15-letter words containing b, s, u
- kaibab squirrel — a nearly extinct tree squirrel, Sciurus kaibabensis, found only in a small area north of the Grand Canyon.
- knebworth house — a Tudor mansion in Knebworth in Hertfordshire: home of Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton; decorated (1843) in the Gothic style
- labour shortage — a shortage or insufficiency of qualified candidates for employment (in an economy, country, etc)
- lamb's-quarters — the pigweed, Chenopodium album.
- lambda calculus — a formalized description of functions and the way in which they combine, developed by Alonzo Church and used in the theory of certain high-level programming languages
- lambda-calculus — (mathematics) (Normally written with a Greek letter lambda). A branch of mathematical logic developed by Alonzo Church in the late 1930s and early 1940s, dealing with the application of functions to their arguments. The pure lambda-calculus contains no constants - neither numbers nor mathematical functions such as plus - and is untyped. It consists only of lambda abstractions (functions), variables and applications of one function to another. All entities must therefore be represented as functions. For example, the natural number N can be represented as the function which applies its first argument to its second N times (Church integer N). Church invented lambda-calculus in order to set up a foundational project restricting mathematics to quantities with "effective procedures". Unfortunately, the resulting system admits Russell's paradox in a particularly nasty way; Church couldn't see any way to get rid of it, and gave the project up. Most functional programming languages are equivalent to lambda-calculus extended with constants and types. Lisp uses a variant of lambda notation for defining functions but only its purely functional subset is really equivalent to lambda-calculus. See reduction.
- largemouth bass — a North American freshwater game fish, Micropterus salmoides, having an upper jaw extending behind the eye and a broad, dark, irregular stripe along each side of the body. Compare smallmouth bass.
- leibnitz's rule — a rule for finding the derivative of the product of two functions. For a first derivative it is d(uv)/dx = udv/dx + vdu/dx
- liberal judaism — Reform Judaism.
- liberal studies — a supplementary arts course for those specializing in scientific, technical, or professional studies
- lighthouse tube — a vacuum tube with the electrodes arranged in parallel layers closely spaced, giving a relatively high-power output at high frequencies.
- listed building — (in Britain) a building officially recognized as having special historical or architectural interest and therefore protected from demolition or alteration
- little bluestem — a North American forage grass, Schizachyrium scoparium, having wide often bluish blades.
- lobster newburg — (sometimes lowercase) lobster cooked in a thick seasoned cream sauce made with sherry or brandy.
- luncheon basket — a basket that you put food in and take somewhere for a picnic
- maldistribution — bad or unsatisfactory distribution, as of wealth, among a population or members of a group.
- marburg disease — a viral disease producing a severe and often fatal illness with fever, rash, diarrhea, vomiting, and gastrointestinal bleeding, transmitted to humans through contact with infected green monkeys.
- mass-producible — to produce or manufacture (goods) in large quantities, especially by machinery.
- medulloblastoma — (oncology) A malignant type of brain tumour that originates in the cerebellum.
- mersenne number — a number of the form, 2 p −1, where p is a prime number.
- microbusinesses — Plural form of microbusiness.
- micropublishing — the publishing of material in microfilm
- misdistribution — Incorrect or unfair distribution.
- monkey business — frivolous or mischievous behavior.
- monosubstituted — containing one substituent.
- most honourable — a courtesy title applied to marquesses and members of the Privy Council and the Order of the Bath
- mount suribachi — a volcanic hill in the Volcano Islands, on Iwo Jima: site of a US victory (1945) over the Japanese in World War II
- mourners' bench — a front row of seats at a revival meeting, for those who are to profess penitence
- mucous membrane — a lubricating membrane lining an internal surface or an organ, as the alimentary, respiratory, and genitourinary canals.
- municipal bonds — a bond issued by a state, county, city, or town, or by a state authority or agency to finance projects.
- muslim brothers — an organization founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hasan al-Banna (1906–49), calling for a return to rigid orthodoxy, the overthrow of secular governments, and a restoration of the theocratic state.
- neighbourliness — Standard spelling of neighborliness.
- new brunswicker — a native or inhabitant of New Brunswick
- no-claims bonus — law: insurance premium reduction
- non combustible — not flammable.
- non-combustible — not flammable.
- non-exhaustible — to drain of strength or energy, wear out, or fatigue greatly, as a person: I have exhausted myself working.
- non-putrescible — liable to become putrid.
- non-substantive — a noun.
- non-susceptible — admitting or capable of some specified treatment: susceptible of a high polish; susceptible to various interpretations.
- not be yourself — If you say that you are not yourself, you mean you are not feeling well.
- novokuibyshevsk — a city in the SW Russian Federation in Europe, SW of Kuibyshev.
- oblique sailing — the navigation of a vessel on a point of the compass other than one of the cardinal points.
- oblique section — a representation of an object as it would appear if cut by a plane that is other than parallel or perpendicular to its longest axis.
- obstacle course — a military training area having obstacles, as hurdles, ditches, and walls, that must be surmounted or crossed in succession.
- obstructionists — Plural form of obstructionist.
- obstructiveness — The characteristic of being obstructive.
- obtuse triangle — a triangle with one obtuse angle.
- omnibus edition — a television or radio programme consisting of two or more programmes broadcast earlier in the week
- opposite number — counterpart; equivalent: New members with an interest in folk art will find their opposite numbers in the association's directory.