0%

15-letter words containing s, i, n, o

  • be having sb on — If you are having someone on, you are pretending that something is true when it is not true, for example as a joke or in order to tease them.
  • be of two minds — to be undecided or irresolute
  • be on the skids — to be on the decline or downgrade; meet with failure
  • be spoiling for — to have an aggressive desire for (a fight, etc)
  • bear comparison — to be sufficiently similar in class or range to be compared with (something else), esp favourably
  • bedloe's island — Liberty Island
  • belief revision — (artificial intelligence)   The area of theory change in which preservation of the information in the theory to be changed plays a key role. A fundamental issue in belief revision is how to decide what information to retract in order to maintain consistency, when the addition of a new belief to a theory would make it inconsistent. Usually, an ordering on the sentences of the theory is used to determine priorities among sentences, so that those with lower priority can be retracted. This ordering can be difficult to generate and maintain. The postulates of the AGM Theory for Belief Revision describe minimal properties a revision process should have.
  • benefit society — an organization which, by means of dues, secures for its members certain benefits, such as life insurance, hospitalization, etc.
  • bessel function — one of several transcendental functions, usually represented as power series, that are solutions to a group of related differential equations.
  • beta conversion — (theory)   A term from lambda-calculus for beta reduction or beta abstraction.
  • beurre noisette — a sauce of butter cooked until golden or nut brown, sometimes flavored with capers, vinegar, herbs, etc.
  • beyond question — a sentence in an interrogative form, addressed to someone in order to get information in reply.
  • 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.
  • bioastronautics — the study of the effects of space flight on living organisms
  • biogasification — the conversion of organic matter into biogas.
  • 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
  • biostatistician — someone who studies or works professionally in the field of biostatistics
  • biscuit tortoni — an individual portion of tortoni, frozen and served in a small cup, often topped with ground almonds.
  • bishop auckland — a town in N England, in central Durham: seat of the bishops of Durham since the 12th century: light industries. Pop: 24 764 (2001)
  • bit on the side — an extramarital affair
  • biting housefly — a two-winged fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, having the mouthparts adapted for biting, and commonly a household and stable pest.
  • bits per second — (communications, unit)   (bps, b/s) The unit in which data rate is measured. For example, a modem's data rate is usually measured in kilobits per second. In 1996, the maximum modem speed for use on the PSTN was 33.6 kbps, rising to 56 kbps in 1997. Note that kilo- (k), mega- (M), etc. in data rates denote powers of 1000, not 1024.
  • 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)
  • blast injection — the injection of liquid fuel directly into the cylinder of an internal-combustion engine using a blast of high-pressure air to atomize the spray of fuel
  • blasting powder — a form of gunpowder made with sodium nitrate instead of saltpeter, used chiefly for blasting rock, ore, etc.
  • blood poisoning — Blood poisoning is a serious illness resulting from an infection in your blood.
  • bloodguiltiness — guilty of murder or bloodshed.
  • 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.
  • boa constrictor — A boa constrictor is a large snake that kills animals by wrapping itself round their bodies and squeezing them to death. Boa constrictors are found mainly in South and Central America and the West Indies.
  • boarding school — A boarding school is a school which some or all of the pupils live in during the school term. Compare day school.
  • 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)
  • boiled dressing — a cooked salad dressing thickened with egg yolks and often containing mustard.
  • bombing mission — a major bomb attack on a specific target or series of targets
  • booster cushion — an extra seat or cushion placed on an existing seat for a child to sit on in a car
  • borderline case — a person or thing that is not clearly classifiable as something
  • borough-english — (until 1925) a custom in certain English boroughs whereby the youngest son inherited land to the exclusion of his older brothers
  • boston marriage — (especially in 19th-century New England) an intimate friendship between two women often maintaining a household together.
  • bourbon biscuit — a rich chocolate-flavoured biscuit with a chocolate-cream filling
  • boustrophedonic — of or relating to lines written in opposite directions
  • bowstring truss — a structural truss consisting of a curved top chord meeting a bottom chord at each end.
  • boys' night out — an evening spent outside of the home by a group of men
  • brachistochrone — the curve between two points through which a body moves under the force of gravity in a shorter time than for any other curve; the path of quickest descent
  • branchiostegous — branchiostegal.
  • brand extension — the practice of using a well-known brand name to promote new products or services in unrelated fields
  • breeding season — the time of year during which animals breed
  • bristol channel — an inlet of the Atlantic, between S Wales and SW England, merging into the Severn estuary. Length: about 137 km (85 miles)
Was this page helpful?
Yes No
Thank you for your feedback! Tell your friends about this page
Tell us why?