14-letter words containing r, i, c, o
- back-formation — the analogical creation of one word from another word that appears to be a derived or inflected form of the first by dropping the apparent affix or by modification.
- backside-front — backend-to.
- bacteriologist — a branch of microbiology dealing with the identification, study, and cultivation of bacteria and with their applications in medicine, agriculture, industry, and biotechnology.
- bacteriophages — Plural form of bacteriophage.
- bacteriostasis — inhibition of the growth and reproduction of bacteria, esp by the action of a chemical agent
- bacteriostatic — the prevention of the further growth of bacteria.
- ball indicator — a flight instrument that measures the angle of roll about an aircraft's horizontal axis, thereby indicating whether or not the aircraft is skidding or slipping.
- baltimore chop — a batted ball that takes a high bounce upon hitting the ground on or immediately in front of home plate, often enabling the batter to reach first base safely.
- bamboo curtain — (esp in the 1950s and 1960s) the political and military barrier to communications around the People's Republic of China
- bancroft prize — one of a group of annual awards for literary achievement in American history and biography: administered by Columbia University.
- barometrically — By means of a barometer.
- batrachophobia — fear of amphibians
- batrachophobic — relating to the fear of toads and frogs
- bearded collie — a medium-sized breed of dog having a profuse long straight coat, usually grey or fawn and often with white on the head, legs, and chest, a long tail, and a distinctive beard
- belvoir castle — a castle in Leicestershire, near Grantham (in Lincolnshire): seat of the Dukes of Rutland; rebuilt by James Wyatt in 1816
- berberidaceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Berberidaceae, a mainly N temperate family of flowering plants (mostly shrubs), including barberry and barrenwort
- bernicle goose — barnacle goose
- beta reduction — [lambda-calculus] The application of a lambda abstraction to an argument expression. A copy of the body of the lambda abstraction is made and occurrences of the bound variable being replaced by the argument. E.g. (\ x . x+1) 4 --> 4+1 Beta reduction is the only kind of reduction in the pure lambda-calculus. The opposite of beta reduction is beta abstraction. These are the two kinds of beta conversion. See also name capture.
- biceps femoris — See under biceps.
- binary counter — (electronics, hardware) A digital circuit which has a clock input and a number of count outputs which give the number of clock cycles. The output may change either on rising or falling clock edges. The circuit may also have a reset input which sets all outputs to zero when asserted. The counter may be either a synchronous counter or a ripple counter.
- bioaeronautics — the use of aircraft in the discovery, development, and protection of natural and biological resources
- bioarchaeology — the branch of archaeology that deals with the remains of living things
- biocybernetics — the branch of cybernetics that deals with the control and communication systems of living organisms
- bioelectricity — electricity generated by a living organism
- bioelectronics — a branch of electronics that deals with electronic devices, implants, etc. used in medicine and biological research
- bioinformatics — the branch of information science concerned with large databases of biochemical or pharmaceutical information
- biometric risk — Biometric risk covers all risks related to human life conditions, such as death, birth, disability, age, and number of children.
- bioprospecting — searching for plant or animal species for use as a source of commercially exploitable products, such as medicinal drugs
- birdcage clock — lantern clock.
- blister copper — an impure form of copper having a blister-like surface due to the release of gas during cooling
- block printing — printing from hand engraved or carved blocks of wood or linoleum
- blood-curdling — A blood-curdling sound or story is very frightening and horrible.
- board chairman — the chairman of the board of a company, etc
- bodice-ripping — A bodice-ripping film or novel is one which is set in the past and which includes a lot of sex scenes. You use this word especially if you do not think it is very good and is just intended to entertain people.
- body of christ — the Christian Church
- bone porcelain — bone china.
- boring machine — a machine that bores holes, tunnels, etc
- botanic garden — a place in which plants are grown, studied, and exhibited
- bowling crease — a line marked at the wicket, over which a bowler must not advance fully before delivering the ball
- brachydiagonal — the shorter lateral axis of a rhombic prism
- brachypinakoid — the side parallel to the shorter horizontal axis in a crystal
- braddock hills — a town in SE Pennsylvania.
- branch officer — (in the British navy since 1949) any officer who holds warrant
- branchiostegal — of or relating to the operculum covering the gill slits of fish
- bread poultice — a poultice made from breadcrumbs
- brecknockshire — a historic county in S Wales, now part of Powys, Gwent, and Mid Glamorgan.
- breech-loading — (of a firearm) loaded at the breech
- breeding stock — animals specifically kept to breed from
- brickor mortis — a period of difficult times in the housing industry, where house prices and sales of properties are falling and credit for new purchases is difficult to obtain
- britannia coin — any of four British gold coins introduced in 1987 for investment purposes; their denominations are £100, £50, £25, and £10