15-letter words containing s, i, m, o
- arms inspection — the official checking of a country's weapons and other military equipment, usually to check that international agreements have been respected
- army air forces — a unit comprising almost all aviation, with its personnel, equipment, etc.: it became part of the Air Force on July 26, 1947.
- arrondissements — Plural form of arrondissement.
- assimilationism — the theory of promoting the incorporation and mixing of different groups in society
- assimilationist — a person who favours and promotes the incorporation and mixing of different groups in society
- astrodynamicist — a person who studies astrodynamics
- atlantic salmon — a valuable food and game fish, Salmo salar, mainly of northern coastal Atlantic waters or, when spawning, in freshwater streams tributary to the ocean.
- atlas mountains — a mountain system of N Africa, between the Mediterranean and the Sahara. Highest peak: Mount Toubkal, 4165 m (13 664 ft)
- atmospherically — pertaining to, existing in, or consisting of the atmosphere: atmospheric vapors.
- autocannibalism — The eating of part of one's own body.
- autodidacticism — any self-directed learning or self-education
- automatic focus — a system in a camera which automatically adjusts the lens so that the object being photographed is in focus, often one using infrared light to estimate the distance of the object from the camera
- azobisformamide — (chemistry) azodicarbonamide.
- baptism of fire — If someone who has just begun a new job has a baptism of fire, they immediately have to cope with very many severe difficulties and obstacles.
- barry mountains — a mountain range in SE Australia, in E Victoria: part of the Australian Alps
- basidiomycetous — belonging or pertaining to the basidiomycetes.
- basse-normandie — a region of NW France, on the English Channel: consists of the Cherbourg peninsula in the west rising to the Normandy hills in the east; mainly agricultural
- bathing costume — A bathing costume is a piece of clothing that is worn for swimming, especially by women and girls.
- be of two minds — to be undecided or irresolute
- bear comparison — to be sufficiently similar in class or range to be compared with (something else), esp favourably
- bedroom slipper — a soft shoe worn in the house
- bide one's time — to wait patiently for an opportunity
- billings method — a natural method of birth control that involves examining the colour and viscosity of the cervical mucus to discover when ovulation is occurring
- binomial series — an infinite series obtained by expanding a binomial raised to a power that is not a positive integer.
- biogeochemistry — the science of biological, chemical, and geological aspects of the environment
- bioluminescence — the production of light by living organisms as a result of the oxidation of a light-producing substance (luciferin) by the enzyme luciferase: occurs in many marine organisms, insects such as the firefly, etc
- bituminous coal — a soft black coal, rich in volatile hydrocarbons, that burns with a smoky yellow flame. Fixed carbon content: 46–86 per cent; calorific value: 1.93 × 107 – 3.63 × 107 J/kg
- black mountains — a mountain range running from N Monmouthshire and SE Powys (Wales) to SW Herefordshire (England). Highest peak: Waun Fach, 811 m (2660 ft)
- blow one's mind — (in a human or other conscious being) the element, part, substance, or process that reasons, thinks, feels, wills, perceives, judges, etc.: the processes of the human mind.
- body mass index — A person's body mass index is a measurement that represents the relationship between their weight and their height.
- bohemian forest — a mountain range between the SW Czech Republic and SE Germany. Highest peak: Arber, 1457 m (4780 ft)
- bombing mission — a major bomb attack on a specific target or series of targets
- boston marriage — (especially in 19th-century New England) an intimate friendship between two women often maintaining a household together.
- british telecom — the popular name for British Telecommunications Group plc, the dominant fixed line telecommunications and broadband internet provider in the United Kingdom
- bromoil process — a process for making an offset reproduction by first making a photographic print on paper with a silver bromide emulsion, wetting it, and then using it as a lithographic plate, the lighter parts of the emulsion tending to repel the oil base of the ink and the darker parts tending to hold it.
- brother-in-arms — a fellow soldier or comrade in a shared struggle
- bulimia nervosa — a disorder characterized by compulsive overeating followed by vomiting: sometimes associated with anxiety about gaining weight
- bureau of mines — a division of the Department of the Interior, created in 1910, that studies the nation's mineral resources and inspects mines.
- cairngorm-stone — smoky quartz.
- capitulationism — advocacy or approval of capitulation.
- carcinosarcomas — Plural form of carcinosarcoma.
- casement-window — a window sash opening on hinges that are generally attached to the upright side of its frame.
- castanospermine — a substance obtained from the Australian chestnut or black bean tree
- castrametations — Plural form of castrametation.
- centrosymmetric — having symmetry with a central point
- ceremoniousness — The state of being ceremonious.
- chamois leather — soft cleaning cloth
- charles simonyi — (person) Microsoft programmer, most famously responsible for Hungarian Notation. Simonyi was born in Budapest in 1948, and for more than a decade was senior programmer at Microsoft in Redmond.
- charm offensive — If you say that someone has launched a charm offensive, you disapprove of the fact that they are being very friendly to their opponents or people who are causing problems for them.
- chef de mission — the head of a diplomatic body