12-letter words containing k, o, n, a
- boilermaking — metal-working in heavy industry; plating or welding
- booklet pane — Philately. any of a number of panes or small pages of postage stamps, stapled together into a booklet for the convenience of users.
- break ground — to do something that has not been done before
- breaker zone — the area offshore where waves break, between the outermost breaker and the limit of wave uprush; the zone within which waves approaching the coastline start breaking, usually in water depths of 16 to 32 feet (5 to 10 meters).
- broken arrow — a town in NE Oklahoma.
- broken heart — If you say that someone has a broken heart, you mean that they are very sad, for example because a love affair has ended unhappily.
- broken water — a patch of water whose surface is rippled or choppy, usually surrounded by relatively calm water.
- brooks range — a mountain range in N Alaska. Highest peak: Mount Isto, 2761 m (9058 ft)
- brown canker — a fungous disease of roses, characterized by leaf and flower lesions, stem cankers surrounded by a reddish-purple border, and dieback.
- brown hackle — an artificial fly having a peacock herl body, golden tag and tail, and brown hackle.
- burkina faso — an inland republic in W Africa: dominated by Mossi kingdoms (10th–19th centuries); French protectorate established in 1896; became an independent republic in 1960; consists mainly of a flat savanna plateau. Official language: French; Mossi and other African languages also widely spoken. Religion: mostly animist, with a large Muslim minority. Currency: franc. Capital: Ouagadougou. Pop: 17 812 961 (2013 est). Area: 273 200 sq km (105 900 sq miles)
- cantankerous — Someone who is cantankerous is always finding things to argue or complain about.
- cape nordkyn — a cape in N Norway: the northernmost point of the European mainland
- carbon black — a black finely divided form of amorphous carbon produced by incomplete combustion of natural gas or petroleum: used to reinforce rubber and in the manufacture of pigments and ink
- carving fork — a large, two-tined fork with a metal guard to protect the hand, used to hold meat in place as it is being carved
- chain locker — a compartment where the chain or cable of an anchor is stowed when the anchor is raised.
- chain smoker — person: smokes heavily
- chain-smoker — A chain-smoker is a person who chain-smokes.
- changchiakou — Zhangjiakou
- changepocket — a small pocket or compartment for holding coins.
- chestnut oak — any of several North American oaks, as Quercus prinus, having serrate or dentate leaves resembling those of the chestnut.
- chickahominy — a member of a North American Indian tribe of the Powhatan confederacy that inhabited eastern Virginia.
- chukot range — mountain range in NE Siberia: highest peak, c. 7,500 ft (2,286 m)
- cock a snook — to make a rude gesture by putting one thumb to the nose with the fingers of the hand outstretched
- combat knife — a large knife for military use
- conduct mark — (in school) a mark for behaviour
- cook islands — a group of islands in the SW Pacific, an overseas territory of New Zealand: consists of the Lower Cooks and the Northern Cooks Capital: Avarua, on Rarotonga. Pop: 10 447 (2013 est). Area: 234 sq km (90 sq miles)
- cook-general — (formerly, esp in the 1920s and '30s) a domestic servant who did cooking and housework
- cooking salt — a type of salt used in cooking
- cooling rack — a wire frame used for cooling food on
- corn-cracker — a contemptuous term used to refer to a member of a class of poor white people in the southern U.S.
- country park — an area of countryside, usually not less than 10 hectares, set aside for public recreation: often funded by a Countryside Commission grant
- cryoplankton — minute organisms, esp algae, living in ice, snow, or icy water
- curtain hook — a hook used to attach a curtain to a curtain rail
- cycloalkanes — Cycloalkanes are molecules which contain only carbon-hydrogen bonds, with the carbon atoms joined in a ring.
- dak bungalow — (in India, formerly) a house where travellers on a dak route could be accommodated
- dawson creek — a town in W Canada, in NE British Columbia: SE terminus of the Alaska Highway. Pop: 10 754 (2001)
- diamondbacks — Plural form of diamondback.
- don't ask me — You reply 'don't ask me' when you do not know the answer to a question, usually when you are annoyed or surprised that you have been asked.
- donald knuth — (person) Donald E. Knuth, the author of the TeX document formatting system, Metafont its font-design program and the 3 volume computer science "Bible" of algorithms, "The Art of Computer Programming". Knuth suggested the name "Backus-Naur Form" and was also involved in the SOL simulation language, and developed the WEB literate programming system. See also MIX, Turingol.
- economy pack — a large pack of goods that is cheaper than a normal-sized pack
- endoskeletal — (anatomy) Of or pertaining to an internal skeleton, usually of bone (an endoskeleton).
- enterokinase — (enzyme) An enzyme, secreted by the upper intestinal mucosa, that catalyzes the activation of trypsinogen by converting it to trypsin.
- epoch-making — An epoch-making change or declaration is considered to be extremely important because it is likely to have a significant effect on a particular period of time.
- eriskay pony — a breed of medium-sized pony, typically grey, with a dense waterproof coat. The Eriskay is the only surviving variety of the native ponies of the Western Isles of Scotland
- fall back on — to drop or descend under the force of gravity, as to a lower place through loss or lack of support.
- forked chain — branched chain.
- forsakenness — past participle of forsake.
- fort jackson — a military reservation and U.S. Army training center in N central South Carolina, NE of Columbia.
- fort kearney — a former fort in S Nebraska, near Kearney: an important post on the Oregon Trail.