16-letter words containing c, a, b, i, n
- bill of exchange — (now chiefly in foreign transactions) a document, usually negotiable, containing an instruction to a third party to pay a stated sum of money at a designated future date or on demand
- binocular fusion — fusion (def 5a).
- binocular-fusion — the act or process of fusing; the state of being fused.
- binuclear family — a social unit composed of an extended family, usually the children and subsequent spouses of divorced parents.
- biofortification — the process of breeding staple crops to have higher levels of essential nutrients, either through selective breeding or genetic modification: iron biofortification of rice; biofortification of wheat with zinc.
- biomagnification — biological magnification.
- biotechnological — Biotechnological means relating to biotechnology.
- biotic potential — the capacity of a population of organisms to increase in numbers under optimum environmental conditions.
- birchbark biting — a Native Canadian craft in which designs are bitten onto bark from birch trees
- bismarck herring — marinaded herring, served cold
- black nightshade — a poisonous solanaceous plant, Solanum nigrum, a common weed in cultivated land, having small white flowers with backward-curved petals and black berry-like fruits
- bleaching powder — a white powder with the odour of chlorine, consisting of chlorinated calcium hydroxide with an approximate formula CaCl(OCl).4H2O. It is used in solution as a bleaching agent and disinfectant
- blink comparator — an optical instrument used to detect small differences in two photographs of the same field or object by viewing them alternately, switching rapidly from one to the other.
- blue in the face — the pure color of a clear sky; the primary color between green and violet in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 450 and 500 nm.
- boarding officer — a coastguard who boards ships suspected of carrying illegal cargoes or posing a security risk
- bombing campaign — a concerted, intensive and prolonged bombing of a target
- bonhomme richard — the flagship of John Paul Jones.
- boston cream pie — a cake of two layers with icing and a creamy filling
- botanical garden — a place where collections of plants and trees are kept for scientific study and exhibition
- bragg scattering — the diffraction phenomenon exhibited by a crystal bombarded with x-rays in such a way that each plane of the crystal lattice acts as a reflector (Bragg reflector)
- braking distance — the distance a vehicle travels from the point at which its brakes are applied to the point at which it comes to a stop
- branchial groove — one of a series of rudimentary depressions on the surface of the embryo between adjacent branchial arches, homologous to the branchial clefts of gill-breathing ancestral forms.
- branchiopneustic — breathing by means of gills, as certain aquatic insect larvae.
- breast screening — a radiological or other examination of a woman's breasts to check for signs of cancer
- bren gun carrier — (esp in World War II) a small armoured vehicle equipped with a Bren gun
- brick-and-mortar — pertaining to conventional stores, businesses, etc., having physical buildings and facilities, as opposed to Internet or remote services.
- bridge financing — interim or emergency financing through a short- or medium-term loan (bridge loan)
- bridging finance — money borrowed temporarily to cover the period before a particular event occurs, for example, until a house purchaser receives money under a mortgage
- bronchial asthma — asthma.
- bronchopneumonia — inflammation of the lungs, originating in the bronchioles
- buckthorn family — the plant family Rhamnaceae, characterized by shrubs and trees having alternate, simple leaves, clusters of small flowers, and fruit in the form of a drupe or capsule, and including the buckthorn, cascara, and New Jersey tea.
- bullying tactics — the use of intimidation to gain one's objective
- business account — a bank account or type of bank account used for business transactions rather than personal ones
- business machine — a machine for expediting clerical work, as a tabulator or adding machine.
- butenedioic acid — either of two geometrical isomers with the formula HOOCCH:CHCOOH
- byzantine church — Orthodox Church (def 1).
- cabinet minister — a minister who is a member of the cabinet
- cable television — Cable television is a television system in which signals are sent along wires rather than by radio waves.
- caducibranchiate — (of many amphibians, such as frogs) having gills during one stage of the life cycle only
- can you beat it? — an expression of utter amazement or surprise
- capacity booking — a time when someone has booked the whole of a venue or the maximum amount of something available
- captive breeding — Captive breeding is the breeding of wild animals in places such as zoos, especially animals which have become rare in the wild.
- carbon 14 dating — radiocarbon dating.
- carbon bisulfide — carbon disulfide
- carbon disulfide — a heavy, volatile, colorless liquid, CS2, highly flammable and poisonous, used as a solvent, insecticide, etc.
- carbon footprint — Your carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by your activities over a particular period.
- carbon-14 dating — radiocarbon dating.
- cardinal numbers — Also called cardinal numeral. any of the numbers that express amount, as one, two, three, etc. (distinguished from ordinal number).
- catch sb napping — If someone is caught napping, something happens when they are not prepared for it, although they should have been.
- chilean firebush — South American shrub with scarlet flowers