13-letter words containing r, t, c
- berchtesgaden — a town in Germany, in SE Bavaria: site of the fortified mountain retreat of Adolf Hitler. Pop: 7667 (2003 est)
- best practice — Best practice is the way of running a business or providing a service that is recognized as correct or most effective.
- beta carotene — a yellowish form of carotene: a dietary deficiency of this is associated with a greater risk of certain cancers
- 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-carotene — the most abundant of various isomers of carotene, C 40 H 56 , that can be converted by the body to vitamin A.
- 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.
- bibliothecary — a librarian
- biculturalism — the characteristics, or policy, of a two-cultured society
- bidirectional — (of a printhead) capable of printing from left to right and from right to left
- bioelectrical — relating to electrical current generated by biological activity
- bioenergetics — the study of energy transformations in living organisms and systems
- biotic factor — a living thing, as an animal or plant, that influences or affects an ecosystem: How do humans affect other biotic factors? Weather is not a biotic factor because it is not alive.
- bird-watching — Bird-watching is the activity of watching and studying wild birds in their natural surroundings.
- birectangular — having two right angles.
- birth control — Birth control means planning whether to have children, and using contraception to prevent having them when they are not wanted.
- birthday cake — a special cake eaten at a birthday party
- birthday card — a greeting card sent on someone's birthday
- biscuit bread — biscuits or a biscuit: I like biscuit bread more than corn bread for supper.
- biscuit-fired — (of a ceramic object) fired to harden the body.
- bits per inch — (unit) (BPI) A measure of the recording density of a magnetic tape or disk.
- black country — a district in the English Midlands, around Birmingham: so called from the soot and grime produced by the many local industries.
- black currant — the small, round, blackish, edible fruit of a widely cultivated shrub, Ribes nigrum, of the saxifrage family.
- black margate — a grayish grunt, Anisotremus surinamensis, of the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Brazil.
- black mustard — a Eurasian plant, Brassica (or Sinapsis) nigra, with clusters of yellow flowers and pungent seeds from which the condiment mustard is made: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)
- black panther — (in the US) a member of a militant Black political party (1965–82) founded to end the political dominance of White people
- black quarter — blackleg (def 1).
- black tracker — an Aboriginal tracker working for the police
- black treacle — molasses
- black vulture — the Eurasian vulture, Aegypius monachus, of the family Accipitridae
- black-hearted — evil, malicious, or wicked
- blame culture — the tendency to look for one person or organization that can be held responsible for a bad state of affairs, an accident, etc
- blast furnace — A blast furnace is a large structure in which iron ore is heated under pressure so that it melts and the pure iron metal separates out and can be collected.
- block letters — Block letters are the same as block capitals.
- blood product — a pharmaceutical product made from blood, such as Factor VIII
- body snatcher — (formerly) a person who robbed graves and sold the corpses for dissection
- body-centered — (of a crystal structure) having lattice points at the centers of the unit cells.
- bomber jacket — A bomber jacket is a short jacket which is gathered into a band at the waist or hips.
- booster cable — either of a pair of electric cables having clamps at each end and used for starting the engine of a vehicle whose battery is dead.
- bootlace worm — a nemertean worm, Lineus longissimus, that inhabits shingly shores and attains lengths of over 6 m (20 ft)
- boston rocker — a type of 19th-cent. American rocking chair, having a curved wooden seat and a high back formed of spindles held in place by a broad headpiece
- botryomycosis — a disease, usually of horses, caused by a bacterial infection (usually, Staphylococcus aureus) producing tumorous growths esp. after castration or a wound or injury
- bow collector — a sliding current collector, consisting of a bow-shaped strip mounted on a hinged framework, used on trains, etc, to collect current from an overhead-wire
- box stretcher — a heavy rectangular stretcher connecting successive legs of a table, chair, etc.
- brace and bit — a hand tool for boring holes, consisting of a cranked handle into which a drilling bit is inserted
- brachydactyly — abnormal shortness of the fingers and toes.
- 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 clock — a small clock designed to be placed on a bracket or shelf.
- 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