14-letter words containing s, t, o, r
- bacteriostatic — the prevention of the further growth of bacteria.
- bang to rights — caught red-handed
- barbados earth — a diatomaceous marl found in Barbados
- basque country — Theregion comprising three provinces in N Spain, on the Bay of Biscay, inhabited by Basques: 2,803 sq mi (7,260 sq km); pop. 2,104,000
- bastard indigo — a bushy shrub, Amorpha fruticosa, of the legume family, native to North America, having elongated clusters of dull purplish or bluish flowers.
- bastardisation — Alternative form of bastardization.
- bastardization — the act of bastardizing
- bayes' theorem — the fundamental result which expresses the conditional probability P(E/A) of an event E given an event A as P(A/E).P(E)/P(A); more generally, where En is one of a set of values Ei which partition the sample space, P(En/A) = P(A/En)P(En)/Σ P(A/Ei)P(Ei). This enables prior estimates of probability to be continually revised in the light of observations
- beard-stroking — deep thought
- beaufort scale — an international scale of wind velocities ranging for practical purposes from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane force). In the US an extension of the scale, from 13 to 17 for winds over 64 knots, is used
- belaya tserkov — city in WC Ukraine: pop. 204,000
- belvoir castle — a castle in Leicestershire, near Grantham (in Lincolnshire): seat of the Dukes of Rutland; rebuilt by James Wyatt in 1816
- bermuda shorts — close-fitting shorts that come down to the knees
- bet your boots — to be certain; rely on it
- betray oneself — to reveal one's true character, intentions, etc
- big brotherism — paternalistic authoritarianism that seeks to supply the needs and regulate the conduct of people.
- bill of rights — A Bill of Rights is a written list of citizens' rights which is usually part of the constitution of a country.
- bioaeronautics — the use of aircraft in the discovery, development, and protection of natural and biological resources
- biocybernetics — the branch of cybernetics that deals with the control and communication systems of living organisms
- bioelectronics — a branch of electronics that deals with electronic devices, implants, etc. used in medicine and biological research
- bioinformatics — the branch of information science concerned with large databases of biochemical or pharmaceutical information
- biometric risk — Biometric risk covers all risks related to human life conditions, such as death, birth, disability, age, and number of children.
- bioprospecting — searching for plant or animal species for use as a source of commercially exploitable products, such as medicinal drugs
- bioregionalist — someone who believes in bioregionalism
- bipolarisation — the act of bipolarising
- birthing stool — a stool constructed to allow a woman in labour to give birth in a sitting position
- bishop's mitre — a European heteropterous bug, Aelia acuminata, whose larvae are a pest of cereal grasses: family Pentatomidae
- blepharoplasty — cosmetic surgery performed on the eyelid
- blister copper — an impure form of copper having a blister-like surface due to the release of gas during cooling
- boatswain bird — tropic bird.
- body of christ — the Christian Church
- bone structure — the skeletal composition of a human or animal
- bone turquoise — fossilized bone or tooth stained blue with iron phosphate and used as a gemstone
- booster cables — jumper cables
- border dispute — a disagreement between countries about where the border between them should be drawn
- born yesterday — brought forth by birth.
- boston terrier — a short stocky smooth-haired breed of terrier with a short nose, originally developed by crossing the French and English bulldogs with the English bull terrier
- bosworth field — the site, two miles south of Market Bosworth in Leicestershire, of the battle that ended the Wars of the Roses (August 1485). Richard III was killed and Henry Tudor was crowned king as Henry VII
- bouleversement — an overthrow or reversal; violent turmoil
- bound moisture — Bound moisture is liquid in a solid, which exerts a vapor pressure that is less than the pure liquid would do at the same temperature.
- boundary-stone — a stone marking a boundary, sometimes giving information such as the initials of the local authority in whose jurisdiction the boundary is
- bowstring hemp — a hemplike fibre obtained from the sansevieria
- boy-meets-girl — conventionally or trivially romantic
- branchiostegal — of or relating to the operculum covering the gill slits of fish
- breakfast food — any prepared cereal for breakfast
- breakfast room — a room set aside for serving and eating breakfast, esp in a hotel or guesthouse
- breakfast show — a radio or television broadcast that airs around breakfast time
- breeding stock — animals specifically kept to breed from
- brickor mortis — a period of difficult times in the housing industry, where house prices and sales of properties are falling and credit for new purchases is difficult to obtain
- bring onstream — To bring onstream a plant, mine, oilfield, etc. is to start production there.