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16-letter words containing p, r, i, c

  • autoradiographic — Of or pertaining to an autoradiograph, a radiographic image produced by the decay of a radioactive substance.
  • autostereoscopic — Of or pertaining to autostereoscopy.
  • auxiliary police — a part-time reserve attached to a regular police force
  • axminster carpet — a type of patterned carpet with a cut pile
  • back-propagation — (Or "backpropagation") A learning algorithm for modifying a feed-forward neural network which minimises a continuous "error function" or "objective function." Back-propagation is a "gradient descent" method of training in that it uses gradient information to modify the network weights to decrease the value of the error function on subsequent tests of the inputs. Other gradient-based methods from numerical analysis can be used to train networks more efficiently. Back-propagation makes use of a mathematical trick when the network is simulated on a digital computer, yielding in just two traversals of the network (once forward, and once back) both the difference between the desired and actual output, and the derivatives of this difference with respect to the connection weights.
  • bacterioplankton — (biology) The bacterial component of marine plankton.
  • banana republics — any of the small countries in the tropics, especially in the Western Hemisphere, whose economies are largely dependent on fruit exports, tourism, and foreign investors.
  • bargaining scope — the range of topics within the scope of a particular set of negotiations leading to a collective agreement
  • bashkir republic — a constituent republic of E central Russia, in the S Urals: established as the first Soviet autonomous republic in 1919; rich mineral resources. Capital: Ufa. Pop: 4 012 900 (2002). Area: 143 600 sq km (55 430 sq miles)
  • 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
  • beryllium copper — a copper alloy containing a small amount of beryllium and often some nickel or cobalt, having high strength, hardness, and electrical conductivity.
  • bicyclic terpene — (originally) any of a class of monocyclic hydrocarbons of the formula C 10 H 16 , obtained from plants.
  • big picture, the — a long-range or overall view or account of some complex matter
  • bimetallic strip — a strip consisting of two metals of different coefficients of expansion welded together so that it buckles on heating: used in thermostats, etc
  • bitter principle — any of various bitter-tasting substances, such as aloin, usually extracted from plants
  • black-light trap — a trap for insects that uses ultraviolet light as an attractant.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • bristlecone pine — a coniferous tree, Pinus aristata, of the western US, bearing cones with bristle-like prickles: one of the longest-lived trees, useful in radiocarbon dating
  • bronchopneumonia — inflammation of the lungs, originating in the bronchioles
  • burnt-tip orchid — a small orchid, Orchis ustulata, resembling the lady orchid, having dark reddish-brown hoods that give a burnt look to the tip of the flower spike
  • buttercup family — the plant family Ranunculaceae, typified by mostly herbaceous plants having usually alternate leaves, multistaminate flowers sometimes lacking petals but with colorful sepals, and including the anemone, buttercup, clematis, columbine, delphinium, and monkshood.
  • bypass capacitor — a capacitor which provides a low-impedance path for alternating current while not passing any direct current
  • 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
  • calligraphically — In a calligraphic manner: using calligraphy.
  • campagna di roma — low-lying plain in central Italy, around Rome: c. 800 sq mi (2,072 sq km)
  • canine distemper — distemper1 (def 1a).
  • cape cod lighter — a device for lighting a fire, as in a fireplace, consisting of a lump of nonflammable material on a metal rod, that is soaked in kerosene or the like and lighted with a match.
  • 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 reserves — the money which a company holds in reserve
  • capitation grant — a grant of money given to every person who qualifies under certain conditions
  • 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.
  • carboxypeptidase — any of several digestive enzymes that catalyze the removal of an amino acid from the end of a peptide chain having a free carbonyl group.
  • caregiver speech — baby talk (def 2).
  • 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.
  • cartographically — the production of maps, including construction of projections, design, compilation, drafting, and reproduction.
  • cartridge player — an audio or video system that reads cartridges of magnetic tape
  • cascade particle — the least massive member of the xi particle family.
  • 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
  • catastrophically — of the nature of a catastrophe, or disastrous event; calamitous: a catastrophic failure of the dam.
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