16-letter words containing h, a, m, i
- bohemian waxwing — any of several songbirds of the family Bombycillidae, having a showy crest and certain feathers tipped with a red, waxy material, as Bombycilla garrulus (Bohemian waxwing) of the Northern Hemisphere.
- bonhomme richard — the flagship of John Paul Jones.
- bornholm disease — an epidemic virus infection characterized by pain round the base of the chest
- british columbia — a province of W Canada, on the Pacific coast: largely mountainous with extensive forests, rich mineral resources, and important fisheries. Capital: Victoria. Pop: 4 400 057 (2011 est). Area: 930 532 sq km (359 279 sq miles)
- bronchial asthma — asthma.
- bronchopneumonia — inflammation of the lungs, originating in the bronchioles
- buckthorn family — the plant family Rhamnaceae, characterized by shrubs and trees having alternate, simple leaves, clusters of small flowers, and fruit in the form of a drupe or capsule, and including the buckthorn, cascara, and New Jersey tea.
- buckwheat family — the plant family Polygonaceae, characterized by herbaceous plants, vines, shrubs, and trees having stems with swollen joints, simple leaves, small, petalless flowers, and fruit in the form of an achene, and including the buckwheat, dock, knotweed, rhubarb, sea grape, and smartweed.
- burkitt lymphoma — a rare type of tumour of the white blood cells, occurring mainly in Africa and associated with infection by Epstein-Barr virus
- business machine — a machine for expediting clerical work, as a tabulator or adding machine.
- 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.
- cadmium sulphide — an orange or yellow insoluble solid used as a pigment in paints, etc (cadmium yellow). Formula: CdS
- calcium chloride — a white deliquescent salt occurring naturally in seawater and used in the de-icing of roads and as a drying agent. Formula: CaCl2
- camomile shampoo — a liquid or cream preparation of soap or detergent with camomile extract to wash the hair
- canadian hemlock — eastern hemlock.
- cardiotachometer — a device for counting heartbeats, usually displaying the number of beats per minute
- chain of command — the various individual officers, ranks etc that constitute a hierarchy each level receiving orders from the one above it and passing on the orders to the one below
- champ at the bit — If someone is champing at the bit or is chomping at the bit, they are very impatient to do something, but they are prevented from doing it, usually by circumstances that they have no control over.
- charlotte amalie — the capital of the Virgin Islands of the United States, a port on St Thomas Island. Pop: 18 914 (2000)
- charmed particle — See at charmed (def 2).
- chemical element — chemistry: substance
- chemical peeling — a cosmetic process in which a substance containing a chemical (esp alpha-hydroxy acids) is applied to the skin of the face and peeled away to remove a layer of dead cells
- chemical warfare — warfare in which chemicals other than explosives are used as weapons, esp warfare using asphyxiating or nerve gases, poisons, defoliants, etc
- chemical weapons — toxic chemicals used as weapons
- chemoautotrophic — producing organic matter by the use of energy obtained by oxidation of certain chemicals with carbon dioxide as the carbon source
- chemoprophylaxis — the prevention of disease using chemical drugs
- chemotherapeutic — of or used in chemotherapy
- chinese cinnamon — cassia (def 1).
- chinese fan palm — a fan palm, Livistona chinensis, of southern Japan, having very large, deeply cleft leaves and bluish-green, ovalish fruit.
- chlorinated lime — bleaching powder.
- chlorpheniramine — an antihistaminic compound, C 20 H 23 ClN 2 O 4 , used in treating the symptoms of allergies.
- cholera infantum — an often fatal form of gastroenteritis occurring in infants, not of the same cause as cholera but having somewhat similar characteristics.
- cholesterolaemia — the presence of abnormally high levels of cholesterol in the blood
- chomp at the bit — champ at the bit (see phrase under champ1)
- chorioamnionitis — Inflammation of the fetal membranes (amnion and chorion) due to a bacterial infection, most often associated with prolonged labour.
- christmas beetle — any of various greenish-gold Australian scarab beetles of the genus Anoplognathus, which are common in summer
- christmas cactus — a Brazilian cactus, Schlumbergera (formerly Zygocactus) truncatus, widely cultivated as an ornamental for its showy red flowers
- christmas dinner — the main meal on Christmas day, eaten any time in the afternoon or evening
- christmas factor — a protein implicated in the process of blood clotting, the lack of which causes Christmas disease
- christmas hamper — a collection of seasonal delicacies, often housed in a wicker hamper, which people or organizations give as Christmas presents
- christmas island — an island in the Indian Ocean, south of Java: administered by Singapore (1900–58), now by Australia; phosphate mining. Pop: 1496 (2013 est). Area: 135 sq km (52 sq miles)
- christmas lights — strings of lights put up in the Christmas period to decorate houses
- chromatic number — (mathematics) The smallest number of colours necessary to colour the nodes of a graph so that no two adjacent nodes have the same colour. See also: four colour map theorem.
- chromatographies — Plural form of chromatography.
- chromium plating — plating, often for decorative effect, made of chromium
- chromolithograph — a picture produced by chromolithography
- chronic glaucoma — Ophthalmology. abnormally high fluid pressure in the eye, most commonly caused either by blockage of the channel through which aqueous humor drains (open-angle glaucoma or chronic glaucoma) or by pressure of the iris against the lens, which traps the aqueous humor (angle-closure glaucoma or acute glaucoma)
- churidar pyjamas — long tight-fitting trousers, worn by Indian men and women
- cinnamic alcohol — a white, water-insoluble, crystalline solid, C 9 H 10 O, having a hyacinthine odor, used chiefly as a scent in the manufacture of perfumes.
- clackmannanshire — a council area and historical county of central Scotland; became part of the Central region in 1975 but reinstated as an independent unitary authority in 1996; mainly agricultural. Administrative centre: Alloa. Pop: 47 680 (2003 est). Area: 142 sq km (55 sq miles)