16-letter words containing s, a, b, u
- spanish bluebell — a bulbous plant, Endymion hispanicus, of the lily family, native to Spain and Portugal, having blue, white, or pink, bell-shaped flowers.
- squeaky-bum time — the tense final matches in the race to a league championship, esp from the point of view of the leaders
- stalked puffball — a puffball-like mushroom of the genus Tulestoma, maturing in early winter.
- state-subsidized — partly paid for by the state; subsidized by the state
- strawberry guava — a shrub or small tree, Psidium littorale, of the myrtle family, native to Brazil, having smooth, grayish-brown bark, leathery leaves, white flowers, and edible, white-fleshed, purplish-red fruit.
- strawberry shrub — Carolina allspice
- subcartilaginous — partially or incompletely cartilaginous.
- subjectification — to make subjective.
- subliminal image — an image used in advertising, etc, that is too quick to be registered by the mind but is used to influence the viewer unconsciously
- sublingual gland — (in human beings) either of a pair of salivary glands situated beneath the tongue
- submarine chaser — a small patrol vessel, 100–200 feet (30–60 meters) long, designed for military operations against submarines.
- subordinationism — the doctrine that the first person of the Holy Trinity is superior to the second, and the second superior to the third.
- subsistence wage — the lowest wage upon which a worker and his or her family can survive
- substance abuser — a person who takes an excessive amount of drugs in a manner that is detrimental to health
- substantia nigra — a deeply pigmented area of the midbrain containing dopamine-producing nerve cells.
- substantive rank — a permanent rank in the armed services obtained by length of service, selection, etc
- substitutability — a person or thing acting or serving in place of another.
- subtropical high — one of several highs, as the Azores and Pacific highs, that prevail over the oceans at latitudes of about 30 degrees N and S. Also called subtropical anticyclone. Compare high (def 37).
- sulfocarbanilide — thiocarbanilide.
- superserviceable — overly disposed to be of service; officious.
- swamp buttonwood — the buttonbush.
- take by surprise — to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness: Her beauty surprised me.
- take the biscuit — Take the biscuit means the same as take the cake.
- tertiary bursary — a noncompetitive award granted to all pupils who have passed a university entrance examination
- the easter bunny — the rabbit that brings Easter eggs
- the subsidiariat — a collective term for the news sources that would not survive without being subsidized directly (by a government, etc), or indirectly (through sharing a parent company with another more profitable revenue source)
- the unobservable — something that cannot be observed
- thumbnail sketch — small preliminary drawing
- tibetan buddhism — the form of Mahayana Buddhism that developed and is practiced primarily in Tibet and some nearby nations: its spiritual leader is the Dalai Lama
- to cut both ways — If you say that something cuts both ways, you mean that it can have two opposite effects, or can have both good and bad effects.
- to mean business — If you say that someone means business, you mean they are serious and determined about what they are doing.
- to pass the buck — If you pass the buck, you refuse to accept responsibility for something, and say that someone else is responsible.
- tobacco industry — business of selling smoking products
- trailing arbutus — Also called arbutus, mayflower. a creeping eastern North American plant, Epigaea repens, of the heath family, having leathery, oval leaves and terminal clusters of fragrant pink or white flowers.
- transport number — that fraction of the total electric current that anions and cations carry in passing through an electrolytic solution.
- transubstantiate — to change from one substance into another; transmute.
- tungsten carbide — a very hard, black or gray compound of tungsten and carbon, used in the manufacture of cutting and abrasion tools, dies, and wear-resistant machine parts.
- typhoid bacillus — the bacterium Salmonella typhosa, causing typhoid fever.
- ultra-liberalism — extremely liberal, especially in politics.
- unaccomplishable — to bring to its goal or conclusion; carry out; perform; finish: to accomplish one's mission.
- under bare poles — (of a sailing vessel) with no sails set
- unimpressionable — easily impressed or influenced; susceptible: an impressionable youngster.
- unreasonableness — not reasonable or rational; acting at variance with or contrary to reason; not guided by reason or sound judgment; irrational: an unreasonable person.
- ununderstandable — capable of being understood; comprehensible.
- vapor combustion — Vapor combustion is a closed burn system used for treating liquid waste which contains volatile organic compounds.
- vascular cambium — cambium.
- vestibular nerve — the part of the auditory nerve in the inner ear that carries sensory information related to body equilibrium.
- writ of subpoena — a legal document commanding the attendance in court, as a witness, of the person on whom it is served, under a penalty