15-letter words containing e, i, s, n, a
- barn conversion — the adaptation of a farm barn into a building serving a different use, such as a house or commercial premises
- basic anhydride — a compound formed by removing water from a more complex compound: an oxide of a nonmetal (acid anhydride) or a metal (basic anhydride) that forms an acid or a base, respectively, when united with water.
- basic education — (in India) education in which all teaching is correlated with the learning of a craft
- basic statement — protocol (def 6).
- basse-normandie — a region of NW France, on the English Channel: consists of the Cherbourg peninsula in the west rising to the Normandy hills in the east; mainly agricultural
- bat-wing sleeve — formed, shaped, etc., like the wing of a bat.
- bathing costume — A bathing costume is a piece of clothing that is worn for swimming, especially by women and girls.
- battle stations — the places to which soldiers, sailors, warships, etc. are assigned for a battle or an emergency
- be having sb on — If you are having someone on, you are pretending that something is true when it is not true, for example as a joke or in order to tease them.
- bear comparison — to be sufficiently similar in class or range to be compared with (something else), esp favourably
- béarnaise sauce — a creamy sauce, esp. for meat or fish, made of butter and egg yolks and flavored with wine, vinegar, shallots, and herbs
- bedloe's island — Liberty Island
- belted sandfish — a sea bass, Serranus subligarius, inhabiting warm, shallow waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.
- benefits agency — an agency that handles the payment of benefits
- berenice's hair — the constellation Coma Berenices
- beta conversion — (theory) A term from lambda-calculus for beta reduction or beta abstraction.
- big sandy creek — a river in central Colorado, flowing NE and SE to the Arkansas River near Lamar: site of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre. 200 miles (322 km) long.
- binomial series — an infinite series obtained by expanding a binomial raised to a power that is not a positive integer.
- bits and pieces — You can use bits and pieces or bits and bobs to refer to a collection of different things.
- 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
- blasting powder — a form of gunpowder made with sodium nitrate instead of saltpeter, used chiefly for blasting rock, ore, etc.
- body mass index — A person's body mass index is a measurement that represents the relationship between their weight and their height.
- bohemian forest — a mountain range between the SW Czech Republic and SE Germany. Highest peak: Arber, 1457 m (4780 ft)
- borderline case — a person or thing that is not clearly classifiable as something
- boston marriage — (especially in 19th-century New England) an intimate friendship between two women often maintaining a household together.
- 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
- branching rules — rules that are used to break down a complex problem into several smaller problems
- branchiostegous — branchiostegal.
- brand extension — the practice of using a well-known brand name to promote new products or services in unrelated fields
- breaking strain — the amount of strain that, if applied to a particular material, will cause it to break
- breathing space — A breathing space is a short period of time between two activities in which you can recover from the first activity and prepare for the second one.
- breeding season — the time of year during which animals breed
- bristol channel — an inlet of the Atlantic, between S Wales and SW England, merging into the Severn estuary. Length: about 137 km (85 miles)
- bronchial tubes — the bronchi or their smaller divisions
- bronze diabetes — hemochromatosis.
- brother-in-arms — a fellow soldier or comrade in a shared struggle
- buckinghamshire — a county in SE central England, containing the Vale of Aylesbury and parts of the Chiltern Hills: the geographic and ceremonial county includes Milton Keynes, which became an independent unitary authority in 1997. Administrative centre: Aylesbury. Pop (excluding Milton Keynes): 478 000 (2003 est). Area (excluding Milton Keynes): 1568 sq km (605 sq miles)
- building trades — the trades and professions concerned with the creation and finishing of buildings, such as carpenters, plasterers, masons, electricians, etc.
- bulimia nervosa — a disorder characterized by compulsive overeating followed by vomiting: sometimes associated with anxiety about gaining weight
- bureau of mines — a division of the Department of the Interior, created in 1910, that studies the nation's mineral resources and inspects mines.
- business casual — a style of casual clothing worn by businesspeople at work instead of more formal attire
- cabinet scraper — a scraper used in preparing a wood surface for sanding.
- cactus geranium — a plant, Pelargonium echinatum, of the geranium family, native to southern Africa, having prickly stipules and white or reddish flowers.
- caernarvonshire — (until 1974) a county of NW Wales, now part of Gwynedd
- cairngorm-stone — smoky quartz.
- caisson disease — decompression sickness
- california rose — a cultivated variety of a bindweed, Calystegia hederacea, having showy, double, rose-colored flowers.
- calliper splint — a splint consisting of two metal rods with straps attached, for supporting or exerting tension on the leg
- canadian forces — the official name for the military forces of Canada
- canadian shield — (in Canada) the wide area of Precambrian rock extending west from the Labrador coast to the basin of the Mackenzie and north from the Great Lakes to Hudson Bay and the Arctic: rich in minerals