21-letter words containing h, e, r, b, l
- not hold one's breath — If you say that you won't hold your breath, you mean that you do not expect something to happen even though someone has suggested that it might.
- open graphics library — (graphics, library) (OpenGL) A multi-platform software interface to graphics hardware, supporting rendering and imaging operations. The OpenGL interface was developed by Silicon Graphics, who license it to other vendors. The OpenGL graphics interface consists of several hundred functions operating on 2D and 3D objects, supporting basic techniques, such as modelling and smooth shading, and advanced techniques, such as texture mapping and motion blur. Many operations require a frame buffer. OpenGL is network-transparent, and a common extension to the X Window System allows an OpenGL client to communicate across a network with a different vendor's OpenGL server. OpenGL is based on Silicon Graphics' proprietary IRIS GL.
- ortho-dichlorobenzene — a colorless liquid with a pleasant odor, C 6 H 4 Cl 2 , used as a solvent for a wide range of organic materials.
- pipelined burst cache — Pipeline Burst Cache
- propantheline bromide — a substance, C 2 3 H 3 0 BrNO 3 , used in the treatment of peptic ulcers.
- public health service — the agency that is responsible for the health of the general public
- put sb in their place — If you put someone in their place, you show them that they are less important or clever than they think they are.
- rayleigh distribution — (mathematics) A curve that yields a good approximation to the actual labour curves on software projects.
- reciprocal inhibition — the theory that the pairing of an anxiety-provoking stimulus with anxiety-reducing reactions will weaken the association between the stimulus and the anxiety.
- rectangular hyperbola — a hyperbola with perpendicular asymptotes
- rehabilitation centre — a centre or clinic where people with an alcohol or drug addiction are treated
- salam-weinberg theory — the electroweak theory.
- single spanish burton — a tackle having a runner as well as the fall supporting the load, giving a mechanical advantage of three, neglecting friction.
- space shuttle orbiter — orbiter (def 1).
- splice the main brace — to join together or unite (two ropes or parts of a rope) by the interweaving of strands.
- steer clear of sb/sth — If you steer clear of someone or something, you deliberately avoid them.
- take sb/sth seriously — If you take someone or something seriously, you believe that they are important and deserve attention.
- the barber of seville — Italian Il barbiere di Siviglia. a comic opera (1816) by Gioacchino Rossini based on a comedy (1775) by Beaumarchais.
- the battle of britain — from August to October 1940, the prolonged bombing of S England by the German Luftwaffe and the successful resistance by the RAF Fighter Command, which put an end to the German plan of invading Britain
- the built environment — the buildings and all other things constructed by human beings
- the lower vertebrates — relatively simple and primitive vertebrates
- the rock of gibraltar — a limestone promontory at the tip of S Spain
- the yellow brick road — the road to success or happiness (in the film the Wizard of Oz the yellow brick road leads to Oz)
- the-ring-the-nibelung — Richard Wagner's tetralogy of music dramas: Das Rheingold (completed 1869), Die Walküre (completed 1870), Siegfried (completed 1876), and Götterdämmerung (completed 1876): the cycle was first performed at Bayreuth, 1876.
- throw sb a curve ball — If someone throws you a curve or throws you a curve ball, they surprise you by doing something that you do not expect.
- to be hard luck on sb — to be unfortunate or unlucky for someone
- to be killed outright — If someone is killed outright, they die immediately, for example in an accident.
- to lay something bare — If you lay something bare, you uncover it completely so that it can then be seen.
- to rub shoulders with — If you rub shoulders with famous people, you meet them and talk to them. You can also say that you rub elbows with someone, especially in American English.
- undesirable discharge — a discharge under other than honorable conditions of a person from military service by administrative action.
- weinberg-salam theory — electroweak theory.