16-letter words containing b, u, c, o
- global community — the people or nations of the world, considered as being closely connected by modern telecommunications and as being economically, socially, and politically interdependent
- globular cluster — a comparatively older, spherically symmetrical, compact group of up to a million old stars, held together by mutual gravitation, that are located in the galactic halo and move in giant and highly eccentric orbits around the galactic center.
- ground substance — Also called matrix. the homogeneous substance in which the fibers and cells of connective tissue are embedded.
- growth substance — any substance, produced naturally by a plant or manufactured commercially, that, in very low concentrations, affects plant growth; a plant hormone
- hot-cathode tube — thermionic tube.
- hubble telescope — a telescope launched into orbit around the earth in 1990 to provide information about the universe in the visible, infrared, and ultraviolet ranges
- humboldt current — a cold Pacific Ocean current flowing N along the coasts of Chile and Peru.
- huntington beach — a city in SW California, SE of Los Angeles.
- incombustibility — The quality or state of being incombustible.
- incommensurables — Plural form of incommensurable.
- incorruptibility — not corruptible: incorruptible integrity.
- insurance broker — person who sells insurance policies
- jacques bonhomme — the contemptuous title given by the nobles to the peasants in the revolt of the Jacquerie in 1358 and adopted by the peasants in subsequent revolts.
- jude the obscure — a novel (1895) by Thomas Hardy.
- labrador current — a cold ocean current flowing southwards off the coast of Labrador and meeting the warm Gulf Stream, causing dense fogs off the coast of Newfoundland
- mossbauer effect — the phenomenon in which an atom in a crystal undergoes no recoil when emitting a gamma ray, giving all the emitted energy to the gamma ray, resulting in a sharply defined wavelength.
- mountain climber — someone who climbs or walks up mountains
- nitrous bacteria — bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrites in the soil
- non-bureaucratic — of, relating to, or characteristic of a bureaucrat or a bureaucracy; arbitrary and routine.
- non-contribution — the act of contributing.
- non-contributive — to give (money, time, knowledge, assistance, etc.) to a common supply, fund, etc., as for charitable purposes.
- non-reproducible — to make a copy, representation, duplicate, or close imitation of: to reproduce a picture.
- numbered account — a bank account whose owner is identified by a number for the purpose of preserving anonymity.
- obstructionistic — a person who deliberately delays or prevents progress.
- obtuse bisectrix — See under bisectrix (def 1).
- october surprise — a major event, occurring shortly before a presidential election, which influences the result
- onboard computer — onboard a vehicle, ship, plane, train or spacecraft
- oversubscription — to subscribe for more of than is available, expected, or required: The charity drive was oversubscribed by several thousand dollars.
- paratuberculosis — Johne's disease.
- pre-subscription — a sum of money given or pledged as a contribution, payment, investment, etc.
- pro bono publico — for the public good or welfare.
- public ownership — ownership by the state; nationalization
- public relations — (used with a plural verb) the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
- public schoolboy — a boy attending a public school, or a man who attended one
- public transport — fare-paying travel
- publication date — the date on which a book or periodical is or is planned to be published.
- rambunctiousness — difficult to control or handle; wildly boisterous: a rambunctious child.
- reaction turbine — a turbine driven by the reactive force of a fluid passing through the rotor blades.
- rectus abdominis — a long flat muscle that extends along the whole length of both sides of the abdomen. It flexes the vertebral column, particularly the lumbar portion; it also tenses the anterior abdominal wall and assists in compressing the abdominal contents
- 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.
- ribonucleic acid — RNA.
- right about face — Military. a command, given to a soldier or soldiers at attention, to turn the body about toward the right so as to face in the opposite direction. the act of so turning in a prescribed military manner.
- rock creek butte — a mountain in NE Oregon: highest peak in the Blue Mountains. 9106 feet (2777 meters).
- round lake beach — a town in NE Illinois.
- roundabout chair — corner chair.
- run the blockade — to go past or through a blockade
- santiago de cuba — a region in Ecuador, E of the Andes: the border long disputed by Peru.
- scarborough lily — a plant, Vallota speciosa, of the amaryllis family, native to southern Africa, having clusters of funnel-shaped, scarlet flowers.
- sebaceous glands — any of the cutaneous glands that secrete oily matter for lubricating hair and skin.
- self-lubrication — the process of becoming lubricated without external factors