16-letter words containing t, o, e, b, i
- butterfly orchid — an orchid (Oncidium papilio) with reddish flowers, native to South America
- button one's lip — to stop talking: often imperative
- bypass operation — an operation involving redirection of blood flow, either to avoid a diseased blood vessel or in order to perform heart surgery
- cable television — Cable television is a television system in which signals are sent along wires rather than by radio waves.
- can you beat it? — an expression of utter amazement or surprise
- carboxypeptidase — any of several digestive enzymes that catalyze the removal of an amino acid from the end of a peptide chain having a free carbonyl group.
- cerebellopontine — (anatomy) Relating to the cerebellum and pons.
- chiclet keyboard — (hardware, abuse) A keyboard with a small, flat rectangular or lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys that look like pieces of Chiclets chewing gum. Used especially to describe the original IBM PCjr keyboard. Vendors unanimously liked these because they were cheap, and a lot of early portable and laptop computers were launched with them. Customers rejected the idea with almost equal unanimity, and chiclets are not often seen on anything larger than a digital watch any more.
- chomp at the bit — champ at the bit (see phrase under champ1)
- christening robe — a long white dress worn by a baby at his or her christening
- chromatic number — (mathematics) The smallest number of colours necessary to colour the nodes of a graph so that no two adjacent nodes have the same colour. See also: four colour map theorem.
- city of aberdeen — a council area in NE Scotland, established in 1996. Pop: 206 600 (2003 est). Area: 186 sq km (72 sq miles)
- cocktail cabinet — a cupboard in which glasses and bottles are kept
- columbia heights — a city in SE Minnesota, near Minneapolis.
- combining weight — the atomic weight of an atom or radical divided by its valence.
- commensurability — The quality of being commensurable or commensurate.
- committee member — a member of a committee
- composite number — a positive integer that can be factorized into two or more other positive integers
- concertina table — an extensible table having a hinged double top falling onto a hinged frame that unfolds like an accordion when pulled out.
- congeliturbation — the churning, heaving, and thrusting of soil material due to the action of frost.
- consubstantiated — Simple past tense and past participle of consubstantiate.
- contemptibleness — The state or quality of being contemptible.
- control variable — Also called control. Statistics. a person, group, event, etc., that is used as a constant and unchanging standard of comparison in scientific experimentation. Compare dependent variable (def 2), independent variable (def 2).
- conversion table — a diagram which shows equivalent amounts in different measuring systems
- convertible bond — a bond that can be exchanged for a fixed number of shares of the common stock of the issuing company at the holder's option.
- convertible lens — a lens containing two or more elements that can be used individually or in combination to provide a variety of focal lengths.
- cooperative bank — a cooperative savings institution, chartered and regulated by a state or the federal government, that receives deposits in exchange for shares of ownership and invests its funds chiefly in loans secured by first mortgages on homes.
- counterbalancing — Present participle of counterbalance.
- cut of one's jib — one's appearance or way of dressing
- daylight robbery — If someone charges you a great deal of money for something and you think this is unfair or unreasonable, you can refer to this as daylight robbery.
- dearborn heights — city in SE Mich.: suburb of Detroit: pop. 58,000
- debating society — a club, e.g. at a school or university, which regularly holds debates
- deboursification — (jargon) Removal of irrelevant newsgroups from the Newsgroups header of a followup. The term applies particularly to the removal of frivolous groups added by one of the Kooks. See also: sneck.
- debt forgiveness — the action or process of forgiving people their debts
- demolition derby — a competition in which contestants drive old cars into each other until there is only one car left running
- destabilizations — Plural form of destabilization.
- diethyl carbinol — a colorless, liquid isomer of amyl alcohol, (CH3CH2)2CHOH, used in drugs and as a solvent
- dimethylcarbinol — isopropyl alcohol.
- direction number — the component of a vector along a given line; any number proportional to the direction cosines of a given line.
- disequilibration — to put out of equilibrium; unbalance: A period of high inflation could disequilibrate the monetary system.
- do business with — trade or deal with
- double centering — a method of extending a survey line by taking the average of two foresights, one with the telescope direct and one with it inverted, made each time by transiting the telescope after a backsight.
- double indemnity — a clause in a life-insurance or accident-insurance policy providing for payment of twice the face value of the policy in the event of accidental death.
- double solitaire — a game of solitaire for two persons, each player usually having a pack and layout but pooling foundations with the opponent.
- double-breasting — the practice of employing nonunion workers, especially in a separate division, to supplement the work of higher-paid union workers.
- double-clutching — (of a bird) to produce a second clutch of eggs after the first has been removed, usually for hatching in an incubator.
- elburz mountains — a mountain range in N Iran, parallel to the SW and S shores of the Caspian Sea. Highest peak: Mount Demavend, 5671 m (18 606 ft)
- embarkation card — an official document that allows travellers to leave a country by boarding a ship or plane
- embourgeoisement — (chiefly UK) The taking-up of middle-class attitudes or values; bourgeoisification; the process of becoming affluent.
- emotional labour — work that requires good interpersonal skills