16-letter words containing r, u, n, i
- atrioventricular — of, relating to, or affecting both the atria and the ventricles of the heart
- attributive noun — a noun that occurs before and modifies another noun, as toy in toy store or tour in tour group.
- audience chamber — a room where a monarch or head of state conducts formal interviews
- audience figures — the number of people regularly watching a television programme or listening to a radio programme
- audio conference — a meeting that is conducted by the use of audio telecommunications
- australian crawl — a stroke in which the feet are kicked like paddles while the arms reach forward and pull back through the water
- australian rules — a game resembling rugby football, played in Australia between teams of 18 men each on an oval pitch, with a ball resembling a large rugby ball. Players attempt to kick the ball between posts (without crossbars) at either end of the pitch, scoring six points for a goal (between the two main posts) and one point for a behind (between either of two outer posts and the main posts). They may punch or kick the ball and run with it provided that they bounce it every ten yards
- austro-hungarian — of or relating to the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918)
- authoritarianism — Authoritarianism is the state of being authoritarian or the belief that people with power, especially the State, have the right to control other people's actions.
- autoethnographic — Using ethnographic techniques to describe one's own life, or events in which one is a participant.
- automatrix, inc. — (company) The company which produced CAM-PC. Address: Ballston Spa, NY, USA.
- autotransfusions — Plural form of autotransfusion.
- azuero peninsula — a peninsula in SW Panama, bordered on the E by the Gulf of Panama.
- background music — music of any kind that is played while some other activity is going on, so that people do not actively attend to it
- background noise — any type of noise that is not the sound that you are specifically listening to or monitoring
- banana republics — any of the small countries in the tropics, especially in the Western Hemisphere, whose economies are largely dependent on fruit exports, tourism, and foreign investors.
- barium carbonate — a white, poisonous, water-insoluble powder, BaCO 3 , used chiefly in the manufacture of rodenticides, paints, and dyes.
- baron tweedsmuir — the title of Scottish novelist John Buchan
- basque provinces — an autonomous region of N Spain, comprising the provinces of Álava, Guipúzcoa, and Vizcaya: inhabited mainly by Basques, who retained virtual autonomy from the 9th to the 19th century. Pop: 1 840 700 (2003 est). Area: about 7250 sq km (2800 sq miles)
- bastard culverin — a 16th-century cannon, smaller than a culverin, firing a shot of between 5 and 8 pounds (11 and 17.6 kg).
- batch production — production of goods in batches, rather than continuously
- beef bourguignon — boeuf bourguignon
- behavioural sink — a small area in which people or animals live in overcrowded conditions
- behind the curve — behind the times; behind schedule
- belgian tervuren — one of a Belgian breed of medium-sized dogs having a long, straight coat, fawn to mahogany in color, differing from the Belgian sheepdog only in color.
- benzotrifluoride — a colorless, flammable liquid, C 7 H 5 F 3 , used chiefly as an intermediate in the manufacture of dyes and pharmaceuticals, and as a solvent.
- bermuda triangle — an area in the Atlantic Ocean bounded by Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Florida where ships and aeroplanes are alleged to have disappeared mysteriously
- bernoulli effect — the decrease in pressure as the velocity of a fluid increases.
- binocular fusion — fusion (def 5a).
- binocular-fusion — the act or process of fusing; the state of being fused.
- binuclear family — a social unit composed of an extended family, usually the children and subsequent spouses of divorced parents.
- bird's-nest soup — a rich spicy Chinese soup made from the outer part of the nests of SE Asian swifts of the genus Collocalia
- birthday honours — (in Britain) honorary titles conferred on the official birthday of the sovereign
- bite your tongue — either of the two fleshy parts or folds forming the margins of the mouth and functioning in speech.
- blind man's rule — a carpenter's rule having large numbers to permit its reading in dim light.
- blue mockingbird — any of several gray, black, and white songbirds of the genus Mimus, especially M. polyglottos, of the U.S. and Mexico, noted for their ability to mimic the songs of other birds.
- blue-ribbon jury — a jury composed of persons having more than ordinary education and presumably exceptional intelligence and perceptiveness, selected by the court on the motion of plaintiff or defendant to try cases of unusual complexity or importance.
- bluegrass region — a region in central Kentucky, famous for its horse farms and fields of bluegrass.
- blunt instrument — something such as a hammer, used as a weapon
- board of inquiry — a group set up to inquire into accidents, etc
- boeuf bourgignon — casserole of beef, vegetables, herbs, etc, cooked in red wine
- boundary dispute — dispute between neighbours about the boundary between their properties
- branchiopneustic — breathing by means of gills, as certain aquatic insect larvae.
- brass instrument — a musical wind instrument of brass or other metal with a cup-shaped mouthpiece, as the trombone, tuba, French horn, trumpet, or cornet.
- breeding plumage — the plumage assumed by a male bird during the courtship period, especially in those species that are more colorful at this period.
- bren gun carrier — (esp in World War II) a small armoured vehicle equipped with a Bren gun
- bring to justice — to capture, try, and usually punish (a criminal, an outlaw, etc)
- british honduras — Belize
- brompton mixture — a mixture of narcotics, tranquilizers, and alcohol, used to kill pain for terminally ill patients
- bronchopneumonia — inflammation of the lungs, originating in the bronchioles