15-letter words containing u, l
- aurora borealis — the aurora seen around the North Pole
- australian alps — a mountain range in SE Australia, in E Victoria and SE New South Wales. Highest peak: Mount Kosciuszko, 2195 m (7316 ft)
- australian mist — a breed of medium-sized cat with a short spotted or marbled coat
- australian pine — casuarina
- authenticatable — to establish as genuine.
- authoritatively — having due authority; having the sanction or weight of authority: an authoritative opinion.
- autocannibalism — The eating of part of one's own body.
- autocollimation — the process used in an autocollimator.
- autocorrelation — the condition occurring when successive items in a series are correlated so that their covariance is not zero and they are not independent
- autocorrelative — Relating to autocorrelation.
- autofluorescent — Of, pertaining to, or exhibiting autofluorescence.
- autoinoculation — the inoculation of microorganisms (esp viruses) from one part of the body into another, usually in the form of a vaccine
- autolithography — a lithographic technique by which the artist draws or traces with a brush and pen directly on a stone or plate.
- automatic pilot — An automatic pilot or an autopilot is a device in an aircraft that automatically keeps it on a particular course.
- automatic rifle — a type of light machine gun capable of firing automatically or in single shots.
- automorphically — in an automorphic manner
- autotetraploidy — the generation of the tetraploid state, created by the fusing of two nuclei from the same species
- autotransplants — Plural form of autotransplant.
- autotrophically — through an autotrophic process
- auxiliary rotor — the tail rotor of a helicopter, used for directional and rotary control
- avian influenza — an acute, usually fatal viral disease of chickens and other domestic and wild birds except pigeons, characterized by sudden onset of symptoms including fever, swollen head and neck, bluish-black comb and wattle, and difficult respiration.
- balanced rudder — a rudder so designed that the center of water pressure on the forward face, when turned, lies about halfway along the length, minimizing the turning effort required.
- ball ammunition — live small-arms ammunition
- ballpark figure — approximate number
- banana republic — Small, poor countries that are politically unstable are sometimes referred to as banana republics.
- bangtail muster — a roundup of cattle to be counted, each one having the hairs on its tail docked as it is counted
- banqueting hall — a large building or room used for feasts
- barium chloride — a poisonous compound, BaCl2, consisting of flat white crystals that are soluble in water: it is used to treat water, metals, leather, etc.
- barium sulphate — a white insoluble fine dense powder, used as a pigment, as a filler for paper, rubber, etc, and in barium meals. Formula: BaSO4
- bateau neckline — a wide, high neckline that follows the curve of the collarbone and ends in points on the shoulder seams.
- bathurst island — an island off the coast of N Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic Archipelago: present south of the North Magnetic Pole nearby. 7609 sq. mi. (19,707 sq. km).
- be just as well — If you say that something that has happened is just as well, you mean that it is fortunate that it happened in the way it did.
- be lost without — If you say that you would be lost without someone or something, you mean that you would be unhappy or unable to work properly without them.
- bear animalcule — tardigrade (def 3).
- bearded vulture — lammergeier
- beat oneself up — to reproach oneself
- beetroot purple — a deep purple-red; a purple pigment derived from beets.
- beginner's luck — the initial good fortune or success commonly supposed to come to a person who has recently taken up a new pursuit, as a sport or game: Catching a large trout the first time you go fishing is simply beginner's luck.
- benevolent fund — a charitable organization
- benzyl butyrate — a liquid, C 11 H 14 O 2 , having a fruitlike odor, used as a plasticizer and in flavoring.
- benzyl fluoride — a colorless liquid, C 7 H 7 F, used in organic synthesis.
- 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.
- 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
- bioaccumulation — the process in which industrial waste, toxic chemicals, etc. gradually accumulate in living tissue
- 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
- bishop auckland — a town in N England, in central Durham: seat of the bishops of Durham since the 12th century: light industries. Pop: 24 764 (2001)
- bite the bullet — to face up to (pain, trouble, etc) with fortitude; be stoical