16-letter words containing n, a, o, c
- upside-down cake — a cake that is baked on a layer of fruit, then turned before serving so that the fruit is on top.
- upsilon particle — the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet (Υ, υ).
- valence electron — an electron of an atom, located in the outermost shell (valence shell) of the atom, that can be transferred to or shared with another atom.
- valency electron — an electron in the outer shell of an atom, responsible for forming chemical bonds
- vancouver island — an island of SW Canada, off the SW coast of British Columbia: separated from the Canadian mainland by the Strait of Georgia and Queen Charlotte Sound, and from the US mainland by Juan de Fuca Strait; the largest island off the W coast of North America. Chief town: Victoria. Pop: 706 243 (2001). Area: 32 137 sq km (12 408 sq miles)
- vapor channeling — Vapor channeling exists when vapor flow is distributed in an unequal way in a distillation vessel or stage.
- vapor combustion — Vapor combustion is a closed burn system used for treating liquid waste which contains volatile organic compounds.
- vasoconstriction — constriction of the blood vessels, as by the action of a nerve.
- vasoconstrictive — causing vasoconstriction.
- velcro fastening — a fastening made of Velcro
- ventriculography — radiography of the ventricles of the heart after injection of a contrast medium
- vertebral column — spinal column.
- victorian values — qualities considered to characterize the Victorian period, including enterprise and initiative and the importance of the family
- vienna secession — thea Viennese movement of the late 19th and early 20th cent. in the arts and architecture, that rejected prevailing academic styles in favor of these of art nouveau
- virginia cowslip — a perennial woodland plant (Mertensia virginica) of the borage family, native to E North America and having clusters of blue or purple, bell-shaped flowers
- virginia tobacco — a type of flue-cured tobacco grown originally in Virginia
- vitruvian scroll — a scroll forming a stylized wave pattern.
- vocabulary entry — (in dictionaries) a word, phrase, abbreviation, symbol, affix, name, etc., listed with its definition or explanation in alphabetical order or listed for identification after the word from which it is derived or to which it is related.
- voluntary muscle — muscle whose action is normally controlled by an individual's will; mainly skeletal muscle, composed of parallel bundles of striated, multinucleate fibers.
- voluntary school — a school that promotes specific religious beliefs and which is funded by a local education authority but was not established by the authority
- voluntary sector — the part of the economy that consists of non-profit-making organizations, as opposed to the public and private sectors
- war of secession — American Civil War.
- washington, d. c — Booker T(aliaferro) [boo k-er tol-uh-ver] /ˈbʊk ər ˈtɒl ə vər/ (Show IPA), 1856–1915, U.S. reformer, educator, author, and lecturer.
- washington, d.c. — Booker T(aliaferro) [boo k-er tol-uh-ver] /ˈbʊk ər ˈtɒl ə vər/ (Show IPA), 1856–1915, U.S. reformer, educator, author, and lecturer.
- watch one's step — a movement made by lifting the foot and setting it down again in a new position, accompanied by a shifting of the weight of the body in the direction of the new position, as in walking, running, or dancing.
- weak interaction — the interaction between elementary particles and the intermediate vector bosons that carry the weak force from one particle to another.
- well-compensated — to recompense for something: They gave him ten dollars to compensate him for his trouble.
- wheelchair-bound — unable to walk through injury, illness, etc and relying on a wheelchair to move around
- whole-tone scale — a scale progressing entirely by whole tones, as C, D, E, F♯, G♯, A♯, C.
- windchill factor — an estimated measurement of the cooling effect of air and wind, esp. when applied to the loss of body heat from exposed skin; chill factor
- wisconsin rapids — a city in central Wisconsin.
- within an ace of — a playing card or die marked with or having the value indicated by a single spot: He dealt me four aces in the first hand.
- woodland caribou — a variety of caribou inhabiting the bogs and forests of eastern Canada, having large, palmate antlers.
- woodland culture — a long pre-Columbian tradition characterized by the corded pottery of a hunting and later agricultural people of the eastern U.S. noted for the construction of burial mounds and other structures and dating from c1000 b.c. to a.d. 1700.
- word association — stimulation of an associative pattern by a word.
- yellow archangel — a Eurasian herbaceous plant (Lamiastrum luteum) that has yellow helmet-shaped flowers: family Lamiaceae (labiates)
- yellow poinciana — royal poinciana.
- yeoman's service — good, useful, or workmanlike service: His trusty sword did him yeoman's service.
- yet another yacc — (tool) (Yay) An extension of Yacc with LALR2 parsing. Yay is available from Bull as part of the University of Waterloo Tools package maintained by <[email protected]>.
- zone of leaching — A horizon.