15-letter words containing c, o, t, a, b
- bituminous coal — a soft black coal, rich in volatile hydrocarbons, that burns with a smoky yellow flame. Fixed carbon content: 46–86 per cent; calorific value: 1.93 × 107 – 3.63 × 107 J/kg
- black guillemot — a common guillemot, Cepphus grylle: its summer plumage is black with white wing patches and its winter plumage white with greyish wings
- black mountains — a mountain range running from N Monmouthshire and SE Powys (Wales) to SW Herefordshire (England). Highest peak: Waun Fach, 811 m (2660 ft)
- black operation — a covert and undocumented military operation
- black snakeroot — a tall bugbane, Cimicifuga racemosa, of the buttercup family, of eastern North America, having thin, tapering, toothed or deeply cut leaflets and branched clusters of small, white flowers.
- blast injection — the injection of liquid fuel directly into the cylinder of an internal-combustion engine using a blast of high-pressure air to atomize the spray of fuel
- blue cattle dog — an Australian breed of dog with a bluish coat, developed for herding cattle
- boa constrictor — A boa constrictor is a large snake that kills animals by wrapping itself round their bodies and squeezing them to death. Boa constrictors are found mainly in South and Central America and the West Indies.
- board-certified — A doctor who is board-certified has passed tests and meets the standards of a board of specialists in their area of medicine.
- book of account — a book to keep accounts in; ledger
- boston massacre — an outbreak (1770) in Boston against British troops, in which a few citizens were killed
- bowel complaint — bowel disease or condition
- box the compass — to name the compass points in order
- brachistochrone — the curve between two points through which a body moves under the force of gravity in a shorter time than for any other curve; the path of quickest descent
- brachystomatous — having a short proboscis, as certain insects.
- branchiostegous — branchiostegal.
- breach of faith — a violation of good faith, confidence, or trust; betrayal: To abandon your friends now would be a breach of faith.
- breach of trust — a violation of duty by a trustee or any other person in a fiduciary position
- breeder reactor — a type of nuclear reactor that produces more fissionable material than it consumes
- bristol channel — an inlet of the Atlantic, between S Wales and SW England, merging into the Severn estuary. Length: about 137 km (85 miles)
- britneyfication — the effect on clothes and fashions of following the revealing styles favoured by the US pop singer Britney Spears (born 1981)
- broadcast storm — (networking) A broadcast on a network that causes multiple hosts to respond by broadcasting themselves, causing the storm to grow exponentially in severity. See network meltdown.
- bronchial tubes — the bronchi or their smaller divisions
- bucket elevator — a chain of buckets for raising liquids or materials to a higher level
- buffalo currant — an ornamental shrub, Ribes odoratum, of the central U.S., having showy, drooping clusters of fragrant yellow flowers and edible black fruit.
- bullock's heart — the large, edible fruit of a tropical American tree, Annona reticulata.
- bullock's-heart — the large, edible fruit of a tropical American tree, Annona reticulata.
- buy-back option — the option for a company to buy some or all of its shares from an investor, who acquired them by putting venture capital into the company when it was formed
- by all accounts — according to everyone
- call into being — to create
- camelot library — (library)
- campaign button — a disk-shaped pin worn by a supporter of a political candidate, usually bearing the name of the candidate and often a slogan or the candidate's picture.
- cannibalisation — Alternative form of cannibalization.
- cannibalization — to subject to cannibalism.
- cannonball tree — a South American tree, Couroupita guianensis, bearing round, woody-husked fruit whose shells are used to make containers and utensils.
- cannot help but — to be unable to do anything else except
- carbazotic acid — picric acid.
- carbon fixation — the process by which plants assimilate carbon from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to form metabolically active compounds
- carry one's bat — (of an opening batsman) to reach the end of an innings without being dismissed
- cartesian doubt — willful suspension of all interpretations of experience that are not absolutely certain: used as a method of deriving, by elimination of such uncertainties, axioms upon which to base theories.
- cartier-bresson — Henri (ɑ̃ri). 1908–2004, French photographer
- catchment board — a public body concerned with the conservation and organization of water supply from a catchment area
- celestial globe — a spherical model of the celestial sphere showing the relative positions of stars, constellations, etc
- centrifugal box — a revolving chamber, used in the spinning of manufactured filaments, in which the plastic fibers, subjected to centrifugal force, are slightly twisted and emerge in the form of yarn wound into the shape of a hollow cylinder.
- cerebral cortex — the outermost layer of the cerebrum that is the locus of higher brain processes
- chamber concert — a concert of chamber music
- chewing tobacco — tobacco, in the form of a plug, usually flavored, for chewing rather than smoking.
- chief constable — A Chief Constable is the officer who is in charge of the police force in a particular county or area in Britain.
- child abduction — the crime of removing a child from its rightful home
- chocolate brown — a dark brown