16-letter words containing t, a, b, i
- stab in the back — to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon: She stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.
- state-subsidized — partly paid for by the state; subsidized by the state
- stationary orbit — an orbit lying in, or approximately in, the plane of the equator for which the orbital period is equal to the spin period of the central body
- steamboat gothic — a florid architectural style suggesting the gingerbread-decorated construction of river boats of the Victorian period.
- sth rings a bell — If you say that something rings a bell, you mean that it reminds you of something, but you cannot remember exactly what it is.
- strawberry blite — a plant, Chenopodium capitatum, having dense, rounded clusters of minute reddish flowers.
- strict liability — responsibility for damage or loss regardless of intention or culpability
- strike a balance — compromise
- strike a bargain — an advantageous purchase, especially one acquired at less than the usual cost: The sale offered bargains galore.
- stroboradiograph — a stroboscopic radiograph.
- subcartilaginous — partially or incompletely cartilaginous.
- subjectification — to make subjective.
- subordinationism — the doctrine that the first person of the Holy Trinity is superior to the second, and the second superior to the third.
- subsistence wage — the lowest wage upon which a worker and his or her family can survive
- substantia nigra — a deeply pigmented area of the midbrain containing dopamine-producing nerve cells.
- substantive rank — a permanent rank in the armed services obtained by length of service, selection, etc
- substitutability — a person or thing acting or serving in place of another.
- subtropical high — one of several highs, as the Azores and Pacific highs, that prevail over the oceans at latitudes of about 30 degrees N and S. Also called subtropical anticyclone. Compare high (def 37).
- take by surprise — to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness: Her beauty surprised me.
- take the biscuit — Take the biscuit means the same as take the cake.
- take the liberty — do sth without permission
- tanimbar islands — a group of over 600 islands in E Indonesia, in the Banda Sea. About 2100 sq. mi. (5440 sq. km).
- tertiary bursary — a noncompetitive award granted to all pupils who have passed a university entrance examination
- thalidomide baby — a baby that has physical abnormalities due to the drug thalidomide being taken by the mother while the baby was still a developing fetus
- the amazon basin — the catchment area of the River Amazon
- the arabian gulf — the arm of the Arabian Sea between SW Iran and Arabia; important for the oilfields on its shores
- the red brigades — a group of urban guerrillas, based in Italy, who kidnapped and murdered the former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro (1916–78) in 1978
- the subsidiariat — a collective term for the news sources that would not survive without being subsidized directly (by a government, etc), or indirectly (through sharing a parent company with another more profitable revenue source)
- the war-disabled — those people who have been disabled by war
- thrombocytopenia — an abnormal decrease in the number of blood platelets.
- thumbnail sketch — small preliminary drawing
- tibetan buddhism — the form of Mahayana Buddhism that developed and is practiced primarily in Tibet and some nearby nations: its spiritual leader is the Dalai Lama
- tintinnabulation — the ringing or sound of bells.
- to blaze a trail — If someone blazes a trail, they discover or develop something new.
- to break the ice — If you break the ice at a party or meeting, or in a new situation, you say or do something to make people feel relaxed and comfortable.
- to mean business — If you say that someone means business, you mean they are serious and determined about what they are doing.
- to miss the boat — If you say that someone has missed the boat, you mean that they have missed an opportunity and may not get another.
- to overabound in — to have or contain too large a quantity or number of something
- tobacco industry — business of selling smoking products
- tracheobronchial — of, relating to, or affecting the trachea and bronchi.
- trailing arbutus — Also called arbutus, mayflower. a creeping eastern North American plant, Epigaea repens, of the heath family, having leathery, oval leaves and terminal clusters of fragrant pink or white flowers.
- transmissibility — capable of being transmitted.
- transubstantiate — to change from one substance into another; transmute.
- triacetate fiber — a textile fiber made of cellulose triacetate.
- tridarn cupboard — a Welsh cupboard of the late 17th and 18th centuries, with an open, canopied upper section for display.
- tungsten carbide — a very hard, black or gray compound of tungsten and carbon, used in the manufacture of cutting and abrasion tools, dies, and wear-resistant machine parts.
- turn a blind eye — pretend not to see sth
- twin-carburettor — (of an engine) having two carburettors
- type ii diabetes — diabetes (def 4).
- typhoid bacillus — the bacterium Salmonella typhosa, causing typhoid fever.