15-letter words containing n
- babinski effect — the reflex curling upwards of the toes (instead of inwards) when the sole of the foot is stroked, normal in infants below the age of two but a pathological condition in adults
- bacchanalianism — the practice of bacchanalian behaviour; drunken revelry
- back plastering — the introduction of partitions of lath and plaster between the inner and outer surfaces of a stud wall in order to improve the insulating properties of the wall.
- back projection — a method of projecting pictures onto a translucent screen so that they are viewed from the opposite side, used esp in films to create the illusion that the actors in the foreground are moving
- back-scratching — a reciprocal exchange of favors, aid, or compliments
- backup rotation — (operating system) Any system for re-using backup media, e.g. magnetic tape. One extreme would be to use the same media for every backup (e.g. copy disk A to disk B), the other extreme would be to use new media every time. The trade-off is between the cost of buying and storing media and the ability to restore any version of any file. One example is the Grandfather, Father, Son (GFS) scheme.
- baconian method — induction (def 4a).
- baconian theory — the theory attributing the authorship of Shakespeare's plays to Francis Bacon.
- badminton court — the court on which games of badminton are played
- bag and baggage — with all one's belongings
- bag on the side — An extension to an established hack that is supposed to add some functionality to the original. Usually derogatory, implying that the original was being overextended and should have been thrown away, and the new product is ugly, inelegant, or bloated. Also "to hang a bag on the side [of]". "C++? That's just a bag on the side of C." "They want me to hang a bag on the side of the accounting system."
- baggage handler — a person who moves baggage onto and off planes at an airport
- bait and switch — Bait and switch is used to refer to a sales technique in which goods are advertised at low prices in order to attract customers, although only a small number of the low-priced goods are available.
- bait-and-switch — denoting a deceptive method of selling, by which customers, attracted to a store by sale items, are told either that the advertised bargain item is out of stock or is inferior to a higher-priced item that is available.
- baja california — peninsula in Mexico, between the Pacific & the Gulf of California: divided into a northern state (Baja California), 27,071 sq mi (70,114 sq km), pop. 1,661,000, cap. Mexicali; and a southern state (Baja California Sur), 28,447 sq mi (73,677 sq km), pop. 318,000, cap. La Paz
- balance control — a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
- balanced rudder — a rudder so designed that the center of water pressure on the forward face, when turned, lies about halfway along the length, minimizing the turning effort required.
- balanced ticket — a slate of candidates chosen to appeal to a wide range of voters, especially by including members of large regional, ethnic, or religious groups.
- balanoposthitis — An inflammation of the glans penis and the prepuce.
- ball ammunition — live small-arms ammunition
- balloon barrage — a series of moored balloons, usually strung together and hung with cables, for impeding a low-level attack by enemy aircraft.
- balloon payment — a large payment that concludes a series of smaller payments, for example in order to repay a loan
- ballpeen hammer — a hammer that has one end of its head shaped in a hemisphere for beating metal, etc
- ballpoint (pen) — a pen having, instead of a point, a small ball bearing that picks up its ink by rolling against an interior ink reservoir
- ballroom dancer — a person who participates in ballroom dancing
- baltic exchange — a group of companies, based in London, which engages in trading activities, esp chartering cargo vessels
- banana republic — Small, poor countries that are politically unstable are sometimes referred to as banana republics.
- banded anteater — an Australian marsupial, Myrmecobius fasciatus, feeding on termites and having the body marked with whitish transverse bars: nearly extinct.
- bandpass filter — A bandpass filter is a filter designed to pass all frequencies within a band of frequencies.
- bandstop filter — A bandstop filter is a filter designed to eliminate all frequencies within a band of frequencies.
- bangtail muster — a roundup of cattle to be counted, each one having the hairs on its tail docked as it is counted
- bank acceptance — a bill of exchange or draft drawn on and endorsed by a bank
- bank of england — the central bank of the United Kingdom, which acts as banker to the government and the commercial banks. It is responsible for managing the government's debt and implementing its policy on other monetary matters: established in 1694, nationalized in 1946; in 1997 the government restored the authority to set interest rates to the Bank
- banking product — one of the various services offered by a bank to its customers: mortgages, loans, insurance etc
- banner headline — A banner headline is a large headline in a newspaper that stretches across the front page.
- banqueting hall — a large building or room used for feasts
- banyana banyana — the South Africa women's national soccer team
- bar examination — a written examination to determine if one is qualified to practice law in a particular jurisdiction.
- barbizon school — a group of French painters of landscapes of the 1840s, including Théodore Rousseau, Daubigny, Diaz, Corot, and Millet
- barcelona chair — an armless, padded leather chair on a steel frame shaped like a curved X: Barcelona is a trademark for this chair
- bare infinitive — an infinitive verb form without to, used with certain auxiliary verbs , as in I must go. All I did was ask. We might win.
- bargain counter — a store counter on which goods are displayed for sale at reduced prices
- bargain-hunting — the act of shopping for items sold at cheap, esp discounted, prices
- bargaining chip — In negotiations with other people, a bargaining chip is something that you are prepared to give up in order to obtain what you want.
- bargaining unit — a specific group of employees who are covered by the same collective agreement or set of agreements and represented by the same bargaining agent or agents
- barium titanate — a crystalline ceramic used in capacitors and piezoelectric devices. Formula: BaTiO3
- barley sandwich — a drink of beer, esp at lunch time
- barn conversion — the adaptation of a farm barn into a building serving a different use, such as a house or commercial premises
- barn-door skate — an Atlantic skate, Raja laevis, that grows to a length of 4 feet (1.2 meters) or more.
- barrage balloon — Barrage balloons are large balloons which are fixed to the ground by strong steel cables. They are used in wartime, when the cables are intended to destroy low-flying enemy aircraft.