14-letter words containing c, i, n, t
- aviation cadet — one who trains to become an officer in an air force.
- back formation — the invention of a new word on the assumption that a familiar word is derived from it. The verbs edit and burgle were so created from editor and burglar
- back-formation — the analogical creation of one word from another word that appears to be a derived or inflected form of the first by dropping the apparent affix or by modification.
- backscattering — the scattering of rays or particles at angles to the original direction of motion of greater than 90°
- backscratching — a long-handled device for scratching one's own back.
- backside-front — backend-to.
- bactrian camel — a two-humped camel, Camelus bactrianus, used as a beast of burden in the cold deserts of central Asia
- balance weight — a weight used in machines to counterbalance a part, as of a crankshaft
- ball indicator — a flight instrument that measures the angle of roll about an aircraft's horizontal axis, thereby indicating whether or not the aircraft is skidding or slipping.
- ballistic wind — a single wind vector that would have the same net effect on the trajectory of a projectile as the varying winds encountered in flight.
- balto-slavonic — a hypothetical subfamily of Indo-European languages consisting of Baltic and Slavonic. It is now generally believed that similarities between them result from geographical proximity rather than any special relationship
- 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.
- base community — (especially in South America) a group of people taking part in religious devotions and Bible study, who seek to apply this in their socioeconomic and political situation.
- 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.
- basso continuo — continuo.
- beaten biscuit — a hard, unleavened biscuit, made to rise by pounding and folding the dough.
- beautification — Making beautiful, beautifying, improving the appearance of something.
- belaying cleat — a cleat used for belaying
- benign neglect — If you describe someone's approach to a problem as one of benign neglect, you disapprove of the fact that they are doing nothing and hoping that the problem will solve itself.
- 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.
- betting office — a licensed bookmaker's premises not on a racecourse where bets can be placed on horses, teams, and other competitors
- bib and tucker — an outfit of clothes (esp in the phrase best bib and tucker)
- biblical latin — the form of Latin used in versions of the Bible, esp the form used in the Vulgate
- 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.
- bioaeronautics — the use of aircraft in the discovery, development, and protection of natural and biological resources
- biocontainment — the confinement, as by sealed-off chambers, of materials that are harmful or potentially harmful to life.
- biocybernetics — the branch of cybernetics that deals with the control and communication systems of living organisms
- 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
- biolinguistics — the study of language functions as they relate to or derive from the biological characteristics of an organism.
- bioluminescent — the production of light by living organisms.
- bioprospecting — searching for plant or animal species for use as a source of commercially exploitable products, such as medicinal drugs
- bird sanctuary — an area of land in which birds are protected and encouraged to breed
- birthing chair — a chair constructed to allow a woman in labour to give birth in a sitting position
- biscuit-firing — the first firing given to pottery, before it is glazed
- black as night — totally dark
- blanket stitch — a strong reinforcing stitch for the edges of blankets and other thick material
- blanket-stitch — a basic sewing stitch in which widely spaced, interlocking loops, or purls, are formed, used for cutwork, as a decorative finish for edges, etc.
- block faulting — the process by which tensional forces in the earth's crust cause large bodies of rock to founder.
- block mountain — a mountain produced by faulting and the uplifting of large blocks of rock
- block printing — printing from hand engraved or carved blocks of wood or linoleum
- body snatching — the act or practice of robbing a grave to obtain a cadaver for dissection.
- botanic garden — a place in which plants are grown, studied, and exhibited
- branchiostegal — of or relating to the operculum covering the gill slits of fish
- brazil current — a warm current in the Atlantic Ocean flowing SE along the E coast of Brazil.
- breeding stock — animals specifically kept to breed from
- britannia coin — any of four British gold coins introduced in 1987 for investment purposes; their denominations are £100, £50, £25, and £10
- broken society — a perceived or apparent general decline in moral values