20-letter words containing s, a, i, n
- antigestational drug — a drug that averts a pregnancy by preventing the fertilized egg from becoming implanted in the uterine wall.
- antonello da messina — ?1430–?79, Italian painter, born in Sicily. His paintings include St Jerome in His Study and Portrait of a Man
- aortic insufficiency — abnormal closure of the aortic valve resulting in regurgitation of blood to the left ventricle.
- apollonius of rhodes — 3rd century bc, Greek epic poet and head of the Library of Alexandria. His principal work is the four-volume Argonautica
- apostolic succession — the doctrine that the authority of Christian bishops derives from the Apostles through an unbroken line of consecration
- application software — software designed for a specific need or purpose
- applications package — a specialized program or set of specialized programs and associated documentation designed to carry out a particular task
- applications program — a program that is written and designed for specific needs or purposes
- arches national park — a national park in E Utah: natural arch formations. 114 sq. mi. (295 sq. km).
- argument from design — the argument for the existence of God based on the assumption that order in the universe implies an orderer and cannot be a natural feature of the universe.
- artificial harmonics — harmonics of a note produced on a stringed instrument by lightly touching a stopped sounded string.
- artificial selection — a process in the breeding of animals and in the cultivation of plants by which the breeder chooses to perpetuate only those forms having certain desirable inheritable characteristics.
- aschheim-zondek test — a test used to detect whether a woman is pregnant by noting the effect on the ovaries of an immature mouse or rabbit injected with her urine.
- asexual reproduction — reproduction, as budding, fission, or spore formation, not involving the union of gametes.
- asian tiger mosquito — a mosquito, Aedes albopictus, native to Asia, that transmits yellow fever and dengue and possibly West Nile virus. Compare yellow-fever mosquito.
- asset turnover ratio — An asset turnover ratio is a measure of the efficiency of a company, that is calculated by dividing sales for a period by average total assets.
- association football — soccer
- association of stars — a sparsely populated group of between 10 and 1000 young stars of similar spectral type and common origin that are moving too fast to form a permanent, gravitationally bound system.
- astatic galvanometer — a galvanometer that is unaffected by the earth's magnetic field and is used for measuring small currents.
- at one's convenience — at a time, or in a place or manner, suitable to one
- at one's finger tips — the tip or end of a finger.
- at someone's service — ready to serve or cooperate with someone
- at two hours' notice — with notification only two hours in advance
- australian rye grass — a European grass, Lolium multiflorum, naturalized in North America, having flowering spikes and used as a winter turf.
- automobile insurance — Automobile insurance is insurance coverage for cars.
- bartramian sandpiper — upland sandpiper.
- basal cell carcinoma — a common and usually curable skin cancer that arises from epithelial cells and rarely metastasizes: often associated with overexposure to sunlight.
- basic encoding rules — (protocol, standard) (BER) ASN.1 encoding rules for producing self-identifying and self-delimiting transfer syntax for data structures described in ASN.1 notations. BER is an self-identifying and self-delimiting encoding scheme, which means that each data value can be identified, extracted and decoded individually. Huw Rogers once described BER as "a triumph of bloated theory over clean implementation". He also criticises it as designed around bitstreams with arbitrary boundaries between data which can only be determined at a high level. Documents: ITU-T X.690, ISO 8825-1. See also CER, DER, PER.
- basic lead carbonate — ceruse.
- basic oxygen process — a process for refining steel in which oxygen is blown into the molten iron
- basic rate interface — (communications) (BRI, 2B+D, 2B1D) An Integrated Services Digital Network channel consisting of two 64 kbps "bearer" (B) channels and one 16 kbps "delta" (D) channel, giving a total data rate of 144 kbps. The B channels are used for voice or user data, and the D channel is used for control and signalling and/or X.25 packet networking. BRI is the kind of ISDN interface most likely to be found in residential service.
- bats-wing coral-tree — a small tree, Erythrina verspertilio, of tropical and subtropical Australia with red flowers and leaves shaped like the wings of a bat
- be set in one's ways — If you say that someone is set in their ways, you are being critical of the fact that they have fixed habits and ideas which they will not easily change, even though they may be old-fashioned.
- beaverhead mountains — a mountain range on the border of E Idaho and SW Montana, in the Bitterroot Range. 10,961 feet (3343 meters).
- belgian shepherd dog — a medium-sized well-proportioned dog of a breed that resembles an Alsatian in appearance and is often used as a sheepdog or a guard dog
- benzenesulfonic acid — a fine, needlelike substance, C 6 H 6 SO 3 , used chiefly as a catalyst and in the synthesis of phenol, resorcinol, and other organic products.
- benztropine mesylate — a synthetic anticholinergic, C 21 H 25 NO⋅CH 4 O 3 S, used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
- benzyl isoamyl ether — a colorless liquid, C 12 H 18 O, used in soap perfumes.
- bernese mountain dog — a strong sturdy dog of a breed with a bushy tail and a long silky black coat with reddish-brown and white markings, often used as a working farm dog
- bimodal distribution — a frequency distribution with two modes
- bird-footed dinosaur — theropod.
- black lung (disease) — a disease of the lungs caused by the inhalation of coal dust; anthracosis
- blow up in sb's face — If something that you have planned blows up in your face, it goes wrong unexpectedly, with the result that you suffer.
- blue ridge mountains — a mountain range in the eastern US, extending from West Virginia into Georgia: part of the Appalachian mountains. Highest peak: Mount Mitchell, 2038 m (6684 ft)
- bone mineral density — a measurement of the amount of calcium and other minerals in a segment of bone, a higher mineral content indicating a higher bone density and strength, used to detect osteoporosis or monitor its treatment.
- born-again christian — person: evangelical
- bouvier des flandres — any of a breed of large, strong dog with a rough, wiry coat and pointed, erect ears
- breakerless ignition — electronic ignition.
- breakfast and dinner — Breakfast and dinner is a system of accommodations in a hotel or guest house, in which you pay for a room and breakfast and dinner the following day.
- breakfast television — Breakfast television refers to television programmes which are broadcast in the morning at the time when most people are having breakfast.