14-letter words containing u, r, a, c
- beaufort scale — an international scale of wind velocities ranging for practical purposes from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane force). In the US an extension of the scale, from 13 to 17 for winds over 64 knots, is used
- beauty culture — the skill or occupation of a beautician
- becquerel rays — rays given off by radioactive substances
- berberidaceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Berberidaceae, a mainly N temperate family of flowering plants (mostly shrubs), including barberry and barrenwort
- bermuda collar — a narrow, pointed collar on a woman's dress or blouse
- bermuda cutter — a marconi-rigged cutter.
- beta reduction — [lambda-calculus] The application of a lambda abstraction to an argument expression. A copy of the body of the lambda abstraction is made and occurrences of the bound variable being replaced by the argument. E.g. (\ x . x+1) 4 --> 4+1 Beta reduction is the only kind of reduction in the pure lambda-calculus. The opposite of beta reduction is beta abstraction. These are the two kinds of beta conversion. See also name capture.
- beta structure — a secondary structure occurring in many proteins, consisting of several polypeptide chains running in parallel or alternating directions and joined by intermolecular hydrogen bonds, creating a flexible, strong arrangement.
- bezier surface — (graphics) A surface defined by mathematical formulae, used in computer graphics. A surface P(u, v), where u and v vary orthogonally from 0 to 1 from one edge of the surface to the other, is defined by a set of (n+1)*(m+1) "control points" (X(i, j), Y(i, j), Z(i, j)) for i = 0 to n, j = 0 to m.
- bib and tucker — an outfit of clothes (esp in the phrase best bib and tucker)
- binary counter — (electronics, hardware) A digital circuit which has a clock input and a number of count outputs which give the number of clock cycles. The output may change either on rising or falling clock edges. The circuit may also have a reset input which sets all outputs to zero when asserted. The counter may be either a synchronous counter or a ripple counter.
- bioaeronautics — the use of aircraft in the discovery, development, and protection of natural and biological resources
- bird sanctuary — an area of land in which birds are protected and encouraged to breed
- biscuit barrel — an airtight container of circular section equipped with a lid and used for storing biscuits
- black mulberry — a small deciduous tree, Morus nigra, with small leaves, producing edible fruit
- black squirrel — a fox squirrel or gray squirrel in that color phase in which the fur is black.
- boulder canyon — a canyon of the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada, above Boulder Dam.
- boundary fence — a fence between properties
- bracket fungus — any saprotroph or parasitic fungus of the basidiomycetous family Polyporaceae, growing as a shelflike mass (bracket) from tree trunks and producing spores in vertical tubes in the bracket
- brass knuckles — linked metal rings or a metal bar with holes for the fingers, worn for rough fighting
- braunschweiger — a smoked liver sausage, named after the city of Braunschweig
- brazil current — a warm current in the Atlantic Ocean flowing SE along the E coast of Brazil.
- bread poultice — a poultice made from breadcrumbs
- breakfast club — a service that provides a breakfast for children who arrive early at school
- broad-spectrum — effective against a wide variety of diseases or microorganisms
- bronchial tube — Your bronchial tubes are the two tubes which connect your windpipe to your lungs.
- broom cupboard — a small cupboard or closet for storing brooms, mops, etc
- bubble chamber — a device that enables the tracks of ionizing particles to be photographed as a row of bubbles in a superheated liquid. Immediately before the particles enter the chamber the pressure is reduced so that the ionized particles act as centres for small vapour bubbles
- bucket brigade — a line of persons passing buckets of water along in trying to put out a fire
- burschenschaft — a students' fraternity, originally one concerned with Christian ideals, patriotism, etc
- bush carpenter — a rough-and-ready unskilled workman
- cable trunking — Cable trunking is an enclosure usually with a rectangular cross section, and with one removable or hinged side, that is used to protect cables and provide space for other electrical equipment.
- cadaverousness — of or like a corpse.
- cadmium bronze — an alloy of copper with about 1 percent cadmium.
- cadmium orange — a yellow color approaching orange.
- call of nature — Some people talk about a call of nature when referring politely to the need to go to the toilet.
- call-up papers — a letter containing order to report for service
- cambridge blue — a lightish blue colour
- camera obscura — a darkened chamber or small building in which images of outside objects are projected onto a flat surface by a convex lens in an aperture
- camillo cavour — Camillo Benso di [kah-meel-law ben-saw dee] /kɑˈmil lɔ ˈbɛn sɔ di/ (Show IPA), 1810–61, Italian statesman: leader in the unification of Italy.
- camp counselor — activities supervisor
- camphor laurel — an Australian name for the camphor tree, now occurring in the wild in parts of Australia
- campylotropous — (of an ovule) curved so that the micropyle and funiculus almost touch
- cancer cluster — the occurrence of a higher than expected number of cancer cases in a small, defined geographical area or population.
- cancer-causing — having the ability to induce the growth of a malignant tumour
- candlesnuffers — Plural form of candlesnuffer.
- canonical hour — one of the seven prayer times appointed for each day by canon law
- canons regular — one of a body of dignitaries or prebendaries attached to a cathedral or a collegiate church; a member of the chapter of a cathedral or a collegiate church.
- cantankerously — In a cantankerous manner.
- cape girardeau — a city in SE Missouri, on the Mississippi River.