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14-letter words containing b, r, i, c

  • bamboo curtain — (esp in the 1950s and 1960s) the political and military barrier to communications around the People's Republic of China
  • bancroft prize — one of a group of annual awards for literary achievement in American history and biography: administered by Columbia University.
  • barbecue grill — a grill used in barbecuing
  • bark chippings — small pieces of tree bark used chiefly for pathways in gardens or woodland
  • barometrically — By means of a barometer.
  • bascule bridge — a kind of drawbridge counterweighted so that it can be raised and lowered easily
  • bascule-bridge — a device operating like a balance or seesaw, especially an arrangement of a movable bridge (bascule bridge) by which the rising floor or section is counterbalanced by a weight.
  • basic industry — an industry which is highly important in a nation's economy
  • basic training — Basic training is the training that someone receives when they first join the armed forces.
  • bathygraphical — (of a maps) representing the contours of the seabed
  • batrachophobia — fear of amphibians
  • batrachophobic — relating to the fear of toads and frogs
  • battle cruiser — A battle cruiser is a large fast warship that is lighter than a battleship and moves more easily.
  • bavarian cream — a cold dessert consisting of a rich custard set with gelatine and flavoured in various ways
  • be cursed with — to be afflicted with; suffer from
  • be struck with — to be attracted to or impressed by
  • 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.
  • bearded collie — a medium-sized breed of dog having a profuse long straight coat, usually grey or fawn and often with white on the head, legs, and chest, a long tail, and a distinctive beard
  • beggar's-ticks — tick trefoil
  • belletristical — relating to the fine arts
  • belvoir castle — a castle in Leicestershire, near Grantham (in Lincolnshire): seat of the Dukes of Rutland; rebuilt by James Wyatt in 1816
  • berberidaceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Berberidaceae, a mainly N temperate family of flowering plants (mostly shrubs), including barberry and barrenwort
  • bernicle goose — barnacle goose
  • 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.
  • bezier surface — (graphics)   A surface defined by mathematical formulae, used in computer graphics. A surface P(u, v), where u and v vary orthogonally from 0 to 1 from one edge of the surface to the other, is defined by a set of (n+1)*(m+1) "control points" (X(i, j), Y(i, j), Z(i, j)) for i = 0 to n, j = 0 to m.
  • bib and tucker — an outfit of clothes (esp in the phrase best bib and tucker)
  • biceps brachii — See under biceps.
  • biceps femoris — See under biceps.
  • bicycle-racing — the act or sport of riding or traveling by bicycle, motorcycle, etc.
  • big red switch — (jargon)   (BRS) IBM jargon for the power switch on a computer, especially the "Emergency Pull" switch on an IBM mainframe or the power switch on an IBM PC where it really is large and red. "This [email protected]%$% bitty box is hung again; time to hit the Big Red Switch." It is alleged that the emergency pull switch on an IBM 360/91 actually fired a non-conducting bolt into the main power feed; the BRSes on more recent mainframes physically drop a block into place so that they can't be pushed back in. People get fired for pulling them, especially inappropriately (see also molly-guard). Compare power cycle, three-finger salute, 120 reset; see also scram switch.
  • binary counter — (electronics, hardware)   A digital circuit which has a clock input and a number of count outputs which give the number of clock cycles. The output may change either on rising or falling clock edges. The circuit may also have a reset input which sets all outputs to zero when asserted. The counter may be either a synchronous counter or a ripple counter.
  • binary package — (software)   An archive file that contains all files and directories that must be installed in order to make a working installation of the program(s) included in the package, and the maintainer scripts necessary for the installation. A binary package is usually specific to a certain platform, in contrast to a source package.
  • bioaeronautics — the use of aircraft in the discovery, development, and protection of natural and biological resources
  • bioarchaeology — the branch of archaeology that deals with the remains of living things
  • biocybernetics — the branch of cybernetics that deals with the control and communication systems of living organisms
  • bioelectricity — electricity generated by a living organism
  • bioelectronics — a branch of electronics that deals with electronic devices, implants, etc. used in medicine and biological research
  • bioinformatics — the branch of information science concerned with large databases of biochemical or pharmaceutical information
  • biometric risk — Biometric risk covers all risks related to human life conditions, such as death, birth, disability, age, and number of children.
  • bioprospecting — searching for plant or animal species for use as a source of commercially exploitable products, such as medicinal drugs
  • bircher muesli — a type of muesli containing softened oats, dried fruit, and apple
  • bird sanctuary — an area of land in which birds are protected and encouraged to breed
  • birdcage clock — lantern clock.
  • birthing chair — a chair constructed to allow a woman in labour to give birth in a sitting position
  • biscuit barrel — an airtight container of circular section equipped with a lid and used for storing biscuits
  • biscuit-firing — the first firing given to pottery, before it is glazed
  • bitter cassava — a species of cassava (Manihot esculenta) whose poisonous roots when processed yield tapioca starch
  • black blizzard — a dust storm.
  • black squirrel — a fox squirrel or gray squirrel in that color phase in which the fur is black.
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