18-letter words containing u, a
- automatic tracking — a radar tracking system in which an automatic device uses the echo signal from the tracked object to keep the radar constantly beamed on target and to compute the range of the object.
- autonomous phoneme — a phoneme that is defined or determined by its contrast in sound with other phonemes, without reference to its role in morphology or any other level of linguistic analysis beyond the phonetic level.
- auxiliary equation — characteristic equation (def 1b).
- auxiliary language — a language, as Esperanto, Swahili, or English, used for intercommunication by speakers of various other languages.
- auxiliary-equation — Mathematics. the characteristic polynomial of a given matrix, equated to zero. Also called auxiliary equation. an equation with one variable and equated to zero, which is derived from a given linear differential equation and in which the coefficient and power of the variable in each term correspond to the coefficient and order of a derivative in the original equation.
- available quantity — The available quantity of a product is the amount of that product available, or currently available in the store.
- aviation authority — a body that is responsible for overseeing the aviation industry
- aviation insurance — Aviation insurance is insurance cover for aircraft, and for damage, injury, or loss of life or cargo while traveling on aircraft.
- avoirdupois weight — a British and American system of weights based on a pound of 16 ounces
- axis of revolution — an axis in a plane, about which an area is revolved to form a solid of revolution.
- bachelor's-buttons — any of various plants of the daisy family with button-like flower heads
- back to square one — If you are back to square one, you have to start dealing with something from the beginning again because the way you were dealing with it has failed.
- background reading — reading of related works in order to get contextual information on a topic that you are intending to study or write about
- backus normal form — Backus-Naur Form
- balance an account — If you balance an account, you adjust entries in the account in order to make the credit and debit totals equal.
- balanced computing — (jargon) Matching computer tools to job activities so that the computer system structure parallels the organisation structure and work functions. Both personal computers and employees operate in a decentralised environment with monitoring of achievement of management objectives from centralised corporate systems.
- ballistic pendulum — a device consisting of a large mass hung from a horizontal bar by two rods, used to measure the velocity of an object, as a bullet, by retaining the object upon impact, its velocity being a function of the displacement of the mass.
- barbershop quartet — a group of four singers who perform a style of music sung in four-part harmony
- bargaining counter — A bargaining counter is the same as a bargaining chip.
- barium thiosulfate — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble, poisonous solid, BaS 2 O 3 ⋅H 2 O, used chiefly in the manufacture of explosives, matches, paints, and varnishes.
- battle of omdurman — a battle (1898) in which the Mahdi's successor and his Ansar followers were defeated by Lord Kitchener's British forces
- battleground-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.
- beaujolais nouveau — the first Beaujolais wine of the season, usually available for sale within two months after the grapes are harvested.
- beautiful hook-tip — a similar but unrelated species, Laspeyria flexula
- beauty competition — a competition in which the participants, usually women, are judged on their attractiveness, with a prize, and often a title, awarded to the winner
- beefsteak mushroom — an edible bracket fungus, Fistulina hepatica, that grows on trees and can rot the heartwood of living oaks and chestnuts.
- behaviour patterns — the characteristic ways in which a person or animal acts
- bellingshausen sea — an area of the S Pacific Ocean off the coast of Antarctica
- bernoulli equation — Hydrodynamics. Bernoulli's theorem (def 2).
- best-ball foursome — a match, scored by holes, between two pairs of players, in which the score of the lower scoring member of each pair is taken as their score for the hole.
- between you and me — in the space separating (two points, objects, etc.): between New York and Chicago.
- bhumibol adulyadej — (Phumiphon Aduldet; Bhumibol Adulyadej) born 1927, king of Thailand since 1946.
- bill of quantities — a document drawn up by a quantity surveyor providing details of the prices, dimensions, etc, of the materials required to build a large structure, such as a factory
- bioinstrumentation — the use of instruments, as sensors, to detect and measure certain body functions, as of persons in spaceflight, and transmit the data to a point where it is evaluated
- blackback flounder — any of various popular food flatfishes, as Parophrys vetulus of the Pacific (English sole) and Pseudopleuronectes americanus of the Atlantic (winter flounder or blackback flounder)
- blanquette de veau — a ragout or stew of veal in a white sauce
- blissful ignorance — unawareness or inexperience of something unpleasant
- blue-collar worker — a manual industrial worker
- blue-plate special — an inexpensive restaurant meal served at a fixed price on a large plate, originally blue
- board of education — a group or agency with responsibility for education
- bomb disposal unit — a unit of the police or armed services specializing in bomb disposal
- boole's inequality — the theorem that the probability of several events occurring is less than or equal to the sum of the probabilities of each event occurring.
- boundary condition — a stated restriction, usually in the form of an equation, that limits the possible solutions to a differential equation.
- bounty-fed farmers — farmers who benefit from subsidies
- bourdon-tube gauge — an instrument for measuring the pressure of gases or liquids, consisting of a semicircular or coiled, flexible metal tube attached to a gauge that records the degree to which the tube is straightened by the pressure of the gas or liquid inside.
- branch instruction — a machine-language or assembly-language instruction that causes the computer to branch to another instruction
- brand-name product — A brand-name product is one which is made by a well-known manufacturer and has the manufacturer's label on it.
- breach of security — an act that violates a country, area, or building's security measures
- bread and circuses — something offered as a means of distracting attention from a problem or grievance
- break your silence — If someone breaks their silence about something, they talk about something that they have not talked about before or for a long time.