15-letter words containing u, b, i, e
- bergius process — a method of hydrogenation formerly used with coal to produce an oil similar to petroleum.
- bernoulli trial — one of a sequence of independent experiments each of which has the same probability of success, such as successive throws of a die, the outcome of which is described by a binomial distribution
- bessel function — one of several transcendental functions, usually represented as power series, that are solutions to a group of related differential equations.
- beurre noisette — a sauce of butter cooked until golden or nut brown, sometimes flavored with capers, vinegar, herbs, etc.
- beyond question — a sentence in an interrogative form, addressed to someone in order to get information in reply.
- biblia pauperum — any of the picture books illustrating Biblical events and usually containing a short text, used chiefly in the Middle Ages for purposes of religious instruction.
- bicycle touring — the activity of touring on a bicycle
- big muddy river — a river in SW Illinois, flowing SW into the Mississippi. About 120 miles (195 km) long.
- biodestructible — biodegradable
- bioluminescence — the production of light by living organisms as a result of the oxidation of a light-producing substance (luciferin) by the enzyme luciferase: occurs in many marine organisms, insects such as the firefly, etc
- bite the bullet — to face up to (pain, trouble, etc) with fortitude; be stoical
- biting housefly — a two-winged fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, having the mouthparts adapted for biting, and commonly a household and stable pest.
- black guillemot — a common guillemot, Cepphus grylle: its summer plumage is black with white wing patches and its winter plumage white with greyish wings
- bloodguiltiness — guilty of murder or bloodshed.
- bone conduction — the transmission of sound vibrations to the internal ear through the cranial bones (opposed to air conduction).
- booster cushion — an extra seat or cushion placed on an existing seat for a child to sit on in a car
- borough-english — (until 1925) a custom in certain English boroughs whereby the youngest son inherited land to the exclusion of his older brothers
- bouillotte lamp — a table lamp of the 18th century, having two or three adjustable candle brackets and a common shade sliding on a central shaft.
- boustrophedonic — of or relating to lines written in opposite directions
- brachial plexus — a network of nerves in the armpits and neck, innervating the shoulders, arms, and hands.
- branching rules — rules that are used to break down a complex problem into several smaller problems
- branchiostegous — branchiostegal.
- brazilian plume — a tropical American plant, Justicia carnea, of the acanthus family, having hairy, prominently veined leaves and a short, dense cluster of purple or pink flowers, grown in greenhouses or outdoors in warm regions.
- breaking plough — a plough with a long shallow mouldboard for turning virgin land or sod land
- breeding ground — If you refer to a situation or place as a breeding ground for something bad such as crime, you mean that this thing can easily develop in that situation or place.
- bridge-building — efforts to establish communications and friendly contacts between people in order to make them friends or allies
- bronchial tubes — the bronchi or their smaller divisions
- brush discharge — a slightly luminous electrical discharge between points of high charge density when the charge density is insufficient to cause a spark or around sharp points on a highly charged conductor because of ionization of air molecules in their vicinity
- buckinghamshire — a county in SE central England, containing the Vale of Aylesbury and parts of the Chiltern Hills: the geographic and ceremonial county includes Milton Keynes, which became an independent unitary authority in 1997. Administrative centre: Aylesbury. Pop (excluding Milton Keynes): 478 000 (2003 est). Area (excluding Milton Keynes): 1568 sq km (605 sq miles)
- buffalo soldier — (formerly, especially among American Indians) a black soldier.
- buffer solution — a solution to which a salt of a weak acid or base has been added
- bug fix release — (programming) A release which introduces no new features, but which merely aims to fix bugs in previous releases. All too commonly new bugs are introduced at the same time.
- building permit — a permit for construction work
- building trades — the trades and professions concerned with the creation and finishing of buildings, such as carpenters, plasterers, masons, electricians, etc.
- building worker — a labourer, bricklayer, etc who works in the construction industry
- bulimia nervosa — a disorder characterized by compulsive overeating followed by vomiting: sometimes associated with anxiety about gaining weight
- bulldog edition — the early edition of a morning newspaper, chiefly for out-of-town distribution
- bun in the oven — in the womb
- bureau of mines — a division of the Department of the Interior, created in 1910, that studies the nation's mineral resources and inspects mines.
- buried treasure — A surprising piece of code found in some program. While usually not wrong, it tends to vary from crufty to bletcherous, and has lain undiscovered only because it was functionally correct, however horrible it is. Used sarcastically, because what is found is anything *but* treasure. Buried treasure almost always needs to be dug up and removed. "I just found that the scheduler sorts its queue using bubble sort! Buried treasure!"
- buryat republic — a constituent republic of SE central Russia, on Lake Baikal: mountainous, with forests covering over half the total area. Capital: Ulan-Ude. Pop: 981 000 (2002). Area: 351 300 sq km (135 608 sq miles)
- business casual — a style of casual clothing worn by businesspeople at work instead of more formal attire
- business center — A business center is a room in a hotel with facilities such as computers and a fax machine, that allows guests to work while they are staying at the hotel.
- business centre — a place providing office facilities and services
- business double — a double made to increase the penalty points earned when a player believes the opponents cannot make their bid.
- business ethics — moral constraints on trading practices
- business office — the office where the financial transactions, bookkeeping, etc. for a firm or institution are carried on
- business person — Business people are people who work in business.
- business school — A business school is a school or college which teaches business subjects such as economics and management.
- butter-fingered — a person who frequently drops things; clumsy person.