16-letter words starting with a
- adjustable-pitch — (of a marine or aircraft propeller) having blades whose pitch can be changed while the propeller is stationary, chiefly to suit various conditions of navigation or flight.
- adjutant general — a member of the Army Board responsible for personnel and administrative functions
- administrational — the management of any office, business, or organization; direction.
- administratively — pertaining to administration; executive: administrative ability.
- administratrices — Plural form of administratrix.
- admirable bolete — an edible mushroom, Boletus mirabilis, of Rocky Mountain and Pacific northwestern evergreen forests, having a dark-red, scaly or woolly cap with yellow pores and a stout stem.
- admitting office — an office in a hospital where administrative staff carry out the procedures necessary to admit a patient to the hospital
- advantageousness — The state or quality of being advantageous.
- adventitiousness — The degree to which a thing is adventitious.
- adventure racing — a contest in which teams compete in an expedition-length race which involves two or more sporting disciplines, often running, mountain biking, climbing, kayaking, and elements of navigation and orienteering
- adverbial phrase — a group of two or more words that function together as an adverb, as the phrase in a minute in I'll be with you in a minute.
- advice columnist — An advice columnist is a person who writes a column in a newspaper or magazine in which they reply to readers who have written to them for advice on their personal problems.
- advisory opinion — an opinion given by a court on a case that does not settle the case but sets out the court's view of how the law or the constitution would apply to that case
- advisory teacher — a teacher who visits schools to advise teachers on curriculum developments within a particular subject area
- aeolian deposits — sediments, such as loess, made up of windblown grains of sand or dust
- aerometeorograph — an aircraft instrument that records temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure
- aerotherapeutics — the treatment of disease by the use of air, esp. by exposing patients to changes in atmospheric pressure
- aesthetic labour — workers employed by a company for their appearance or accent, with the aim of promoting the company's image
- aestheticisation — Act or process of aestheticising.
- aestheticization — Alternative form of aestheticisation.
- affaire de coeur — an affair of the heart; love affair
- affectionateness — The state or quality of being affectionate.
- affirmative flag — a flag having five horizontal stripes, blue, white, red, white, and blue, from top to bottom, signifying “yes”: letter C in the International Code of Signals.
- affluent society — a society in which the material benefits of prosperity are widely available
- african american — a black American of African descent.
- african elephant — a type of elephant that is native to Africa
- african honeybee — killer bee.
- african mahogany — any of several African trees of the meliaceous genus Khaya, esp K. ivorensis, that have wood similar to that of true mahogany
- african marigold — a tropical American plant, Tagetes erecta, cultivated for its yellow or orange flower heads and strongly scented foliage: family Asteraceae (composites)
- african wild dog — a mottled dog of Africa, Lycaon pictus
- african-american — African-Americans are black people living in the United States who are descended from families that originally came from Africa.
- african-canadian — a Canadian of African descent
- against all odds — If something happens against all odds, it happens or succeeds although it seemed impossible or very unlikely.
- against the head — from the opposing side's put-in to the scrum
- age of innocence — a novel (1920) by Edith Wharton.
- agency agreement — an agreement between a business and an agent appointed to promote its interests
- aggregate demand — the total demand for goods and services in an economy at a specified price level and in a specified time period
- aggregate supply — the total supply of goods and services produced by a national economy in a specified time period, at a specified price level
- agreed procedure — an official set of guidelines of the steps that should be followed in the event of a dispute between two parties, esp in arbitration between employee and employer
- agricultural ant — harvester ant.
- agustin iturbide — Agustín de [ah-goos-teen de] /ˌɑ gusˈtin dɛ/ (Show IPA), 1783–1824, Mexican soldier and revolutionary: as Agustín I, emperor of Mexico 1822–23.
- ai international — (company) One of distributors of Prolog++, subsumed by Customer Engagement Company before December 1998.
- air conditioning — Air conditioning is a method of providing buildings and vehicles with cool dry air.
- air vice-marshal — a senior Royal Air Force officer of equivalent rank to a rear admiral in the Royal Navy
- air-raid shelter — a structure, often located underground, that is designed to protect people during an air raid
- air-raid warning — an alarm that sounds to warn people when an air raid is expected
- aircraft carrier — An aircraft carrier is a warship with a long, flat deck where aircraft can take off and land.
- airmail envelope — an envelope made of the very thin blue paper that is used to send letters by airmail
- airplane carrier — an aircraft carrier.
- akiba ben joseph — a.d. c50–c135, rabbi and scholar: systematizer of Jewish oral law on which the Mishnah is based.