16-letter words starting with a
- alaska peninsula — an extension of the mainland of SW Alaska between the Pacific and the Bering Sea, ending in the Aleutian Islands. Length: about 644 km (400 miles)
- alaskan malamute — any of a breed of large, strong dog with a thick coat of gray or black-and-white and a bushy tail: it was developed as a sled dog by the Alaskan Eskimo
- alder flycatcher — a North American flycatcher, Empidonax alnorum, of alder thickets and other moist areas, that has greenish-brown upper parts and whitish underparts and is almost indistinguishable except by voice from E. traillii (willow flycatcher)
- aleutian current — a current in the Pacific Ocean that flows eastward between latitudes 40° and 50° N.
- aleutian islands — a chain of over 150 volcanic islands, extending southwestwards from the Alaska Peninsula between the N Pacific and the Bering Sea
- alexander baring — Alexander, 1st Baron Ashburton, 1774–1848, British statesman.
- alexander dubcek — Alexander, 1921–92, Czechoslovakian political leader: first secretary of the Communist Party 1968–69.
- alexander island — island of Antarctica, just west of the base of the Antarctic Peninsula, in the British Antarctic Territory: c. 16,700 sq mi (43,253 sq km)
- alexander nevski — Saint. ?1220–63, Russian prince and military leader, who defeated the Swedes at the River Neva (1240) and the Teutonic knights at Lake Peipus (1242)
- alexander nevsky — 1220?-63; Russ. military hero, statesman, & saint
- alexandria senna — See under senna (def 2).
- alfred the great — 849–99, king of Wessex (871–99) and overlord of England, who defeated the Danes and encouraged learning and writing in English
- algebraic number — any number that is a root of a polynomial equation having rational coefficients such as √2 but not π
- algol 60 revised — (language) (Or "Revised ALGOL 60") A revision of Algol 60 which still lacked standard I/O.
- algol 68 revised — (language) A significant simplification of ALGOL 68.
- alimentary canal — The alimentary canal in a person or animal is the passage in their body through which food passes from their mouth to their anus.
- alizarin crimson — a pigment used in painting, derived from anthraquinone and characterized by its red color and transparency.
- alkylating agent — any cytotoxic drug containing alkyl groups, such as chlorambucil, that acts by damaging DNA; widely used in chemotherapy
- all for the best — turning out to be good or fortunate after all
- all in good time — in due course
- all over the map — changeable
- all sb ever does — You use the expression all someone ever does when you want to emphasize that they do the same thing all the time, and this annoys you.
- all too/only too — You use all too or only too to emphasize that something happens to a greater extent or degree than is pleasant or desirable.
- all-encompassing — all-embracing.
- all-terrain bike — mountain bike. Abbreviation: ATB.
- allegheny spurge — a low, shrubby evergreen plant, Pachysandra procumbens, having spikes of white or purplish flowers, native to the southeastern U.S. and widely cultivated as a ground cover.
- allele frequency — the frequency of occurrence or proportions of different alleles of a particular gene in a given population.
- alligator lizard — any of several lizards of the genera Algaria and Gerrhonotus, of western North America, having shinglelike scales and a fold along each side that permits expansion.
- alligator pepper — a tropical African zingiberaceous plant, Amomum melegueta, having red or orange spicy seed capsules
- alligator wrench — a wrench having a V -shaped pair of serrated jaws set at right angles to the shank for turning cylindrical or irregularly shaped parts.
- alliterativeness — The state or quality of being alliterative.
- alloyed junction — a semiconductor junction used in some junction transistors and formed by alloying metal contacts, functioning as emitter and collector regions, to a wafer of semiconductor that acts as the base region
- alpha conversion — (theory) In lambda-calculus and reduction, the renaming of a formal parameter in a lambda abstraction. This does not change the meaning of the abstraction. For example: \ x . x+1 <--> \ y . y+1 If the actual argument to a lambda abstraction contains instances of the abstraction's formal parameter then it is necessary to rename the parameter before applying the abstraction to avoid name capture.
- alpha-adrenergic — of or having to do with an alpha receptor
- alpha-beta brass — a type of brass that contains 35–45 per cent zinc
- alpha-interferon — interferon (def 2).
- alpha-tocopherol — Alpha-tocopherol is a form of vitamin E.
- alphanumerically — In an alphanumeric manner; using alphanumeric characters.
- alpine bearberry — a related species, A. alpina of European mountains, having black berries
- alternate angles — two angles at opposite ends and on opposite sides of a transversal cutting two lines
- alternative fact — a theory posited as an alternative to another, often more widely accepted, theory
- alternative fuel — An alternative fuel is any automotive fuel other than gasoline and diesel fuel.
- alternative rock — a broad category of popular rock music typically regarded as somewhat out of the mainstream and variously including elements of punk rock, heavy metal, folk music, etc.
- alternative vote — of or relating to a system of voting in which voters list the candidates in order of preference. If no candidate obtains more than 50% of first-preference votes, the votes for the bottom candidate are redistributed according to the voters' next preference
- altitude chamber — a chamber for simulating the conditions of air pressure and temperature for a given altitude in order to test the behavior of people and equipment in such an environment.
- aluminium bronze — any of a range of copper alloys that contain between 5 and 10 per cent aluminium
- aluminosilicates — Plural form of aluminosilicate.
- aluminum acetate — a compound that in the form of its normal salt, Al(C 2 H 3 O 2) 3 , obtained as a white, water-soluble, amorphous powder, is used chiefly in medicine as an astringent and as an antiseptic, and in the form of its basic salt, Al(C 2 H 3 O 2) 2 OH, obtained as a white, crystalline, water-insoluble powder, is used chiefly in the textile industry as a waterproofing agent, as a fireproofing agent, and as a mordant.
- aluminum carbide — a yellow, crystalline solid, Al 4 C 3 , that reacts with water to form methane.
- aluminum nitrate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, Al(NO 3) 3 ⋅9H 2 O, used chiefly as a mordant in dyeing cotton.