14-letter words containing r, h
- bathygraphical — (of a maps) representing the contours of the seabed
- batrachophobia — fear of amphibians
- batrachophobic — relating to the fear of toads and frogs
- bayes' theorem — the fundamental result which expresses the conditional probability P(E/A) of an event E given an event A as P(A/E).P(E)/P(A); more generally, where En is one of a set of values Ei which partition the sample space, P(En/A) = P(A/En)P(En)/Σ P(A/Ei)P(Ei). This enables prior estimates of probability to be continually revised in the light of observations
- bayonet charge — a charge by riflemen with fixed bayonets
- be cursed with — to be afflicted with; suffer from
- be in the wars — If someone has been in the wars, they have been injured, for example in a fight or in an accident.
- be riding high — If you say that someone or something is riding high, you mean that they are popular or successful at the present time.
- be struck with — to be attracted to or impressed by
- beach barbecue — a barbecue on a beach
- beach umbrella — a large umbrella used as a sunshade on the beach
- beach wormwood — a composite plant, Artemisia stellerana, having yellow flowers and deeply lobed leaves covered with dense white fuzz.
- bean bag chair — a small cloth bag filled with dried beans, as for tossing in various children's games.
- bean-bag chair — a small cloth bag filled with dried beans, as for tossing in various children's games.
- bearer channel — (communications) Originally, a channel suited for carrying one voice-grade connection. Typically a DS0 channel. Compare data channel. (1997-03-7)
- belo horizonte — a city in SE Brazil, the capital of Minas Gerais state. Pop: 5 304 000 (2005 est)
- bend the rules — to ignore rules or change them to suit one's own convenience
- benzanthracene — a carcinogenic hydrocarbon
- bermuda shorts — close-fitting shorts that come down to the knees
- beta-endorphin — a potent endorphin released by the anterior pituitary gland in response to pain, trauma, exercise, or other forms of stress.
- biceps brachii — See under biceps.
- big brotherism — paternalistic authoritarianism that seeks to supply the needs and regulate the conduct of people.
- big red switch — (jargon) (BRS) IBM jargon for the power switch on a computer, especially the "Emergency Pull" switch on an IBM mainframe or the power switch on an IBM PC where it really is large and red. "This [email protected]%$% bitty box is hung again; time to hit the Big Red Switch." It is alleged that the emergency pull switch on an IBM 360/91 actually fired a non-conducting bolt into the main power feed; the BRSes on more recent mainframes physically drop a block into place so that they can't be pushed back in. People get fired for pulling them, especially inappropriately (see also molly-guard). Compare power cycle, three-finger salute, 120 reset; see also scram switch.
- bill of rights — A Bill of Rights is a written list of citizens' rights which is usually part of the constitution of a country.
- bioarchaeology — the branch of archaeology that deals with the remains of living things
- bipartisanship — representing, characterized by, or including members from two parties or factions: Government leaders hope to achieve a bipartisan foreign policy.
- bircher muesli — a type of muesli containing softened oats, dried fruit, and apple
- birthday party — a party to celebrate someone's birthday
- birthing chair — a chair constructed to allow a woman in labour to give birth in a sitting position
- birthing stool — a stool constructed to allow a woman in labour to give birth in a sitting position
- bishop's mitre — a European heteropterous bug, Aelia acuminata, whose larvae are a pest of cereal grasses: family Pentatomidae
- black hawk war — a war fought in northern Illinois and present-day southern Wisconsin, 1831–32, in which U.S. regulars and militia with Indian allies defeated the Sauk and Fox Indians, led by Chief Black Hawk, attempting to recover lost hunting grounds.
- black panthers — (in the US) a militant Black political party founded in 1965 to end the political dominance of White people
- blacktip shark — a widely distributed sand shark, Charcharinus limbatus, having fins that appear to have been dipped in ink, inhabiting shallow waters of warm seas.
- blade-shearing — the shearing of sheep using hand shears
- bleeding heart — If you describe someone as a bleeding heart, you are criticizing them for being sympathetic towards people who are poor and suffering, without doing anything practical to help.
- blepharoplasty — cosmetic surgery performed on the eyelid
- bletchley park — the Buckinghamshire estate which was the centre of British code-breaking operations during World War II
- bletheranskate — a blatherer
- board chairman — the chairman of the board of a company, etc
- boarding house — A boarding house is a house which people pay to stay in for a short time.
- body of christ — the Christian Church
- bokhara clover — white melilot.
- bony labyrinth — an intricate combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit. Synonyms: maze, network, web.
- boolean search — (information science) (Or "Boolean query") A query using the Boolean operators, AND, OR, and NOT, and parentheses to construct a complex condition from simpler criteria. A typical example is searching for combinatons of keywords on a web search engine. Examples: car or automobile "New York" and not "New York state" The term is sometimes stretched to include searches using other operators, e.g. "near". Not to be confused with binary search. See also: weighted search.
- bored to death — very weary and lack stimulation
- boring machine — a machine that bores holes, tunnels, etc
- bornyl alcohol — white solid alcohol from a Malaysian tree
- bosworth field — the site, two miles south of Market Bosworth in Leicestershire, of the battle that ended the Wars of the Roses (August 1485). Richard III was killed and Henry Tudor was crowned king as Henry VII
- bowstring hemp — a hemplike fibre obtained from the sansevieria