15-letter words containing r, e, c, t, a, n
- balance control — a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
- bargain counter — a store counter on which goods are displayed for sale at reduced prices
- barycentrically — In a barycentric manner.
- belt-and-braces — providing double security, in case one security measure should fail
- benedict arnold — Benedict, 1741–1801, American general in the Revolutionary War who became a traitor.
- beta conversion — (theory) A term from lambda-calculus for beta reduction or beta abstraction.
- beta-adrenergic — pertaining to or involving beta receptors
- bidirectionally — in a bidirectional manner
- black operation — a covert and undocumented military operation
- black snakeroot — a tall bugbane, Cimicifuga racemosa, of the buttercup family, of eastern North America, having thin, tapering, toothed or deeply cut leaflets and branched clusters of small, white flowers.
- blank cartridge — a cartridge containing powder but no bullet: used in battle practice or as a signal
- boston massacre — an outbreak (1770) in Boston against British troops, in which a few citizens were killed
- brachistochrone — the curve between two points through which a body moves under the force of gravity in a shorter time than for any other curve; the path of quickest descent
- branchial cleft — Zoology. one of a series of slitlike openings in the walls of the pharynx between the branchial arches of fishes and aquatic amphibians through which water passes from the pharynx to the exterior.
- branchiostegous — branchiostegal.
- breakeven chart — a graph measuring the value of an enterprise's revenue and costs against some index of its activity, such as percentage capacity. The intersection of the total revenue and total cost curves gives the breakeven point
- breathing space — A breathing space is a short period of time between two activities in which you can recover from the first activity and prepare for the second one.
- bristol channel — an inlet of the Atlantic, between S Wales and SW England, merging into the Severn estuary. Length: about 137 km (85 miles)
- britneyfication — the effect on clothes and fashions of following the revealing styles favoured by the US pop singer Britney Spears (born 1981)
- bronchial tubes — the bronchi or their smaller divisions
- cabinet picture — a small easel painting, usually under 3 feet (0.9 meters) in width and formerly exhibited in a cabinet or special room.
- cabinet scraper — a scraper used in preparing a wood surface for sanding.
- cactus geranium — a plant, Pelargonium echinatum, of the geranium family, native to southern Africa, having prickly stipules and white or reddish flowers.
- cadmean victory — a victory won with great losses to the victors
- cairngorm-stone — smoky quartz.
- calcined baryta — baryta (def 1).
- calcined-baryta — Also called calcined baryta, barium oxide, barium monoxide, barium protoxide. a white or yellowish-white poisonous solid, BaO, highly reactive with water: used chiefly as a dehydrating agent and in the manufacture of glass.
- calcium nitrate — a white, deliquescent solid, Ca(NO 3) 2 , used chiefly in the manufacture of fertilizers, fireworks, matches, and explosives.
- calendarization — the process of calendarizing
- calliper splint — a splint consisting of two metal rods with straps attached, for supporting or exerting tension on the leg
- canisterization — the process of putting (something) into a canister or canisters
- cannonball tree — a South American tree, Couroupita guianensis, bearing round, woody-husked fruit whose shells are used to make containers and utensils.
- canteen culture — the alleged clannishness of the police force, whereby the prevalent attitudes inhibit officers from reporting or speaking out against malpractice, racism, etc
- canterbury bell — a campanulaceous biennial European plant, Campanula medium, widely cultivated for its blue, violet, or white flowers
- canterbury lamb — New Zealand lamb exported chilled or frozen to the United Kingdom
- cantilever beam — a long thick straight-sided piece of wood, metal, concrete, etc that is fixed at one end and is free at the other
- cape finisterre — a headland in NW Spain: the westernmost point of the Spanish mainland
- capital gearing — the ratio of a company's debt capital to its equity capital
- car maintenance — the act of maintaining an automobile
- car transporter — a vehicle for carrying automobiles
- carcinogenicity — any substance or agent that tends to produce a cancer.
- cardinal beetle — any of various large N temperate beetles of the family Pyrochroidae, such as Pyrochroa serraticornis, typically scarlet or partly scarlet in colour
- cardinal system — a system of coding navigational aids by shape, color, and number, according to their positions relative to navigational hazards.
- cardinal virtue — anything considered to be an important or characteristic virtue: Tenacity is his cardinal virtue.
- caribbean plate — a major tectonic division of the earth's crust, encompassing the Central American portion of North America, the Caribbean Sea, and the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico, as well as the Leeward and Windward Islands; bordered north and south by the North and South American Plates and west by the Cocos Plate.
- carmarthenshire — a county of S Wales, formerly part of Dyfed (1974–96): on Carmarthen Bay, with the Cambrian Mountains in the N: generally agricultural (esp dairying). Administrative centre: Carmarthen. Pop: 176 000 (2003 est). Area: 2398 sq km (926 sq miles)
- carpentersville — a city in NE Illinois, near Chicago.
- carriage return — a mechanism on a typewriter that causes the carriage to return to the left side of the paper
- carry one's bat — (of an opening batsman) to reach the end of an innings without being dismissed
- cartesian diver — a glass vessel partially filled with water and covered with an airtight membrane, containing a hollow object that is open at the bottom and contains just enough air to allow it to float. Pressing on the membrane compresses the air in the vessel and forces water into the object, causing it to sink; releasing the membrane causes it to rise.