13-letter words containing r, e, p, a, b
- bell purchase — a tackle consisting of two standing single blocks, two running single blocks, a fall, and a runner, so arranged that it gives a mechanical advantage of six, neglecting friction.
- berber carpet — a type of plain coloured carpeting, usually cream, oatmeal or light brown
- best practice — Best practice is the way of running a business or providing a service that is recognized as correct or most effective.
- beta particle — a high-speed electron or positron emitted by a nucleus during radioactive decay or nuclear fission
- beta receptor — a receptor, found on the surface of some cells of the sympathetic nervous system, that is stimulated by certain adrenergic substances: such stimulation results in certain physiological responses, such as acceleration of the action of the heart and dilatation of the arteries supplying heart and skeletal muscles
- beta-receptor — a site on a cell, as of the heart, that, upon interaction with epinephrine or norepinephrine, controls heartbeat and heart contractability, vasodilation, smooth muscle inhibition, and other physiological processes.
- bias-ply tire — a vehicle tire in which the main plies or cords run across the bead.
- bibliographer — an expert in bibliography
- bibliotherapy — the use of reading as therapy
- binary prefix — (unit) (Or "IEC prefix") A prefix used with a unit of data to mean multiplication by a power of 1024. Binary prefixes are most often used with "byte" (e.g. "kilobyte") but also with bit (e.g. "megabit"). For example, the term kilobyte has historically been used to mean 1024 bytes, and megabyte to mean 1,048,576 bytes. The multipliers 1024 and 1,048,576 are powers of 1024, which is itself a power of two (1024 = 2^10). It is this factor of two that gives the name "binary prefix". This is in contrast to a decimal prefix denoting a power of 1000, which is itself a power of ten (1000 = 10^3). Decimal prefixes are used in science and engineering and are specified in widely adopted SI standards. Note that the actual prefix - kilo or mega - is the same, it is the interpretation that differs. The difference between the two interpretations increases with each multiplication, so while 1000 and 1024 differ by only 2.4%, 1000^6 and 1024^6 differ by 15%. The 1024-based interpretation of prefixes is often still used informally and especially when discussing the storage capacity of random-access memory. This has lead to storage device manufacturers being accused of false marketing for using the decimal interpretation where customers might assume the larger, historical, binary interpretation. In an attempt to clarify the distinction, in 1998 the IEC specified that kilobyte, megabyte, etc. should only be used for powers of 1000 (following SI). They specified new prefixes for powers of 1024 containing "bi" for "binary": kibibyte, mebibyte, etc.; an idea originally propsed by IUPAC. IEC also specified new abbreviations Ki, Mi, etc. for the new prefixes. Many other standards bodies such as NIST, IEEE and BIPM support this proposal but as of 2013 its use is rare in non-technical circles. Specific units of IEC 60027-2 A.2 and ISO/IEC 80000
- binary weapon — a chemical weapon consisting of a projectile containing two substances separately that mix to produce a lethal agent when the projectile is fired
- biogeographer — a person who is knowledgeable about biogeography
- bird of peace — a dove.
- birth parents — a child's biological parents, regardless of whether they subsequently bring up the child
- black crappie — a dark, spotted crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)
- black panther — (in the US) a member of a militant Black political party (1965–82) founded to end the political dominance of White people
- blepharoplast — a cylindrical cytoplasmic body in protozoa
- blepharospasm — spasm of the muscle of the eyelids, causing the eyes to shut tightly, either as a response to painful stimuli or occurring as a form of dystonia
- blow an eprom — /bloh *n ee'prom/ (Or "blast", "burn") To program a read-only memory, e.g. for use with an embedded system. This term arose because the programming process for the Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM) that preceded present-day Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM) involved intentionally blowing tiny electrical fuses on the chip. The usage lives on (it's too vivid and expressive to discard) even though the write process on EPROMs is nondestructive.
- blue copperas — a salt, copper sulfate, CuSO 4 ⋅5H 2 O, occurring naturally as large transparent, deep-blue triclinic crystals, appearing in its anhydrous state as a white powder: used chiefly as a mordant, insecticide, fungicide, and in engraving.
- booby-trapped — (of a building, vehicle, etc) planted with a booby trap
- boom operator — a person who operates a boom
- border patrol — a government agency in charge of preventing terrorists, weapons, and illegal immigrants entering the country
- boundary peak — a peak in SW Nevada, in the White Mountains, near the California border: highest elevation in Nevada. 13,143 feet (4006 meters).
- brachypterous — having very short or incompletely developed wings
- brachytherapy — a form of radiotherapy in which sealed sources of radioactive material are inserted temporarily into body cavities or directly into tumours
- bracket creep — an advance into a higher income tax bracket resulting from an increase in nominal income: the higher taxes, when combined with the effects of inflation, may produce a decline in real income
- braking power — the ability of a braking system to cause a vehicle to come to a halt
- bread pudding — a rich cake made with bread soaked in milk, eggs, dried fruit and spices and baked, usually eaten cold
- breaker strip — breaker1 (def 4).
- breaker-strip — a person or thing that breaks.
- breast pocket — The breast pocket of a man's coat or jacket is a pocket, usually on the inside, next to his chest.
- breeches part — a male role played by an actress.
- breeding pair — a male and female animal that produce offspring together
- bridge player — a person who plays the game of bridge
- bromide paper — a type of photographic paper coated with an emulsion of silver bromide usually containing a small quantity of silver iodide
- brook lamprey — a jawless fish, Lampetra planeri, native to the European part of the Atlantic Ocean and the northwest Mediterranean
- bullace grape — the thick-skinned musk-scented purple grape produced by this plant: used to make wine
- business park — an area specially designated and landscaped to accommodate business offices, warehouses, light industry, etc
- butcher paper — heavy, moisture-resistant paper, as used for wrapping meat.
- butterfly pea — any of several leguminous plants of the genus Clitoria, as C. mariana, of North America, having pale-blue flowers.
- by reputation — If you know someone by reputation, you have never met them but you have heard of their reputation.
- camp fire boy — a boy who is a member of the Campfire Boys and Girls. Compare Camp Fire Girl.
- campylobacter — a rod-shaped bacterium that causes infections in cattle and man. Unpasteurized milk infected with campylobacter is a common cause of gastroenteritis
- cancerophobia — a morbid dread of being afflicted by cancer
- carbamazepine — an anticonvulsant drug used in the management of epilepsy
- carpenter bee — any large solitary bee of the genus Xylocopa and related genera that lays its eggs in tunnels bored into wood or in plant stems: family Apidae
- carpet beetle — any of various beetles of the genus Anthrenus, the larvae of which feed on carpets, furnishing fabrics, etc: family Dermestidae
- carpetbaggers — U.S. History. a Northerner who went to the South after the Civil War and became active in Republican politics, especially so as to profiteer from the unsettled social and political conditions of the area during Reconstruction.
- carpetbaggery — the practice of being a carpetbagger