14-letter words containing o, b
- beaufort scale — an international scale of wind velocities ranging for practical purposes from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane force). In the US an extension of the scale, from 13 to 17 for winds over 64 knots, is used
- 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.
- beauty parlour — A beauty parlour is a place where women can go to have beauty treatments, for example to have their hair, nails or make-up done.
- beclomethasone — a potent synthetic corticosteroid, C 28 H 37 ClO 7 , prepared as an inhalant in the treatment of bronchial asthma.
- bedroom suburb — a commuter suburb, from which people travel to the city centre to work
- beggar's opera — a ballad opera (1728) with text by John Gay and music arranged by John Pepusch.
- belaya tserkov — city in WC Ukraine: pop. 204,000
- believe you me — You can use believe you me to emphasize that what you are saying is true.
- belisha beacon — a flashing light in an orange globe mounted on a post, indicating a pedestrian crossing on a road
- belo horizonte — a city in SE Brazil, the capital of Minas Gerais state. Pop: 5 304 000 (2005 est)
- below the belt — a band of flexible material, as leather or cord, for encircling the waist.
- below the line — a mark or stroke long in proportion to its breadth, made with a pen, pencil, tool, etc., on a surface: a line down the middle of the page.
- below-the-belt — Something that is below the belt is cruel and unfair.
- below-the-line — denoting the entries printed below the horizontal line on a company's profit-and-loss account that show how any profit is to be distributed
- belvoir castle — a castle in Leicestershire, near Grantham (in Lincolnshire): seat of the Dukes of Rutland; rebuilt by James Wyatt in 1816
- benday process — a process for adding tone or shading, as in reproducing drawings, by the overlay on the plate of patterns, as of dots
- bending moment — the algebraic sum of all the moments to one side of a cross-section of a beam or other structural support
- benzodiazepine — any of a group of chemical compounds that are used as minor tranquillizers, such as diazepam (Valium) and chlordiazepoxide (Librium)
- benzosulfimide — saccharin.
- benzyl alcohol — a colorless, faintly aromatic, slightly water-soluble liquid, C 7 H 8 O, used chiefly as a solvent in the manufacture of perfumes and flavorings, and as an intermediate in the synthesis of benzyl esters and ethers.
- berberidaceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Berberidaceae, a mainly N temperate family of flowering plants (mostly shrubs), including barberry and barrenwort
- bermuda collar — a narrow, pointed collar on a woman's dress or blouse
- bermuda shorts — close-fitting shorts that come down to the knees
- bernicle goose — barnacle goose
- beside oneself — If you are beside yourself with anger or excitement, you are extremely angry or excited.
- bet your boots — to be certain; rely on it
- beta geminorum — Pollux
- beta reduction — [lambda-calculus] The application of a lambda abstraction to an argument expression. A copy of the body of the lambda abstraction is made and occurrences of the bound variable being replaced by the argument. E.g. (\ x . x+1) 4 --> 4+1 Beta reduction is the only kind of reduction in the pure lambda-calculus. The opposite of beta reduction is beta abstraction. These are the two kinds of beta conversion. See also name capture.
- beta-endorphin — a potent endorphin released by the anterior pituitary gland in response to pain, trauma, exercise, or other forms of stress.
- beta-oxidation — a process by which fatty acids are degraded, involving oxidation of the beta carbons and removal of successive two-carbon fragments from the fatty acid.
- betake oneself — to go; move
- betray oneself — to reveal one's true character, intentions, etc
- betting office — a licensed bookmaker's premises not on a racecourse where bets can be placed on horses, teams, and other competitors
- beyond a doubt — to be uncertain about; consider questionable or unlikely; hesitate to believe.
- beyond compare — If you describe something as beyond compare, you mean that it is extremely good or extremely great.
- beyond dispute — not open to dispute or question; settled
- beyond measure — If you say that something has changed or that it has affected you beyond measure, you are emphasizing that it has done this to a great extent.
- bibliomaniacal — relating to a bibliomaniac
- biceps femoris — See under biceps.
- big brotherism — paternalistic authoritarianism that seeks to supply the needs and regulate the conduct of people.
- big government — a form of government characterized by high taxation and public spending and centralization of political power
- big house, the — a penitentiary
- bight of bonny — a wide bay at the E end of the Gulf of Guinea off the coasts of Nigeria and Cameroon
- bikini bottoms — the part of a bikini worn over the groin
- bildungsromane — a type of novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist.
- bilious attack — a group of symptoms consisting of headache, abdominal pain, and constipation
- bill of health — a certificate, issued by a port officer, that attests to the health of a ship's company
- bill of lading — (in foreign trade) a document containing full particulars of goods shipped or for shipment
- bill of rights — A Bill of Rights is a written list of citizens' rights which is usually part of the constitution of a country.