15-letter words containing m, e, s, r
- archeoastronomy — the branch of archaeology that deals with the apparent use by prehistoric civilizations of astronomical techniques to establish the seasons or the cycle of the year, especially as evidenced in the construction of megaliths and other ritual structures.
- aristotelianism — a philosophical tradition based on the wide-ranging belief system of Aristotle
- armaments depot — a store for armaments
- armes parlantes — arms using devices to illustrate the name of the bearers, such as a rose and a wall to illustrate the name Rosewall
- arms inspection — the official checking of a country's weapons and other military equipment, usually to check that international agreements have been respected
- army air forces — a unit comprising almost all aviation, with its personnel, equipment, etc.: it became part of the Air Force on July 26, 1947.
- army-navy store — a retail store selling a stock of surplus army, naval, and other military apparel and goods, often at bargain rates.
- arrest judgment — to stay proceedings after a verdict, on the grounds of error or possible error
- arrondissements — Plural form of arrondissement.
- assemblypersons — Plural form of assemblyperson.
- astrophotometry — the measurement of the intensity of light of celestial objects.
- asymmetric bars — a pair of wooden or fibreglass bars placed parallel to each other but set at different heights, for various exercises
- asymmetric time — musical time consisting of an odd number of beats in each bar divided into uneven combinations, such as 3 + 2, 4 + 3, 2 + 3 + 2, etc
- at arm's length — If you hold something at arm's length, you hold it away from your body with your arm straight.
- atmospherically — pertaining to, existing in, or consisting of the atmosphere: atmospheric vapors.
- augusta emerita — a market town in W Spain, in Extremadura, on the Guadiana River: founded in 25 bc; became the capital of Lusitania and one of the chief cities of Iberia. Pop: 52 110 (2003 est)
- autotransformer — a transformer in which part of the winding is common to both primary and secondary circuits
- azobisformamide — (chemistry) azodicarbonamide.
- ballet mistress — a woman who teaches and rehearses the dancers in a ballet company
- bangtail muster — a roundup of cattle to be counted, each one having the hairs on its tail docked as it is counted
- baptism of fire — If someone who has just begun a new job has a baptism of fire, they immediately have to cope with very many severe difficulties and obstacles.
- barium stearate — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble solid, Ba(C 18 H 35 O 2) 2 , used chiefly as a waterproofing agent and as a lubricant.
- barium sulphate — a white insoluble fine dense powder, used as a pigment, as a filler for paper, rubber, etc, and in barium meals. Formula: BaSO4
- 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
- bathroom scales — scales typically kept in a bathroom for people to weigh themselves
- bear comparison — to be sufficiently similar in class or range to be compared with (something else), esp favourably
- bedroom slipper — a soft shoe worn in the house
- before the mast — as an apprentice seaman
- beside the mark — not striking the point aimed at
- binomial series — an infinite series obtained by expanding a binomial raised to a power that is not a positive integer.
- biogeochemistry — the science of biological, chemical, and geological aspects of the environment
- black sea bream — a sparid fish, Spondyliosoma cantharus, found in N Europe and the Mediterranean
- black september — a Palestinian Terrorist group, responsible for the assassinations of Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games at Munich in 1972
- blossom-end rot — a disease of tomato and pepper caused by a deficiency of calcium, characterized by decay at the blossom end of the fruit.
- bohemian forest — a mountain range between the SW Czech Republic and SE Germany. Highest peak: Arber, 1457 m (4780 ft)
- boston marriage — (especially in 19th-century New England) an intimate friendship between two women often maintaining a household together.
- boston massacre — an outbreak (1770) in Boston against British troops, in which a few citizens were killed
- break statement — (programming) A statement in the C programming language that transfers control out of the innermost enclosing switch, while, do, or for statement. The statement also exists in languages derived from C, such as C++ and Java.
- british america — British North America.
- british telecom — the popular name for British Telecommunications Group plc, the dominant fixed line telecommunications and broadband internet provider in the United Kingdom
- bromoil process — a process for making an offset reproduction by first making a photographic print on paper with a silver bromide emulsion, wetting it, and then using it as a lithographic plate, the lighter parts of the emulsion tending to repel the oil base of the ink and the darker parts tending to hold it.
- 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)
- 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.
- bury st edmunds — a market town in E England, in Suffolk. Pop: 36 218 (2001)
- butcher's-broom — a liliaceous evergreen shrub, Ruscus aculeatus, that has stiff prickle-tipped flattened green stems, which resemble and function as true leaves. The plant was formerly used for making brooms
- cactus geranium — a plant, Pelargonium echinatum, of the geranium family, native to southern Africa, having prickly stipules and white or reddish flowers.
- cairngorm-stone — smoky quartz.
- camelback truss — a roof truss having upper and lower chords curving upward from a common point at each side.