15-letter words containing t, a, b, l, e
- double negative — a syntactic construction in which two negative words are used in the same clause to express a single negation.
- double standard — any code or set of principles containing different provisions for one group of people than for another, especially an unwritten code of sexual behavior permitting men more freedom than women. Compare single standard (def 1).
- double-breasted — (of a coat, jacket, etc.) overlapping sufficiently in front to allow for two rows of buttons.
- doublet pattern — a pattern, as on a fabric, in which a figure or group is duplicated in reverse order on the opposite side of a centerline.
- eat like a bird — any warm-blooded vertebrate of the class Aves, having a body covered with feathers, forelimbs modified into wings, scaly legs, a beak, and no teeth, and bearing young in a hard-shelled egg.
- eight-bit clean — (software) A term which describes a system that deals correctly with extended character sets which (unlike ASCII) use all eight bits of a byte. Many programs and communications systems assume that all characters have codes in the range 0 to 127. This leaves the top bit of each byte free for use as a parity bit or some kind of flag bit. These assumptions break down when the program is used in some non-english-speaking countries with larger alphabets. If a binary file is transmitted via a communications link which is not eight-bit clean, it will be corrupted. To combat this you can encode it with uuencode which uses only ASCII characters. There are some links however which are not even "seven-bit clean" and cause problems even for uuencoded data.
- elaborated code — a way of talking which is explicit and does not assume that the listener shares the same assumptions and understandings as the speaker
- elastic rebound — a theory of earthquakes that envisages gradual deformation of the fault zone without fault slippage until friction is overcome, when the fault suddenly slips to produce the earthquake
- eleutherophobia — the fear of freedom
- elm bark beetle — the bark-boring beetle (Scolytus multistriatus) that feeds on the bark of elm trees and carries Dutch elm disease
- elm leaf beetle — a beetle (Pyrrhalta luteola) that feeds on the leaves of elm trees while in both its larval and adult stages
- enfant terrible — If you describe someone as an enfant terrible, you mean that they are clever but unconventional, and often cause problems or embarrassment for their friends or families.
- enterobacterial — relating to enterobacteria
- ethyl carbamate — a colourless odourless crystalline ester that is used in the manufacture of pesticides, fungicides, and pharmaceuticals. Formula: CO(NH2)OC2H5
- exchangeability — The condition of being exchangeable.
- exhibition hall — a hall in which pictures, sculptures, or other objects of interest are displayed
- extension cable — an extra length of cable with a plug and a connector that can be added to an electric lead
- fallopian tubes — one of a pair of long, slender ducts in the female abdomen that transport ova from the ovary to the uterus and, in fertilization, transport sperm cells from the uterus to the released ova; the oviduct of higher mammals.
- false buckthorn — a spiny shrub or small tree, Bumelia lanuginosa, of the sapodilla family, native to the southern U.S., having gummy, milky sap and white, bell-shaped flowers and yielding a hard, light-brown wood.
- fibrocartilages — Plural form of fibrocartilage.
- finger alphabet — a series of shapes made by the fingers that indicate letters of an alphabet and can be used in fingerspelling for the deaf
- fixed liability — a liability, as a mortgage or debenture, that will not mature for a relatively long time.
- flatbed scanner — a type of optical scanner having a flat, stationary surface on which a page is scanned by a moving head.
- flemish brabant — a province of central Belgium, formed in 1995 from the N part of Brabant province: densely populated and intensively farmed, with large industrial centres. Pop: 1 031 904 (2004 est). Area: 2106 sq km (813 sq miles)
- floral tributes — bunches or arrangements of flowers left as a memorial at the site of a fatal incident
- football league — highest-level soccer competition
- football player — sportsperson: plays football
- football season — annual period when soccer is played
- free-tailed bat — any of various small, swift, insect-eating bats of the family Molossidae, common in warm climates, having thick, leathery ears and a tail that projects well beyond the tail membrane.
- gaelic football — an Irish game played with 15 players on each side and goals resembling rugby posts with a net on the bottom part. Players are allowed to kick, punch, and bounce the ball and attempt to get it over the bar or in the net
- galactic nebula — a nebula in the Milky Way.
- garbage collect — garbage collection
- ghetto fabulous — pertaining to or noting a lifestyle of showy but superficial glamour and luxury that is sometimes adopted by people in or from an urban ghetto: That man is just ghetto-fabulous; his bling wears bling!
- ghetto-fabulous — pertaining to or noting a lifestyle of showy but superficial glamour and luxury that is sometimes adopted by people in or from an urban ghetto: That man is just ghetto-fabulous; his bling wears bling!
- gilbert islands — a group of islands in the W Pacific: with Banaba, the Phoenix Islands, and three of the Line Islands they constitute the independent state of Kiribati; until 1975 they formed part of the British colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands; achieved full independence in 1979. Pop: 82 902 (2005). Area: 295 sq km (114 sq miles)
- gladbach-rheydt — a former city in W Germany; now part of Mönchengladbach.
- globe artichoke — artichoke (defs 1, 2).
- great bear lake — a lake in NW Canada, in the Northwest Territories. 12,275 sq. mi. (31,792 sq. km).
- great rebellion — English Civil War.
- green vegetable — a vegetable having green edible parts, as lettuce or broccoli.
- gyrostabilizers — Plural form of gyrostabilizer.
- half the battle — If you say that something is half the battle, you mean that it is the most important step towards achieving something.
- halting problem — The problem of determining in advance whether a particular program or algorithm will terminate or run forever. The halting problem is the canonical example of a provably unsolvable problem. Obviously any attempt to answer the question by actually executing the algorithm or simulating each step of its execution will only give an answer if the algorithm under consideration does terminate, otherwise the algorithm attempting to answer the question will itself run forever. Some special cases of the halting problem are partially solvable given sufficient resources. For example, if it is possible to record the complete state of the execution of the algorithm at each step and the current state is ever identical to some previous state then the algorithm is in a loop. This might require an arbitrary amount of storage however. Alternatively, if there are at most N possible different states then the algorithm can run for at most N steps without looping. A program analysis called termination analysis attempts to answer this question for limited kinds of input algorithm.
- harlequin table — a writing or dressing table having a central set of compartments that rise when drop leaves are raised.
- health benefits — positive effects on health
- heartbreakingly — causing intense anguish or sorrow.
- hubble constant — the ratio of the recessional velocity of galaxies to their distance from the sun, with current measurements of its value ranging from 50 to 100 km/sec per megaparsec.
- hypercatabolism — an abnormally high metabolic breakdown of a substance or tissue which leads to weight loss and physical deterioration
- hypermetabolism — Biology, Physiology. the sum of the physical and chemical processes in an organism by which its material substance is produced, maintained, and destroyed, and by which energy is made available. Compare anabolism, catabolism.
- hypermutability — liable or subject to change or alteration.