16-letter words containing d, u, a
- attitude problem — a frame of mind perceived by others to be hostile or uncooperative
- auckland islands — a group of six uninhabited islands, south of New Zealand. Area: 611 sq km (234 sq miles)
- audience chamber — a room where a monarch or head of state conducts formal interviews
- audience figures — the number of people regularly watching a television programme or listening to a radio programme
- audio conference — a meeting that is conducted by the use of audio telecommunications
- audiovisual aids — training or educational materials directed at both the sense of hearing and the sense of sight; films, recordings, photographs, etc., used in classroom instruction, library collections, or the like.
- auditory aphasia — aphasia in which there is no comprehension of spoken words; word deafness.
- auditory vesicle — the pouch that is formed by the invagination of an ectodermal placode and that develops into the internal ear.
- autodidactically — a person who has learned a subject without the benefit of a teacher or formal education; a self-taught person.
- automatic redial — a telephone service feature whereby the last number dialed is automatically called again, either after a specified time or when activated by the user.
- autoradiographic — Of or pertaining to an autoradiograph, a radiographic image produced by the decay of a radioactive substance.
- average adjuster — a person who calculates average claims, esp for marine insurance
- background check — an investigation into a person's origins and previous history
- background music — music of any kind that is played while some other activity is going on, so that people do not actively attend to it
- 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
- bankruptcy order — a court order appointing a receiver to manage the property of a debtor or bankrupt
- banned substance — In sport, banned substances are drugs that competitors are not allowed to take because they could artificially improve their performance.
- barbed tributary — a tributary that joins its mainstream in an upstream direction rather than in the more common downstream direction.
- barium hydroxide — a white poisonous crystalline solid, used in the manufacture of organic compounds and in the preparation of beet sugar. Formula: Ba(OH)2
- baron tweedsmuir — the title of Scottish novelist John Buchan
- bartholomeu dias — Bartholomeu [bahr-too-loo-me-oo] /ˌbɑr tʊ lʊˈmɛ ʊ/ (Show IPA), c1450–1500, Portuguese navigator: discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope.
- bastard culverin — a 16th-century cannon, smaller than a culverin, firing a shot of between 5 and 8 pounds (11 and 17.6 kg).
- bastard daughter — an illegitimate daughter
- batch production — production of goods in batches, rather than continuously
- bermuda palmetto — a palm, Sabal bermudana, of Bermuda, having small, roundish, black fruit and leaves that are checkered beneath.
- bermuda triangle — an area in the Atlantic Ocean bounded by Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Florida where ships and aeroplanes are alleged to have disappeared mysteriously
- bertrand russell — (person) (1872-1970) A British mathematician, the discoverer of Russell's paradox.
- birthday honours — (in Britain) honorary titles conferred on the official birthday of the sovereign
- black-eyed susan — any of several North American plants of the genus Rudbeckia, esp R. hirta, having flower heads of orange-yellow rays and brown-black centres: family Asteraceae (composites)
- blind man's buff — a game in which a blindfolded person tries to catch and identify the other players
- blind man's rule — a carpenter's rule having large numbers to permit its reading in dim light.
- blue dawn-flower — a tropical American vine, Ipomoea acuminata, of the morning glory family, having large, funnel-shaped flowers that turn from blue to pink.
- blue-winged teal — a small North American duck (Anas discors) found on ponds and rivers
- board of inquiry — a group set up to inquire into accidents, etc
- bonded warehouse — a warehouse in which dutiable goods are deposited until duty is paid or the goods are cleared for export
- bordeaux mixture — a fungicide consisting of a solution of equal quantities of copper sulphate and quicklime
- bordelaise sauce — a dark sauce made from meat stock, flour, wine, onions, seasonings, etc., served over broiled meat
- boundary dispute — dispute between neighbours about the boundary between their properties
- brandenburg gate — the only remaining city gate in Berlin, built by Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia in 1788–1791 as a symbol of peace and now one of the city's landmarks
- bread and butter — Something that is the bread and butter of a person or organization is the activity or work that provides the main part of their income.
- bread-and-butter — providing a livelihood or basic source of income; supplying the basic needs of life: a bread-and-butter job; the agency's bread-and-butter account.
- break new ground — to do something that has not been done before
- breeding plumage — the plumage assumed by a male bird during the courtship period, especially in those species that are more colorful at this period.
- british honduras — Belize
- broad-shouldered — having broad shoulders
- brown-eyed susan — a composite plant, Rudbeckia triloba, of the southeastern U.S., having a single flower with yellow rays darkening to an orange orbrown at the base and a brownish-black disk.
- bundled software — software sold as part of a package with computers or other hardware or software
- bureau de change — a place where foreign currencies can be exchanged
- busman's holiday — If you have a holiday, but spend it doing something similar to your usual work, you can refer to it as a busman's holiday.