16-letter words containing p, i, n, a, c
- basque provinces — an autonomous region of N Spain, comprising the provinces of Álava, Guipúzcoa, and Vizcaya: inhabited mainly by Basques, who retained virtual autonomy from the 9th to the 19th century. Pop: 1 840 700 (2003 est). Area: about 7250 sq km (2800 sq miles)
- batch processing — manufacturing products or treating materials in batches, by passing the output of one process to subsequent processes
- batch production — production of goods in batches, rather than continuously
- bayonet practice — drill in the use of a bayonet
- bicapitalisation — The act said to have been performed on trademarks (such as PostScript, NeXT, NeWS, VisiCalc, FrameMaker, TK!solver, EasyWriter) that have been raised above the ruck of common coinage by nonstandard capitalisation. Too many marketroid types think this sort of thing is really cute, even the 2,317th time they do it. Compare studlycaps.
- biotic potential — the capacity of a population of organisms to increase in numbers under optimum environmental conditions.
- bleaching powder — a white powder with the odour of chlorine, consisting of chlorinated calcium hydroxide with an approximate formula CaCl(OCl).4H2O. It is used in solution as a bleaching agent and disinfectant
- blink comparator — an optical instrument used to detect small differences in two photographs of the same field or object by viewing them alternately, switching rapidly from one to the other.
- bombing campaign — a concerted, intensive and prolonged bombing of a target
- boston cream pie — a cake of two layers with icing and a creamy filling
- branchiopneustic — breathing by means of gills, as certain aquatic insect larvae.
- bronchopneumonia — inflammation of the lungs, originating in the bronchioles
- california poppy — a papaveraceous plant, Eschscholtzia californica, of the Pacific coast of North America, having yellow or orange flowers and finely divided bluish-green leaves
- campagna di roma — low-lying plain in central Italy, around Rome: c. 800 sq mi (2,072 sq km)
- canine distemper — distemper1 (def 1a).
- capacity booking — a time when someone has booked the whole of a venue or the maximum amount of something available
- capelli d'angelo — angel hair.
- capillary action — Also called capillary action, capillary attraction. Physics. a manifestation of surface tension by which the portion of the surface of a liquid coming in contact with a solid is elevated or depressed, depending on the adhesive or cohesive properties of the liquid.
- capillary-action — Also called capillary action, capillary attraction. Physics. a manifestation of surface tension by which the portion of the surface of a liquid coming in contact with a solid is elevated or depressed, depending on the adhesive or cohesive properties of the liquid.
- capital movement — the payments that flow between countries
- capital sentence — the punishment of death for a crime
- capitation grant — a grant of money given to every person who qualifies under certain conditions
- capsizing moment — the moment of an upsetting couple.
- captive audience — a group of people who are unable by circumstances to avoid speeches, advertisements, etc
- captive breeding — Captive breeding is the breeding of wild animals in places such as zoos, especially animals which have become rare in the wild.
- carbon footprint — Your carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by your activities over a particular period.
- caricature plant — a tropical Old World shrub, Graptophyllum pictum, of the acanthus family, characterized by purple or red tubular flowers and leaf markings resembling the profile of a human face.
- carnot principle — the principle that no heat engine can be more efficient than one operating on a Carnot cycle of reversible changes
- carpatho-ukraine — a region in W Ukraine: ceded by Czechoslovakia in 1945.
- carpenter gothic — (sometimes initial capital letters) a style of Victorian Gothic architecture adapted to the resources of contemporary woodworking tools and machinery.
- castor-oil plant — a tall euphorbiaceous Indian plant, Ricinus communis, cultivated in tropical regions for ornament and for its poisonous seeds, from which castor oil is extracted
- catch sb napping — If someone is caught napping, something happens when they are not prepared for it, although they should have been.
- centrifugal pump — a pump having a high-speed rotating impeller whose blades throw the water outwards
- chemical peeling — a cosmetic process in which a substance containing a chemical (esp alpha-hydroxy acids) is applied to the skin of the face and peeled away to remove a layer of dead cells
- chemical weapons — toxic chemicals used as weapons
- chian turpentine — turpentine (def 2).
- children's panel — (in Scotland) a group of representatives of relevant agencies, with the power to deal with a child under sixteen who is in criminal or family trouble. Its hearings are private and replace most of the functions of juvenile courts
- chinese fan palm — a fan palm, Livistona chinensis, of southern Japan, having very large, deeply cleft leaves and bluish-green, ovalish fruit.
- chinese pavilion — crescent (def 6).
- chinese shar-pei — Shar-Pei.
- chinese-pavilion — a shape resembling a segment of a ring tapering to points at the ends.
- chipping sparrow — a common North American sparrow, Spizella passerina, having brown-and-grey plumage and a white eye stripe
- chlorpheniramine — an antihistaminic compound, C 20 H 23 ClN 2 O 4 , used in treating the symptoms of allergies.
- cholangiographic — Relating to cholangiography.
- chondrodysplasia — (medicine) A genetic disorder characterized by short-limbed dwarfism.
- chromium plating — plating, often for decorative effect, made of chromium
- chryselephantine — (of ancient Greek statues) made of or overlaid with gold and ivory
- cleaning product — a detergent or other household cleaner
- cleanup campaign — an organized programme to clean up a place, typically organized at a local or regional level
- closed-captioned — (of a video recording) having subtitles which appear on screen only if the cassette is played through a special decoder