14-letter words containing n, i, k
- john steinbeck — John (Ernst) [urnst] /ɜrnst/ (Show IPA), 1902–68, U.S. novelist: Nobel prize 1962.
- jonker diamond — a noted diamond weighing 726 carats, discovered in the Transvaal in 1934 and cut into 12 pieces.
- kaiserslautern — a city in S Rhineland-Palatinate, in SW Germany.
- karitane nurse — a nurse trained in the care of young babies and their mothers according to the principles of the Plunket Society
- karnatak music — the classical music of South India
- karstification — the process of turning into karst
- keep a rein on — to check, control, or restrain
- kelp greenling — a food and game fish, Hexagrammos decagrammus, living among the kelp along the Pacific coast of North America.
- kenilworth ivy — a European climbing vine, Cymbalaria muralis, of the figwort family, having irregularly lobed leaves and small, lilac-blue flowers.
- kentish plover — Charadrius alexandrinus, a small wading bird belonging to the plover family, breeding in the tropics and subtropics; it is white and greyish-brown, with black legs and bill
- kentucky fried — Southern-fried (def 1).
- kentucky rifle — a long-barreled muzzleloading flintlock rifle developed near Lancaster, Pa., in the early 18th century and widely used on the frontier.
- keratinization — Conversion into keratin or keratinous tissue.
- keratinophilic — (of a plant such as a fungus) growing on keratinous substances such as hair, hooves, nails, etc
- keystone joist — a reinforced-concrete joist with sloping sides and the top wider than the bottom.
- khaki election — a general election held during or immediately after a war, esp one in which the war has an effect on how people vote
- khirbet qumran — an archaeological site in W Jordan, near the NW coast of the Dead Sea: Dead Sea Scrolls found here 1947.
- kidney disease — medical condition affecting the kidneys
- kidney failure — loss of renal function
- kidney machine — artificial kidney.
- kierkegaardian — of, relating to, or resembling the philosophy or religious views of Kierkegaard.
- killing fields — People sometimes refer to a battlefield or a place where many people have been killed as that place's killing fields.
- kiln run brick — any of various bricks of sufficient hardness to be exposed to the weather.
- kindergardener — Misspelling of kindergartner.
- kindergartener — a child who attends a kindergarten.
- kindergartners — Plural form of kindergartner.
- kindred spirit — likeminded person
- kinematic pair — pair1 (def 10).
- kinetheodolite — a type of theodolite containing a cine camera instead of a telescope and giving continuous film of a moving target together with a record of its altitude and azimuth: used in tracking a missile, satellite, etc
- kinetic energy — the energy of a body or a system with respect to the motion of the body or of the particles in the system.
- kinetic theory — the theory that the minute particles of all matter are in constant motion and that the temperature of a substance is dependent on the velocity of this motion, increased motion being accompanied by increased temperature: according to the kinetic theory of gases, the elasticity, diffusion, pressure, and other physical properties of a gas are due to the rapid motion in straight lines of its molecules, to their impacts against each other and the walls of the container, to weak cohesive forces between molecules, etc.
- king of beasts — the lion.
- king's counsel — a body of barristers of a higher status who are specially appointed to be the crown's counsel, and who are permitted to plead inside the bar in the court.
- king's english — standard, educated, or correct English speech or usage, especially of England.
- king's highway — a highway built by the national government.
- king's pattern — a spoon pattern of the 19th century having a stem decorated with threads, scrolls, and shell motifs.
- king's proctor — a British judiciary officer who may intervene in probate, nullity, or divorce actions when collusion, suppression of evidence, or other irregularities are alleged.
- king's weather — fine weather; weather fit for a king.
- king-sized bed — A king-sized bed is a bed that is the largest size available.
- kings mountain — a ridge in N South Carolina: American victory over the British 1780.
- kiss principle — /kis' prin'si-pl/ Keep It Simple, Stupid. A maxim often invoked when discussing design to fend off creeping featurism and control complexity of development. Possibly related to the marketroid maxim on sales presentations, "Keep It Short and Simple". See also Occam's Razor.
- kissing bridge — a covered bridge.
- kissing cousin — any more or less distant kin familiar enough to be greeted with a kiss, as a cousin (kissing cousin)
- kit inspection — inspection of soldiers' kit by a superior officer, to make sure it is all clean, working, and in a good state
- kitchen garden — a garden where vegetables, herbs, and fruit are grown for one's own use.
- kitchen midden — a mound consisting of shells of edible mollusks and other refuse, marking the site of a prehistoric human habitation.
- kitchen police — soldiers detailed by roster or as punishment to assist in kitchen duties.
- kitchen scales — a set of scales used in cooking
- kitty-cornered — cater-cornered
- kleptomaniacal — Having a compulsion to steal, as a kleptomaniac does.