19-letter words containing s, r
- attachment disorder — an emotional and behavioral disorder arising from a failure to form a strong bond with one’s primary caregiver in early childhood and affecting one’s social relationships in later childhood and adulthood. See also attachment (def 3a).
- attendance register — an official list of people who are present at an institution such as a school
- attractive nuisance — Law. a doctrine of tort law under which a person who creates or permits to exist on his or her land a dangerous condition attractive to children, as an unfenced swimming pool, is liable for their resulting injuries, even though the injured are trespassers.
- audio response unit — a device that enables a computer to give a spoken response by generating sounds similar to human speech.
- augsburg confession — the statement of beliefs and doctrines of the Lutherans, formulated by Melanchthon and endorsed by the Lutheran princes, which was presented at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 and which became the chief creed of the Lutheran Church.
- australian fan palm — a fan palm, Livistona australis, of Australia, having a slender, reddish-brown trunk, spiny leafstalks, and round fruit.
- australian tea tree — a shrubby Australian tree, Leptospermum laevigatum, of the myrtle family, having lance-shaped leaves and white, bell-shaped flowers.
- austro-prussian war — the war (1866) in which Prussia, Italy, and some minor German states opposed Austria, Saxony, Hanover, and the states of southern Germany.
- author's alteration — a correction or change made in typeset copy that is not a correction of an error introduced by the compositor. Abbreviation: AA, A.A., a.a., aa.
- autoerotic asphyxia — asphyxia caused by intentionally strangling oneself while masturbating in order to intensify the orgasm through reduced oxygen flow to the brain.
- autotransplantation — autograft.
- avogadro's constant — the number of atoms or molecules in a mole of a substance, equal to 6.022 52 × 1023
- awareness programme — a programme designed to increase awareness of something
- bachelor of science — A Bachelor of Science is a first degree in a science subject. In British English, it can also mean a person with that degree. The abbreviation BSc or , BSc is also used.
- bacillary dysentery — shigellosis.
- backward somersault — a somersault performed in a backward direction with the legs leading the rest of the body
- baja california sur — a state of NW Mexico, in the S part of the Lower California peninsula. Capital: La Paz. Pop: 423 516 (2000). Area: 73 475 sq km (28 363 sq miles)
- ballistocardiograph — an instrument that records the slight recoil of the body, while on a special bed, caused by the contractions of the heart: used to measure cardiac pumping power and the elasticity of the aorta
- bandar seri begawan — the capital of Brunei. Pop: 64 000 (2005 est)
- bang for one's buck — value for money
- banker's acceptance — a draft or bill of exchange drawn on a bank and accepted by it
- barbados gooseberry — Also called lemon vine. a treelike cactus, Pereskia aculeata, of tropical America, characterized by broad, elliptical leaves and spiny stems bearing a yellow, edible fruit.
- bargaining position — the position of a person, group, or organization in a negotiation, with respect to their ability to achieve a deal which is favourable to themselves
- barometric pressure — atmospheric pressure as indicated by a barometer
- batterie de cuisine — cooking utensils collectively; pots and pans, etc
- battle-ground state — a state of the U.S. in which the Democratic and Republican candidates both have a good chance of winning and that is considered key to the outcome of a presidential election: the swing states of Ohio and Indiana.
- battles of bull run — two battles fought at Manassas Junction near a stream named Bull Run, during the American Civil War (July, 1861 and August, 1862), in both of which the Federal army was routed by the Confederates
- be burnt to a crisp — If something is burnt to a crisp, it is completely burnt.
- be greek to someone — to be incomprehensible or unintelligible to someone
- be one's own master — If you say that you are your own master, you mean that your decisions are not controlled by other people and you are free to do what you want.
- be one's own person — a human being, whether an adult or child: The table seats four persons.
- be someone's junior — to be younger than someone
- beauty preparations — the cosmetics, creams etc used to improve someone's beauty
- behavioral genetics — an interdisciplinary field studying the effects of genetics and hereditary factors on animal and human behavior.
- behavioural science — the application of scientific methods to the study of the behaviour of organisms
- behind closed doors — If people have talks and discussions behind closed doors, they have them in private because they want them to be kept secret.
- belgian east africa — a former Belgian trust territory in Africa, also (1924–62) Ruanda-Urundi, now the independent countries of Rwanda and Burundi.
- bellybutton surgery — laparoscopy.
- bend over backwards — to make a special effort, esp in order to please
- bernoulli's theorem — Statistics. law of averages (def 1).
- bernstein condition — (parallel) Processes cannot execute in parallel if one effects values used by the other. Nor can they execute in parallel if any subsequent process uses data effected by both, i.e. whose value might depend on the order of execution.
- bi-lateral symmetry — a basic body plan in which the left and right sides of the organism can be divided into approximate mirror images of each other along the midline.
- bicarbonate of soda — Bicarbonate of soda is a white powder which is used in baking to make cakes rise, and also as a medicine for your stomach.
- bill of particulars — an itemized statement of claims or counterclaims provided to the opposing party of a lawsuit
- binocular disparity — the small differences in the positions of the parts of the images falling on each eye that results when each eye views the scene from a slightly different position; these differences make stereoscopic vision possible
- bird's-eye primrose — a Eurasian primrose, Primula farinosa, having clusters of purplish flowers with yellow centres
- bird's-foot trefoil — any of various creeping leguminous Eurasian plants of the genus Lotus, esp L. corniculatus, with red-tipped yellow flowers and seed pods resembling the claws of a bird
- bismuth oxychloride — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble powder, BiOCl, used chiefly in the manufacture of pigments, face powders, and artificial pearls.
- black forest gateau — a chocolate sponge cake containing morello cherries and whipped cream, with a topping of chocolate icing
- blackbelly rosefish — a reddish scorpionfish, Helicolenus dactylopterus, inhabiting the deep waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.