15-letter words containing o, u, n
- 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
- benevolent fund — a charitable organization
- benzyl fluoride — a colorless liquid, C 7 H 7 F, used in organic synthesis.
- bernoulli trial — one of a sequence of independent experiments each of which has the same probability of success, such as successive throws of a die, the outcome of which is described by a binomial distribution
- bessel function — one of several transcendental functions, usually represented as power series, that are solutions to a group of related differential equations.
- beurre noisette — a sauce of butter cooked until golden or nut brown, sometimes flavored with capers, vinegar, herbs, etc.
- beyond question — a sentence in an interrogative form, addressed to someone in order to get information in reply.
- bicycle touring — the activity of touring on a bicycle
- bioaccumulation — the process in which industrial waste, toxic chemicals, etc. gradually accumulate in living tissue
- bioastronautics — the study of the effects of space flight on living organisms
- bioluminescence — the production of light by living organisms as a result of the oxidation of a light-producing substance (luciferin) by the enzyme luciferase: occurs in many marine organisms, insects such as the firefly, etc
- biscuit tortoni — an individual portion of tortoni, frozen and served in a small cup, often topped with ground almonds.
- 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)
- biting housefly — a two-winged fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, having the mouthparts adapted for biting, and commonly a household and stable pest.
- 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 horehound — a hairy unpleasant-smelling chiefly Mediterranean plant, Ballota nigra, having clusters of purple flowers: family Lamiaceae (labiates)
- 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
- blockade runner — a person, ship etc that tries to carry goods through a blockade
- blockade-runner — a ship or person that passes through a blockade.
- bloodguiltiness — guilty of murder or bloodshed.
- blueback salmon — sockeye salmon.
- bodily function — A person's bodily functions are the normal physical processes that regularly occur in their body, particularly the ability to urinate and defecate.
- bologna sausage — a large smoked sausage made of seasoned mixed meats
- bone conduction — the transmission of sound vibrations to the internal ear through the cranial bones (opposed to air conduction).
- bonheur-du-jour — a delicate fall-front desk of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
- book of account — a book to keep accounts in; ledger
- booster cushion — an extra seat or cushion placed on an existing seat for a child to sit on in a car
- borough council — a local government body elected by a borough
- borough-english — (until 1925) a custom in certain English boroughs whereby the youngest son inherited land to the exclusion of his older brothers
- botulinum toxin — a pharmaceutical formulation of botulin used in minute doses to treat various forms of muscle spasm and for the cosmetic removal of wrinkles
- bourbon biscuit — a rich chocolate-flavoured biscuit with a chocolate-cream filling
- boustrophedonic — of or relating to lines written in opposite directions
- bowstring truss — a structural truss consisting of a curved top chord meeting a bottom chord at each end.
- boys' night out — an evening spent outside of the home by a group of men
- branchial pouch — one of a series of rudimentary outcroppings of the inner pharyngeal wall, corresponding to the branchial grooves on the surface.
- branchiostegous — branchiostegal.
- breaking plough — a plough with a long shallow mouldboard for turning virgin land or sod land
- breeding ground — If you refer to a situation or place as a breeding ground for something bad such as crime, you mean that this thing can easily develop in that situation or place.
- british council — an organization founded (1934) to extend the influence of British culture and education throughout the world
- bronchial tubes — the bronchi or their smaller divisions
- bucket conveyor — a conveyor consisting of an endless chain with a series of buckets attached at regular intervals, used for moving ore, gravel, grain, or other bulk materials.
- buffalo currant — an ornamental shrub, Ribes odoratum, of the central U.S., having showy, drooping clusters of fragrant yellow flowers and edible black fruit.
- buffer solution — a solution to which a salt of a weak acid or base has been added
- building worker — a labourer, bricklayer, etc who works in the construction industry
- bulimia nervosa — a disorder characterized by compulsive overeating followed by vomiting: sometimes associated with anxiety about gaining weight
- bulldog edition — the early edition of a morning newspaper, chiefly for out-of-town distribution