14-letter words containing n, c, b
- backbone cabal — (networking) A group of large-site administrators who pushed through the Great Renaming and reined in the chaos of Usenet during most of the 1980s. The cabal mailing list disbanded in late 1988 after a bitter internal cat-fight.
- backbreakingly — In a backbreaking manner.
- backflap hinge — Building Trades. flap (def 20a).
- backhandedness — The quality of being backhanded; the use of indirect tactics.
- backing singer — a singer providing a vocal accompaniment for a pop singer or pop number
- backing vocals — a vocal accompaniment for a pop singer
- backscattering — the scattering of rays or particles at angles to the original direction of motion of greater than 90°
- backscratching — a long-handled device for scratching one's own back.
- backside-front — backend-to.
- backup pumpkin — pumpkin
- bactrian camel — a two-humped camel, Camelus bactrianus, used as a beast of burden in the cold deserts of central Asia
- balance bridge — a bascule bridge
- balance spring — hairspring.
- balance weight — a weight used in machines to counterbalance a part, as of a crankshaft
- balanced valve — a valve designed so that pressure-induced forces from the fluid being controlled oppose one another so that resistance to opening and closing the valve is negligible.
- ball and chain — (formerly) a heavy iron ball attached to a chain and fastened to a prisoner
- ball indicator — a flight instrument that measures the angle of roll about an aircraft's horizontal axis, thereby indicating whether or not the aircraft is skidding or slipping.
- ball-and-chain — a heavy iron ball fastened by a chain to a prisoner's leg.
- ballistic wind — a single wind vector that would have the same net effect on the trajectory of a projectile as the varying winds encountered in flight.
- ballroom dance — a social dance, popular since the beginning of the 20th century, in conventional rhythms, such as the foxtrot and the quickstep
- balsaminaceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Balsaminaceae, a family of flowering plants, including balsam and touch-me-not, that have irregular flowers and explosive capsules
- balto-slavonic — a hypothetical subfamily of Indo-European languages consisting of Baltic and Slavonic. It is now generally believed that similarities between them result from geographical proximity rather than any special relationship
- bamboo curtain — (esp in the 1950s and 1960s) the political and military barrier to communications around the People's Republic of China
- banach algebra — (mathematics) An algebra in which the vector space is a Banach space.
- bancroft prize — one of a group of annual awards for literary achievement in American history and biography: administered by Columbia University.
- banker's check — cashier's check.
- bark chippings — small pieces of tree bark used chiefly for pathways in gardens or woodland
- barnacle goose — a N European goose, Branta leucopsis, that has a black-and-white head and body and grey wings
- base community — (especially in South America) a group of people taking part in religious devotions and Bible study, who seek to apply this in their socioeconomic and political situation.
- base component — the system of rules in a transformational grammar that specify the deep structure of the language
- basic industry — an industry which is highly important in a nation's economy
- basic training — Basic training is the training that someone receives when they first join the armed forces.
- basque country — Theregion comprising three provinces in N Spain, on the Bay of Biscay, inhabited by Basques: 2,803 sq mi (7,260 sq km); pop. 2,104,000
- basso cantante — a bass voice with an upper range that is more developed than that of the basso profundo.
- basso continuo — continuo.
- bavarian cream — a cold dessert consisting of a rich custard set with gelatine and flavoured in various ways
- bayonet charge — a charge by riflemen with fixed bayonets
- bayonet socket — a socket for a bayonet fitting
- be in evidence — If someone or something is in evidence, they are present and can be clearly seen.
- bean bag chair — a small cloth bag filled with dried beans, as for tossing in various children's games.
- bean-bag chair — a small cloth bag filled with dried beans, as for tossing in various children's games.
- bearer channel — (communications) Originally, a channel suited for carrying one voice-grade connection. Typically a DS0 channel. Compare data channel. (1997-03-7)
- beaten biscuit — a hard, unleavened biscuit, made to rise by pounding and folding the dough.
- beautification — Making beautiful, beautifying, improving the appearance of something.
- beauty contest — A beauty contest is a competition in which young women are judged to decide which one is the most beautiful.
- beclomethasone — a potent synthetic corticosteroid, C 28 H 37 ClO 7 , prepared as an inhalant in the treatment of bronchial asthma.
- belaying cleat — a cleat used for belaying
- belisha beacon — a flashing light in an orange globe mounted on a post, indicating a pedestrian crossing on a road
- benday process — a process for adding tone or shading, as in reproducing drawings, by the overlay on the plate of patterns, as of dots
- beneficialness — the state of being beneficial