14-letter words containing o, r, t, e
- barrier method — Barrier methods of contraception involve the use of condoms, diaphragms, or other devices that physically prevent the sperm from reaching the egg.
- basque country — Theregion comprising three provinces in N Spain, on the Bay of Biscay, inhabited by Basques: 2,803 sq mi (7,260 sq km); pop. 2,104,000
- battered woman — See under battered woman syndrome.
- battered-women — the array of physical and psychological injuries exhibited by women (battered women or battered wives) who have been beaten repeatedly or otherwise abused by their partners or spouses.
- bayes' theorem — the fundamental result which expresses the conditional probability P(E/A) of an event E given an event A as P(A/E).P(E)/P(A); more generally, where En is one of a set of values Ei which partition the sample space, P(En/A) = P(A/En)P(En)/Σ P(A/Ei)P(Ei). This enables prior estimates of probability to be continually revised in the light of observations
- bayonet charge — a charge by riflemen with fixed bayonets
- beard-stroking — deep thought
- 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
- 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.
- belaya tserkov — city in WC Ukraine: pop. 204,000
- belo horizonte — a city in SE Brazil, the capital of Minas Gerais state. Pop: 5 304 000 (2005 est)
- belvoir castle — a castle in Leicestershire, near Grantham (in Lincolnshire): seat of the Dukes of Rutland; rebuilt by James Wyatt in 1816
- bermuda shorts — close-fitting shorts that come down to the knees
- 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.
- betray oneself — to reveal one's true character, intentions, etc
- 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
- binary counter — (electronics, hardware) A digital circuit which has a clock input and a number of count outputs which give the number of clock cycles. The output may change either on rising or falling clock edges. The circuit may also have a reset input which sets all outputs to zero when asserted. The counter may be either a synchronous counter or a ripple counter.
- bioaeronautics — the use of aircraft in the discovery, development, and protection of natural and biological resources
- biocybernetics — the branch of cybernetics that deals with the control and communication systems of living organisms
- biodegradation — to decay and become absorbed by the environment: toys that will biodegrade when they're discarded.
- bioelectricity — electricity generated by a living organism
- bioelectronics — a branch of electronics that deals with electronic devices, implants, etc. used in medicine and biological research
- biometeorology — the study of the effect of weather conditions on living organisms
- biometric risk — Biometric risk covers all risks related to human life conditions, such as death, birth, disability, age, and number of children.
- bioprospecting — searching for plant or animal species for use as a source of commercially exploitable products, such as medicinal drugs
- bioregionalist — someone who believes in bioregionalism
- bioremediation — the use of plants to extract heavy metals from contaminated soils and water
- bishop's mitre — a European heteropterous bug, Aelia acuminata, whose larvae are a pest of cereal grasses: family Pentatomidae
- bit error rate — A bit error rate is the measure of the number of incorrect bits that can be expected in a specified number of bits in a serial stream.
- blanket-flower — any composite plant of the genus Gaillardia, having showy heads of yellow or red flowers.
- blepharoplasty — cosmetic surgery performed on the eyelid
- blister copper — an impure form of copper having a blister-like surface due to the release of gas during cooling
- blood relation — A blood relation or blood relative is someone who is related to you by birth rather than by marriage.
- blotting paper — Blotting paper is thick soft paper that you use for soaking up and drying ink on a piece of paper.
- board of trade — (in the United Kingdom) a ministry within the Department of Trade: responsible for the supervision of commerce and the promotion of export trade
- body corporate — a group of persons incorporated to carry out a specific enterprise
- bone structure — the skeletal composition of a human or animal
- bone turquoise — fossilized bone or tooth stained blue with iron phosphate and used as a gemstone
- booster cables — jumper cables
- border dispute — a disagreement between countries about where the border between them should be drawn
- border terrier — a small rough-coated breed of terrier that originated in the Borders
- bored to death — very weary and lack stimulation
- born yesterday — brought forth by birth.
- bornyl acetate — a colorless liquid, C 12 H 20 O 2 , having a piny, camphorlike odor, used chiefly as a scent in the manufacture of perfume, and as a plasticizer.
- bornyl formate — a liquid, C 11 H 18 O 2 , having a piny odor, used chiefly as a scent in the manufacture of soaps and disinfectants.
- borrow trouble — to worry about anything needlessly or before one has sufficient cause