plays to Francis Bacon.
- badminton court — the court on which games of badminton are played
- baggage handler — a person who moves baggage onto and off planes at an airport
- baja california — peninsula in Mexico, between the Pacific & the Gulf of California: divided into a northern state (Baja California), 27,071 sq mi (70,114 sq km), pop. 1,661,000, cap. Mexicali; and a southern state (Baja California Sur), 28,447 sq mi (73,677 sq km), pop. 318,000, cap. La Paz
- balance control — a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
- balanced rudder — a rudder so designed that the center of water pressure on the forward face, when turned, lies about halfway along the length, minimizing the turning effort required.
- balloon barrage — a series of moored balloons, usually strung together and hung with cables, for impeding a low-level attack by enemy aircraft.
- ballpeen hammer — a hammer that has one end of its head shaped in a hemisphere for beating metal, etc
- ballroom dancer — a person who participates in ballroom dancing
- banana republic — Small, poor countries that are politically unstable are sometimes referred to as banana republics.
- banded anteater — an Australian marsupial, Myrmecobius fasciatus, feeding on termites and having the body marked with whitish transverse bars: nearly extinct.
- bandpass filter — A bandpass filter is a filter designed to pass all frequencies within a band of frequencies.
- bandstop filter — A bandstop filter is a filter designed to eliminate all frequencies within a band of frequencies.
- bangtail muster — a roundup of cattle to be counted, each one having the hairs on its tail docked as it is counted
- banking product — one of the various services offered by a bank to its customers: mortgages, loans, insurance etc
- banner headline — A banner headline is a large headline in a newspaper that stretches across the front page.
- bar examination — a written examination to determine if one is qualified to practice law in a particular jurisdiction.
- barbizon school — a group of French painters of landscapes of the 1840s, including Théodore Rousseau, Daubigny, Diaz, Corot, and Millet
- barcelona chair — an armless, padded leather chair on a steel frame shaped like a curved X: Barcelona is a trademark for this chair
- bare infinitive — an infinitive verb form without to, used with certain auxiliary verbs , as in I must go. All I did was ask. We might win.
- bargain counter — a store counter on which goods are displayed for sale at reduced prices
- bargain-hunting — the act of shopping for items sold at cheap, esp discounted, prices
- bargaining chip — In negotiations with other people, a bargaining chip is something that you are prepared to give up in order to obtain what you want.
- bargaining unit — a specific group of employees who are covered by the same collective agreement or set of agreements and represented by the same bargaining agent or agents
- barium titanate — a crystalline ceramic used in capacitors and piezoelectric devices. Formula: BaTiO3
- barley sandwich — a drink of beer, esp at lunch time
- barn conversion — the adaptation of a farm barn into a building serving a different use, such as a house or commercial premises
- barn-door skate — an Atlantic skate, Raja laevis, that grows to a length of 4 feet (1.2 meters) or more.
- barrage balloon — Barrage balloons are large balloons which are fixed to the ground by strong steel cables. They are used in wartime, when the cables are intended to destroy low-flying enemy aircraft.
- barrancabermeja — a city in N Colombia.
- barry mountains — a mountain range in SE Australia, in E Victoria: part of the Australian Alps
- barycentrically — In a barycentric manner.
- basic anhydride — a compound formed by removing water from a more complex compound: an oxide of a nonmetal (acid anhydride) or a metal (basic anhydride) that forms an acid or a base, respectively, when united with water.
- basse-normandie — a region of NW France, on the English Channel: consists of the Cherbourg peninsula in the west rising to the Normandy hills in the east; mainly agricultural
- basses-pyrenees — former name of Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
- bathurst island — an island off the coast of N Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic Archipelago: present south of the North Magnetic Pole nearby. 7609 sq. mi. (19,707 sq. km).
- battery farming — the activity of using batteries for raising poultry
- batting average — in baseball, a figure expressing the average batting efficiency of a player or team, figured by dividing the number of base hits by the number of official at-bats
- battle hardened — toughened by the experience of battle