16-letter words containing u, l, m, i
- breeding plumage — the plumage assumed by a male bird during the courtship period, especially in those species that are more colorful at this period.
- british columbia — a province of W Canada, on the Pacific coast: largely mountainous with extensive forests, rich mineral resources, and important fisheries. Capital: Victoria. Pop: 4 400 057 (2011 est). Area: 930 532 sq km (359 279 sq miles)
- buckthorn family — the plant family Rhamnaceae, characterized by shrubs and trees having alternate, simple leaves, clusters of small flowers, and fruit in the form of a drupe or capsule, and including the buckthorn, cascara, and New Jersey tea.
- buckwheat family — the plant family Polygonaceae, characterized by herbaceous plants, vines, shrubs, and trees having stems with swollen joints, simple leaves, small, petalless flowers, and fruit in the form of an achene, and including the buckwheat, dock, knotweed, rhubarb, sea grape, and smartweed.
- budgie smugglers — men's close-fitting swimming trunks
- bunker mentality — a defensive attitude in which others are seen as hostile or potentially hostile
- burkitt lymphoma — a rare type of tumour of the white blood cells, occurring mainly in Africa and associated with infection by Epstein-Barr virus
- busman's holiday — If you have a holiday, but spend it doing something similar to your usual work, you can refer to it as a busman's holiday.
- buttercup family — the plant family Ranunculaceae, typified by mostly herbaceous plants having usually alternate leaves, multistaminate flowers sometimes lacking petals but with colorful sepals, and including the anemone, buttercup, clematis, columbine, delphinium, and monkshood.
- cadmium sulphide — an orange or yellow insoluble solid used as a pigment in paints, etc (cadmium yellow). Formula: CdS
- calcium arsenate — a toxic, white powder, Ca3(AsO4)2, used as an insecticide in the form of a spray or dust
- calcium chloride — a white deliquescent salt occurring naturally in seawater and used in the de-icing of roads and as a drying agent. Formula: CaCl2
- calcium fluoride — a white, crystalline compound, CaF 2 , insoluble in water, occurring in nature as the mineral fluorite: used as a flux in metallurgy and as a decay preventive in dentifrices.
- calcium silicate — any of the silicates of calcium: calcium metasilicate, dicalcium silicate, and tricalcium silicate.
- cardinal numbers — Also called cardinal numeral. any of the numbers that express amount, as one, two, three, etc. (distinguished from ordinal number).
- centrifugal pump — a pump having a high-speed rotating impeller whose blades throw the water outwards
- chemiluminescent — Of, pertaining to, or employing chemiluminescence.
- chemoluminescent — (chemistry) Exhibiting chemoluminescence.
- chemonucleolysis — treatment for a herniated spinal disk in which chymopapain is injected into the disk to dissolve tissue.
- cholera infantum — an often fatal form of gastroenteritis occurring in infants, not of the same cause as cholera but having somewhat similar characteristics.
- chromic fluoride — a green, crystalline, water-insoluble powder, CrF 3 ⋅4H 2 O or CrF 3 ⋅9H 2 O: used chiefly in printing and dyeing woolens.
- chromium plating — plating, often for decorative effect, made of chromium
- chronic glaucoma — Ophthalmology. abnormally high fluid pressure in the eye, most commonly caused either by blockage of the channel through which aqueous humor drains (open-angle glaucoma or chronic glaucoma) or by pressure of the iris against the lens, which traps the aqueous humor (angle-closure glaucoma or acute glaucoma)
- circular measure — the measurement of an angle in radians
- circumambulating — Present participle of circumambulate.
- circumambulation — The act of walking around something in a circle, especially for a ritual purpose.
- circumlocutional — Of or relating to circumlocution : circumlocutionary.
- circumlocutorily — In a circumlocutory manner.
- circumscriptible — Capable of being circumscribed or limited by bounds.
- circumstantially — of pertaining to, or derived from circumstances: a circumstantial result.
- clbuttic mistake — the humorous effect created by anti-obscenity filters that automatically replace offensive words in online articles with more acceptable variants
- cleanup campaign — an organized programme to clean up a place, typically organized at a local or regional level
- clootie dumpling — a boiled suet pudding containing dried fruits
- closed community — a plant community that does not allow for further colonization, all the available niches being occupied
- closing argument — In a court case, a lawyer's closing argument is their final speech, in which they give a summary of their case.
- columbia heights — a city in SE Minnesota, near Minneapolis.
- come full circle — to arrive back at one's starting point
- commensurability — The quality of being commensurable or commensurate.
- communicableness — The state or quality of being communicable.
- community leader — a leading figure in a community
- community school — a school offering some nonacademic activities related to life in a particular community and often serving as a community centre
- companion volume — a book that complements another on a related subject, usually by the same author
- complicitousness — (rare, possibly nonstandard) Complicity.
- conical pendulum — a clock pendulum oscillating in a circle rather than in a straight line.
- consequentialism — the doctrine that an action is right or wrong according as its consequences are good or bad
- contumeliousness — The state or quality of being contumelious.
- creole continuum — a range of language varieties in an area undergoing decreolization showing a continuous gradation from forms more like the underlying creole to those approaching the standard language.
- criminal assault — a punishable offence of attempting to harm another person through physical contact
- criminal justice — the system of law enforcement, involving police, lawyers, courts, and corrections, used for all stages of criminal proceedings and punishment.
- curmudgeonliness — The state or condition of being curmudgeonly.