16-letter words containing y, c
- asymptomatically — showing no evidence of disease.
- atomic physicist — a scientist specializing in atomic physics
- attorney-in-fact — a person authorized by power of attorney to act on the authorizer's behalf outside a court of law.
- auditory vesicle — the pouch that is formed by the invagination of an ectodermal placode and that develops into the internal ear.
- autodidactically — a person who has learned a subject without the benefit of a teacher or formal education; a self-taught person.
- auxiliary police — a part-time reserve attached to a regular police force
- baltimore canyon — a submarine valley cut into the continental shelf and slope seaward of Chesapeake Bay.
- bankruptcy court — a section of the United States federal court which specializes in the handling of bankruptcy cases
- bankruptcy order — a court order appointing a receiver to manage the property of a debtor or bankrupt
- barclay de tolly — Prince Mikhail (mixaˈil). 1761–1818, Russian field marshal: commander in chief against Napoleon in 1812
- basic vocabulary — the set of lexical items in a language that are most resistant to replacement, referring to the most common and universal elements of human experience, such as parts of the body (foot, eye), universal features of the environment (water, star), common activities (eat, sleep), and the lowest numerals.
- batesian mimicry — mimicry in which a harmless species is protected from predators by means of its resemblance to a harmful or inedible species
- bayonet practice — drill in the use of a bayonet
- bearish tendency — a tendency for share prices to fall
- beryllium copper — a copper alloy containing a small amount of beryllium and often some nickel or cobalt, having high strength, hardness, and electrical conductivity.
- bicyclic terpene — (originally) any of a class of monocyclic hydrocarbons of the formula C 10 H 16 , obtained from plants.
- bidirectionality — capable of reacting or functioning in two, usually opposite, directions.
- biliary calculus — an abnormal stonelike mass, usually of cholesterol, formed in the gallbladder or bile passages.
- binuclear family — a social unit composed of an extended family, usually the children and subsequent spouses of divorced parents.
- biocompatibility — the capability of coexistence with living tissues or organisms without causing harm: Artificial joint adhesives must have biocompatibility with bone and muscle.
- black chokeberry — See under chokeberry (def 1).
- black-eyed susan — any of several North American plants of the genus Rudbeckia, esp R. hirta, having flower heads of orange-yellow rays and brown-black centres: family Asteraceae (composites)
- black-letter day — an unlucky or tragic day.
- blocked currency — a currency that is not freely convertible because of exchange controls imposed on it
- blue huckleberry — tangleberry.
- bob's your uncle — everything is or will turn out all right
- bodily functions — physical processes such as urination and defecation
- buckley's chance — no chance at all
- 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.
- building society — In Britain, a building society is a business which will lend you money when you want to buy a house. You can also invest money in a building society, where it will earn interest. Compare savings and loan association.
- bullying tactics — the use of intimidation to gain one's objective
- buoyancy chamber — an enclosed section of a canoe, float, ship or other object that contains air, foam, or another buoyant substance in order to help maintain buoyancy
- bureaucratically — of, relating to, or characteristic of a bureaucrat or a bureaucracy; arbitrary and routine.
- bury the hatchet — to cease hostilities and become reconciled
- bush honeysuckle — any of several shrubs of the genus Diervilla, of eastern North America, having clusters of yellowish flowers.
- bush huckleberry — a huckleberry shrub, Gaylussacia dumosa, having sticky, hairy twigs, white or pink flowers, and tasteless but edible black fruit.
- 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.
- butterfly effect — the idea, used in chaos theory, that a very small difference in the initial state of a physical system can make a significant difference to the state at some later time
- butterfly orchid — an orchid (Oncidium papilio) with reddish flowers, native to South America
- butterfly scheme — A parallel version of Scheme for the BBN Butterfly computer.
- by hook or crook — by any means
- by the bucketful — If someone produces or gets something by the bucketful, they produce or get something in large quantities.
- bypass capacitor — a capacitor which provides a low-impedance path for alternating current while not passing any direct current
- byzantine church — Orthodox Church (def 1).
- cabbage root fly — a dipterous fly, Erioischia brassicae, whose larvae feed on the roots and stems of cabbages and other brassicas: family Muscidae (houseflies, etc)
- california poppy — a papaveraceous plant, Eschscholtzia californica, of the Pacific coast of North America, having yellow or orange flowers and finely divided bluish-green leaves
- calligraphically — In a calligraphic manner: using calligraphy.
- calorimetrically — In a calorimetric manner.
- can you beat it? — an expression of utter amazement or surprise