16-letter words containing o, b, s, l, e
- bootstrap loader — (operating system) A short program loaded from non-volatile storage and used to bootstrap a computer. On early computers great efforts were expended on making the bootstrap loader short, in order to make it easy to toggle in via the front panel switches. It was just clever enough to read in a slightly more complex program (usually from punched cards or paper tape), to which it handed control. This program in turn read the application or operating system from a magnetic tape drive or disk drive. Thus, in successive steps, the computer "pulled itself up by its bootstraps" to a useful operating state. Nowadays the bootstrap loader is usually found in ROM or EPROM, and reads the first stage in from a fixed location on the disk, called the "boot block". When this program gains control, it is powerful enough to load the actual OS and hand control over to it. A diskless workstation can use bootp to load its OS from the network.
- bordelaise sauce — a dark sauce made from meat stock, flour, wine, onions, seasonings, etc., served over broiled meat
- border leicester — a breed of sheep originally developed in the border country between Scotland and England by crossing English Leicesters with Cheviots: large numbers in Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand. It has a long white fleece with no wool on the head
- bornholm disease — an epidemic virus infection characterized by pain round the base of the chest
- boulogne-sur-mer — a port in N France, on the English Channel. Pop: 44 859 (1999)
- bouquet larkspur — a plant, Delphinium grandiflorum, of eastern Asia, having blue or whitish flowers and hairy fruit.
- bowman's capsule — a membranous, double-walled capsule surrounding a glomerulus of a nephron.
- bracknell forest — a unitary authority in SE England, in E Berkshire. Pop: 110 100 (2003 est). Area: 109 sq km (42 sq miles)
- braille embosser — Braille printer
- bring sb to heel — If you bring someone to heel, you force them to obey you.
- bristlecone pine — a coniferous tree, Pinus aristata, of the western US, bearing cones with bristle-like prickles: one of the longest-lived trees, useful in radiocarbon dating
- broad-shouldered — having broad shoulders
- brothel-creepers — soft-soled men's shoes that were originally popular in the 1950s
- brussels griffon — one of a Belgian breed of toy dogs having a thick, wiry, reddish-brown coat.
- building society — In Britain, a building society is a business which will lend you money when you want to buy a house. You can also invest money in a building society, where it will earn interest. Compare savings and loan association.
- bulletproof vest — a protective garment
- bullock's oriole — a common oriole, Icterus galbula bullockii, of western North America: a subspecies of the northern oriole.
- bundle of nerves — a very nervous person
- bundled software — software sold as part of a package with computers or other hardware or software
- burn oneself out — to undergo rapid combustion or consume fuel in such a way as to give off heat, gases, and, usually, light; be on fire: The fire burned in the grate.
- bush honeysuckle — any of several shrubs of the genus Diervilla, of eastern North America, having clusters of yellowish flowers.
- business college — a college providing courses in secretarial studies, business management, accounting, commerce, etc
- butterfly stroke — a swimming stroke in which the arms are plunged forward together in large circular movements
- button one's lip — to stop talking: often imperative
- cable television — Cable television is a television system in which signals are sent along wires rather than by radio waves.
- cannonball serve — (in tennis) a very fast low serve
- capsule wardrobe — a collection of clothes and accessories that includes only items considered essential
- carbon bisulfide — carbon disulfide
- carbon disulfide — a heavy, volatile, colorless liquid, CS2, highly flammable and poisonous, used as a solvent, insecticide, etc.
- carbonless paper — a sheet of paper impregnated with dye which transfers writing or typing onto the copying surface below without the necessity for carbon pigment
- carboxylesterase — (enzyme) Any enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of a carboxylic ester.
- chinese snowball — a Chinese shrub, Viburnum macrocephalum, of the honeysuckle family, having scurfy, hairy twigs, hairy leaves, and white flowers in large, showy, globelike clusters.
- clinically obese — overweight to a degree which causes medical complications
- close by/at hand — Something that is close by or close at hand is near to you.
- cobweb houseleek — a small southern European plant, Sempervivum arachoideum, of the stonecrop family, having a dense, globular cluster of cobwebby leaves and red flowers on hairy stalks.
- columbia heights — a city in SE Minnesota, near Minneapolis.
- commensurability — The quality of being commensurable or commensurate.
- communicableness — The state or quality of being communicable.
- conscionableness — the state of being conscionable
- constant lambert — Constant [kon-stuh nt] /ˈkɒn stənt/ (Show IPA), 1905–51, English composer and conductor.
- consumer durable — Consumer durables are goods which are expected to last a long time, and are bought infrequently.
- contemptibleness — The state or quality of being contemptible.
- controllableness — The state of being controllable; the capability of being controlled.
- conversion table — a diagram which shows equivalent amounts in different measuring systems
- convertible lens — a lens containing two or more elements that can be used individually or in combination to provide a variety of focal lengths.
- de broglie waves — the set of waves that represent the behaviour of an elementary particle, or some atoms and molecules, under certain conditions. The de Broglie wavelength, λ, is given by λ = h/mv, where h is the Planck constant, m the mass, and v the velocity of the particle
- decision problem — (theory) A problem with a yes/no answer. Determining whether some potential solution to a question is actually a solution or not. E.g. "Is 43669" a prime number?". This is in contrast to a "search problem" which must find a solution from scratch, e.g. "What is the millionth prime number?". See decidability.
- demonstrableness — The quality of being demonstrable.
- destabilizations — Plural form of destabilization.
- dimension lumber — building lumber cut to standard or specified sizes.