15-letter words containing o, s, u, a
- at your service — You can use 'at your service' after your name as a formal way of introducing yourself to someone and saying that you are willing to help them in any way you can.
- atlas mountains — a mountain system of N Africa, between the Mediterranean and the Sahara. Highest peak: Mount Toubkal, 4165 m (13 664 ft)
- atrabiliousness — The state or quality of being characterized by melancholy or glumness.
- audubon society — a North American organization devoted to the conservancy of birds
- augusta gregory — Lady Augusta (Isabella Augusta Persse) 1852–1932, Irish dramatist.
- aurora borealis — the aurora seen around the North Pole
- authentications — Plural form of authentication.
- autobiographers — Plural form of autobiographer.
- autobiographies — Plural form of autobiography.
- autocannibalism — The eating of part of one's own body.
- autodestructive — likely to cause one's own destruction
- autodidacticism — any self-directed learning or self-education
- autofluorescent — Of, pertaining to, or exhibiting autofluorescence.
- automatic focus — a system in a camera which automatically adjusts the lens so that the object being photographed is in focus, often one using infrared light to estimate the distance of the object from the camera
- autoradiographs — Plural form of autoradiograph.
- autoschediastic — offhand, with little forethought or preparation
- autostereoscopy — The display of stereoscopic images without the use of special viewing equipment.
- autotransformer — a transformer in which part of the winding is common to both primary and secondary circuits
- autotransfusion — a process in which a patient receives some of his or her own blood in a transfusion rather than a donor's blood
- autotransplants — Plural form of autotransplant.
- backup software — (tool, software) Software for doing a backup, often included as part of the operating system. Backup software should provide ways to specify what files get backed up and to where. It may include its own scheduling function to automate the procedure or, preferably, work with generic scheduling facilities. It may include facilities for managing the backup media (e.g. maintaining an index of tapes) and for restoring files from backups. Examples are Unix's dump command and Windows's ntbackup.
- bacteriophagous — Pertaining to the predation and consumption of bacterium.
- bad housekeeper — a person who is not an efficient and thrifty domestic manager
- barry mountains — a mountain range in SE Australia, in E Victoria: part of the Australian Alps
- basic autocoder — Early system on IBM 7070. Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959).
- basic education — (in India) education in which all teaching is correlated with the learning of a craft
- basidiomycetous — belonging or pertaining to the basidiomycetes.
- bathing costume — A bathing costume is a piece of clothing that is worn for swimming, especially by women and girls.
- beast of burden — A beast of burden is an animal such as an ox or a donkey that is used for carrying or pulling things.
- beat one's gums — to talk much and idly
- beat oneself up — to reproach oneself
- beat the bounds — (formerly) to define the boundaries of a parish by making a procession around them and hitting the ground with rods
- bioastronautics — the study of the effects of space flight on living organisms
- bishop auckland — a town in N England, in central Durham: seat of the bishops of Durham since the 12th century: light industries. Pop: 24 764 (2001)
- bituminous coal — a soft black coal, rich in volatile hydrocarbons, that burns with a smoky yellow flame. Fixed carbon content: 46–86 per cent; calorific value: 1.93 × 107 – 3.63 × 107 J/kg
- black mountains — a mountain range running from N Monmouthshire and SE Powys (Wales) to SW Herefordshire (England). Highest peak: Waun Fach, 811 m (2660 ft)
- blasphemousness — the quality of being blasphemous
- blue wood aster — a composite plant, Aster cordifolius, of North America, having heart-shaped leaves and pale-blue flowers.
- blueback salmon — sockeye salmon.
- bologna sausage — a large smoked sausage made of seasoned mixed meats
- brachystomatous — having a short proboscis, as certain insects.
- branchiostegous — branchiostegal.
- breach of trust — a violation of duty by a trustee or any other person in a fiduciary position
- bronchial tubes — the bronchi or their smaller divisions
- buffalo soldier — (formerly, especially among American Indians) a black soldier.
- bughouse square — Informal. any intersection or park mall in a big city where political zealots, agitators, folk evangelists, etc., congregate to argue and make soapbox speeches.
- bulimia nervosa — a disorder characterized by compulsive overeating followed by vomiting: sometimes associated with anxiety about gaining weight
- bullnose header — bull header (def 1).
- bullnose-header — Also called bullnose header. a brick having one of the edges across its width rounded for laying as a header in a sill or the like.
- bullock's heart — the large, edible fruit of a tropical American tree, Annona reticulata.