14-letter words containing n, a, p, o
- asthenospheric — relating to the asthenosphere
- at knife-point — under threat of being stabbed
- at one's peril — If you say that someone does something at their peril, you are warning them that they will probably suffer as a result of doing it.
- attention span — the period of time during which someone's attention is held by something in particular
- audio response — a computer response that is audible rather than textual or graphical
- auspiciousness — The state or quality of being auspicious or successful.
- autoresponders — Plural form of autoresponder.
- autotransplant — autograft.
- avoidance play — a play by the declarer designed to prevent a particular opponent from taking the lead.
- banana problem — (programming, humour) From the story of the little girl who said "I know how to spell "banana", but I don't know when to stop". Not knowing where or when to bring a production to a close (compare fencepost error). One may say "there is a banana problem" of an algorithm with poorly defined or incorrect termination conditions, or in discussing the evolution of a design that may be succumbing to featuritis (see also creeping elegance, creeping featuritis).
- bancroft prize — one of a group of annual awards for literary achievement in American history and biography: administered by Columbia University.
- baptismal font — a large bowl for baptismal water, usually mounted on a pedestal
- bare ownership — ownership of a piece of property without the right to use and derive profit from that property
- base component — the system of rules in a transformational grammar that specify the deep structure of the language
- bass saxophone — a large saxophone of low range, usually supported on a stand while being played.
- basso profundo — (esp in operatic solo singing) a singer with a very deep bass voice
- benday process — a process for adding tone or shading, as in reproducing drawings, by the overlay on the plate of patterns, as of dots
- benzodiazepine — any of a group of chemical compounds that are used as minor tranquillizers, such as diazepam (Valium) and chlordiazepoxide (Librium)
- beta-endorphin — a potent endorphin released by the anterior pituitary gland in response to pain, trauma, exercise, or other forms of stress.
- beyond compare — If you describe something as beyond compare, you mean that it is extremely good or extremely great.
- bipolarisation — the act of bipolarising
- bipolarization — the action of rendering something bipolar
- bisphosphonate — any drug of a class that inhibits the resorption of bone; used in treating certain bone disorders, esp osteoporosis
- blaxploitation — a genre of films featuring Black stereotypes
- block sampling — the selection of a corpus for statistical literary analysis by random selection of a starting point and consideration of the continuous passage following it
- blotting paper — Blotting paper is thick soft paper that you use for soaking up and drying ink on a piece of paper.
- boarding party — group of officers or sailors who board a ship
- bone porcelain — bone china.
- boon companion — a close and constant friend
- bophuthatswana — (formerly) a Bantu homeland in N South Africa: consisted of six separate areas; declared independent by South Africa in 1977 although this was not internationally recognized; abolished in 1993. Capital: Mmabatho
- bottling plant — a factory where drinks are bottled
- bow and scrape — to behave in an excessively deferential or obsequious way
- brachypinakoid — the side parallel to the shorter horizontal axis in a crystal
- breaking point — If something or someone has reached breaking point, they have so many problems or difficulties that they can no longer cope with them, and may soon collapse or be unable to continue.
- bronchospastic — of or relating to bronchospasms
- bubble company — a company whose shares are highly valued and then plummet
- bubonic plague — Bubonic plague is a serious infectious disease spread by rats. It killed many people during the Middle Ages.
- bulk transport — the transport of large quantities of goods or commodities in lorries, ships, or by rail
- by appointment — If something can be done by appointment, people can arrange in advance to do it at a particular time.
- by implication — If you say that something is the case by implication, you mean that a statement, event, or situation implies that it is the case.
- cadogan teapot — a lidless teapot that is made from or in imitation of an inverted Chinese wine pot and is filled through the bottom.
- call into play — to begin to operate
- camp counselor — activities supervisor
- camp pendleton — a U.S. Marine Corps base in SW California on the Gulf of Santa Catalina.
- campanulaceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Campanulaceae, a family of temperate and subtropical plants, including the campanulas, having bell-shaped nodding flowers
- cape cod canal — a canal in SE Massachusetts, connecting Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Bay. 8 miles (13 km) long.
- capital inflow — In economics, capital inflow is the amount of capital coming into a country, for example in the form of foreign investment.
- capitalisation — The act or process of capitalising.
- capitalization — the act of capitalizing
- capitation tax — a tax levied on the basis of a fixed amount per head