15-letter words containing a, n, o, u
- 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
- bioaccumulation — the process in which industrial waste, toxic chemicals, etc. gradually accumulate in living tissue
- bioastronautics — the study of the effects of space flight on living organisms
- 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)
- bituminous coal — a soft black coal, rich in volatile hydrocarbons, that burns with a smoky yellow flame. Fixed carbon content: 46–86 per cent; calorific value: 1.93 × 107 – 3.63 × 107 J/kg
- black horehound — a hairy unpleasant-smelling chiefly Mediterranean plant, Ballota nigra, having clusters of purple flowers: family Lamiaceae (labiates)
- black mountains — a mountain range running from N Monmouthshire and SE Powys (Wales) to SW Herefordshire (England). Highest peak: Waun Fach, 811 m (2660 ft)
- blasphemousness — the quality of being blasphemous
- blockade runner — a person, ship etc that tries to carry goods through a blockade
- blockade-runner — a ship or person that passes through a blockade.
- blueback salmon — sockeye salmon.
- bologna sausage — a large smoked sausage made of seasoned mixed meats
- book of account — a book to keep accounts in; ledger
- branchial pouch — one of a series of rudimentary outcroppings of the inner pharyngeal wall, corresponding to the branchial grooves on the surface.
- branchiostegous — branchiostegal.
- breaking plough — a plough with a long shallow mouldboard for turning virgin land or sod land
- bronchial tubes — the bronchi or their smaller divisions
- buffalo currant — an ornamental shrub, Ribes odoratum, of the central U.S., having showy, drooping clusters of fragrant yellow flowers and edible black fruit.
- bulimia nervosa — a disorder characterized by compulsive overeating followed by vomiting: sometimes associated with anxiety about gaining weight
- bullnose header — bull header (def 1).
- bullnose-header — Also called bullnose header. a brick having one of the edges across its width rounded for laying as a header in a sill or the like.
- bureau of mines — a division of the Department of the Interior, created in 1910, that studies the nation's mineral resources and inspects mines.
- button mangrove — a tropical tree, Conocarpus erectus, having small, reddish, conelike fruits and bark used in tanning.
- buy-back option — the option for a company to buy some or all of its shares from an investor, who acquired them by putting venture capital into the company when it was formed
- by all accounts — according to everyone
- california gull — a large gull, Larus californicus, of the western U.S.
- call to account — to insist on explanation
- calydonian hunt — the pursuit by Meleager, Atalanta, and others of a savage boar (Calydonian boar) sent by Artemis to lay waste to Calydon.
- camp counsellor — an adult supervisor assigned to a group of campers at a summer camp
- campaign button — a disk-shaped pin worn by a supporter of a political candidate, usually bearing the name of the candidate and often a slogan or the candidate's picture.
- cannot help but — to be unable to do anything else except
- capital account — A country's capital account is the part of its balance of payments that is concerned with the movement of capital.
- capitulationism — advocacy or approval of capitulation.
- capitulationist — advocacy or approval of capitulation.
- cardinal humour — any of the four bodily fluids (blood, phlegm, choler or yellow bile, melancholy or black bile) formerly thought to determine emotional and physical disposition
- cardiopulmonary — of, relating to, or affecting the heart and lungs
- carnivorousness — flesh-eating: A dog is a carnivorous animal.
- cartesian doubt — willful suspension of all interpretations of experience that are not absolutely certain: used as a method of deriving, by elimination of such uncertainties, axioms upon which to base theories.
- cast around for — If you cast around for something or cast about for it, you try to find it or think of it.
- cat-o'-mountain — catamountain
- cause of action — the facts alleged in a complaint, upon which is based the plaintiff's right to a legal remedy in a court of law
- centrifugal box — a revolving chamber, used in the spinning of manufactured filaments, in which the plastic fibers, subjected to centrifugal force, are slightly twisted and emerge in the form of yarn wound into the shape of a hollow cylinder.
- chamber counsel — a counsel who advises in private and does not plead in court
- change of venue — the removal of a trial out of one jurisdiction into another
- chanson d'amour — love song.
- chao k'uang-yin — (Tʾai Tsu) 927–976 a.d, Chinese emperor 960–976: founder of the Sung dynasty.
- charcoal burner — (formerly) a person whose work was making charcoal by burning
- charcoal-burner — a device that burns charcoal, as a stove or brazier.
- chenopodiaceous — belonging to the Chenopodiaceae, formerly the goosefoot family, now considered part of the amaranth family of plants.
- child abduction — the crime of removing a child from its rightful home