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16-letter words containing n, c, r

  • bacterioplankton — (biology) The bacterial component of marine plankton.
  • badminton racket — the type of racket used in games of badminton
  • balance of power — The balance of power is the way in which power is distributed between rival groups or countries.
  • balance of trade — A country's balance of trade is the difference in value, over a period of time, between the goods it imports and the goods it exports.
  • balance transfer — the act of transferring debt from one credit card to another, assuming that the second card has better terms or interest rates than the first
  • balearic islands — a group of islands in the W Mediterranean, consisting of Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, Formentera, Cabrera, and 11 islets: a province of Spain. Capital: Palma, on Majorca. Pop: 1 071 500 (2003 est). Area: 5012 sq km (1935 sq miles)
  • balloon catheter — a type of catheter with a tiny, inflatable balloon at the tip, used in various surgical procedures
  • ballroom dancing — Ballroom dancing is a type of dancing in which a man and a woman dance together using fixed sequences of steps and movements.
  • balsamic vinegar — Balsamic vinegar is a type of vinegar which tastes sweet and is made from grape juice.
  • baltimore canyon — a submarine valley cut into the continental shelf and slope seaward of Chesapeake Bay.
  • banana republics — any of the small countries in the tropics, especially in the Western Hemisphere, whose economies are largely dependent on fruit exports, tourism, and foreign investors.
  • bankruptcy court — a section of the United States federal court which specializes in the handling of bankruptcy cases
  • bankruptcy order — a court order appointing a receiver to manage the property of a debtor or bankrupt
  • bare necessities — only the essentials
  • bargaining scope — the range of topics within the scope of a particular set of negotiations leading to a collective agreement
  • barium carbonate — a white, poisonous, water-insoluble powder, BaCO 3 , used chiefly in the manufacture of rodenticides, paints, and dyes.
  • basque provinces — an autonomous region of N Spain, comprising the provinces of Álava, Guipúzcoa, and Vizcaya: inhabited mainly by Basques, who retained virtual autonomy from the 9th to the 19th century. Pop: 1 840 700 (2003 est). Area: about 7250 sq km (2800 sq miles)
  • bastard culverin — a 16th-century cannon, smaller than a culverin, firing a shot of between 5 and 8 pounds (11 and 17.6 kg).
  • batch processing — manufacturing products or treating materials in batches, by passing the output of one process to subsequent processes
  • batch production — production of goods in batches, rather than continuously
  • batesian mimicry — mimicry in which a harmless species is protected from predators by means of its resemblance to a harmful or inedible species
  • bathroom cabinet — a wall-mounted cabinet in a bathroom, typically with a mirror front and used for the storage of medicines and toiletries
  • bayonet practice — drill in the use of a bayonet
  • bear one's cross — a structure consisting essentially of an upright and a transverse piece, used to execute persons in ancient times.
  • bearish tendency — a tendency for share prices to fall
  • behind the curve — behind the times; behind schedule
  • beneficial owner — a person entitled to receive the profits or proceeds of property
  • benguela current — a strong ocean current in the South Atlantic, flowing northward along the SW coast of Africa
  • benzotrichloride — a colorless or yellowish liquid, C 7 H 5 Cl 3 , used chiefly in the manufacture of dyes.
  • bernoulli effect — the decrease in pressure as the velocity of a fluid increases.
  • beta abstraction — [lambda-calculus] The conversion of an expression to an application of a lambda abstraction to an argument expression. Some subterm of the original expression becomes the argument of the abstraction and the rest becomes its body. E.g. 4+1 --> (\ x . x+1) 4 The opposite of beta abstraction is beta reduction. These are the two kinds of beta conversion.
  • bicyclic terpene — (originally) any of a class of monocyclic hydrocarbons of the formula C 10 H 16 , obtained from plants.
  • bidirectionality — capable of reacting or functioning in two, usually opposite, directions.
  • binocular fusion — fusion (def 5a).
  • binocular-fusion — the act or process of fusing; the state of being fused.
  • binuclear family — a social unit composed of an extended family, usually the children and subsequent spouses of divorced parents.
  • biofortification — the process of breeding staple crops to have higher levels of essential nutrients, either through selective breeding or genetic modification: iron biofortification of rice; biofortification of wheat with zinc.
  • birchbark biting — a Native Canadian craft in which designs are bitten onto bark from birch trees
  • bismarck herring — marinaded herring, served cold
  • bitter principle — any of various bitter-tasting substances, such as aloin, usually extracted from plants
  • black propaganda — propaganda that does not come from the source it claims to come from
  • bleaching powder — a white powder with the odour of chlorine, consisting of chlorinated calcium hydroxide with an approximate formula CaCl(OCl).4H2O. It is used in solution as a bleaching agent and disinfectant
  • blink comparator — an optical instrument used to detect small differences in two photographs of the same field or object by viewing them alternately, switching rapidly from one to the other.
  • blocked currency — a currency that is not freely convertible because of exchange controls imposed on it
  • blow one's cover — to be or serve as a covering for; extend over; rest on the surface of: Snow covered the fields.
  • blue mockingbird — any of several gray, black, and white songbirds of the genus Mimus, especially M. polyglottos, of the U.S. and Mexico, noted for their ability to mimic the songs of other birds.
  • boarding officer — a coastguard who boards ships suspected of carrying illegal cargoes or posing a security risk
  • bob's your uncle — everything is or will turn out all right
  • bonhomme richard — the flagship of John Paul Jones.
  • boston cream pie — a cake of two layers with icing and a creamy filling
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