16-letter words containing c, a, o, e
- bachelor-at-arms — bachelor (def 4).
- background check — an investigation into a person's origins and previous history
- background noise — any type of noise that is not the sound that you are specifically listening to or monitoring
- background paper — a report or other piece of writing that is intended to provide contextual and historical information that will help people understand a particular topic or situation
- bacterioplankton — (biology) The bacterial component of marine plankton.
- badminton racket — the type of racket used in games of badminton
- balance of power — The balance of power is the way in which power is distributed between rival groups or countries.
- balance of trade — A country's balance of trade is the difference in value, over a period of time, between the goods it imports and the goods it exports.
- balloon catheter — a type of catheter with a tiny, inflatable balloon at the tip, used in various surgical procedures
- baltimore canyon — a submarine valley cut into the continental shelf and slope seaward of Chesapeake Bay.
- bankruptcy order — a court order appointing a receiver to manage the property of a debtor or bankrupt
- barbecue stopper — a controversial current-affairs issue
- barclay de tolly — Prince Mikhail (mixaˈil). 1761–1818, Russian field marshal: commander in chief against Napoleon in 1812
- bargaining scope — the range of topics within the scope of a particular set of negotiations leading to a collective agreement
- barium carbonate — a white, poisonous, water-insoluble powder, BaCO 3 , used chiefly in the manufacture of rodenticides, paints, and dyes.
- barometric error — error of a timepiece due to the fluctuations in density of the atmosphere through which the balance or pendulum moves.
- basement complex — the undifferentiated assemblage of rock (basement rock) underlying the oldest stratified rocks in any region: usually crystalline, metamorphosed, and mostly, but not necessarily, Precambrian in age.
- basic dichromate — an orange-red, amorphous, water-insoluble powder, Bi 2 O 3 ⋅2CrO 3 , used chiefly as a pigment in paints.
- basque provinces — an autonomous region of N Spain, comprising the provinces of Álava, Guipúzcoa, and Vizcaya: inhabited mainly by Basques, who retained virtual autonomy from the 9th to the 19th century. Pop: 1 840 700 (2003 est). Area: about 7250 sq km (2800 sq miles)
- batch processing — manufacturing products or treating materials in batches, by passing the output of one process to subsequent processes
- bathroom cabinet — a wall-mounted cabinet in a bathroom, typically with a mirror front and used for the storage of medicines and toiletries
- battle-axe block — a block of land behind another, with access from the street through a narrow drive
- bayonet practice — drill in the use of a bayonet
- be of assistance — Someone or something that is of assistance to you is helpful or useful to you.
- bear one's cross — a structure consisting essentially of an upright and a transverse piece, used to execute persons in ancient times.
- beneficial owner — a person entitled to receive the profits or proceeds of property
- beta abstraction — [lambda-calculus] The conversion of an expression to an application of a lambda abstraction to an argument expression. Some subterm of the original expression becomes the argument of the abstraction and the rest becomes its body. E.g. 4+1 --> (\ x . x+1) 4 The opposite of beta abstraction is beta reduction. These are the two kinds of beta conversion.
- beta coefficient — a measure of the extent to which a particular security rises or falls in value in response to market movements
- bidirectionality — capable of reacting or functioning in two, usually opposite, directions.
- 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
- biological value — the nutritional effectiveness of the protein in a given food, expressed as the percentage used by the body of either the total protein consumed or the digestible protein available.
- biotechnological — Biotechnological means relating to biotechnology.
- biotic potential — the capacity of a population of organisms to increase in numbers under optimum environmental conditions.
- black bottom pie — a rich pie with a rum- or whiskey-flavored chocolate filling, often with a crust of crushed gingersnaps, and topped with whipped cream.
- black chokeberry — See under chokeberry (def 1).
- black woodpecker — a large woodpecker, Dryocopus martius, found in parts of Eurasia and Africa
- 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
- block and tackle — a hoisting device in which a rope or chain is passed around a pair of blocks containing one or more pulleys. The upper block is secured overhead and the lower block supports the load, the effort being applied to the free end of the rope or chain
- blow one's stack — to lose one's temper; fly into a rage
- boarding officer — a coastguard who boards ships suspected of carrying illegal cargoes or posing a security risk
- bomb calorimeter — a device for determining heats of combustion by igniting a sample in a high pressure of oxygen in a sealed vessel and measuring the resulting rise in temperature: used for measuring the calorific value of foods
- bonhomme richard — the flagship of John Paul Jones.
- bordelaise sauce — a dark sauce made from meat stock, flour, wine, onions, seasonings, etc., served over broiled meat
- boreal chickadee — a brown-capped, black-throated chickadee (Parus hudsonicus) found near the Atlantic coast from Labrador to N New York
- 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
- bowman's capsule — a membranous, double-walled capsule surrounding a glomerulus of a nephron.
- bracknell forest — a unitary authority in SE England, in E Berkshire. Pop: 110 100 (2003 est). Area: 109 sq km (42 sq miles)
- 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.