14-letter words containing a, n, t, i
- backside-front — backend-to.
- bactrian camel — a two-humped camel, Camelus bactrianus, used as a beast of burden in the cold deserts of central Asia
- badger baiting — an illegal sport in which dogs are encouraged to draw a badger out of its burrow and attack it
- balance weight — a weight used in machines to counterbalance a part, as of a crankshaft
- ball indicator — a flight instrument that measures the angle of roll about an aircraft's horizontal axis, thereby indicating whether or not the aircraft is skidding or slipping.
- ball lightning — a luminous electrically charged ball occasionally seen during electrical storms
- ballistic wind — a single wind vector that would have the same net effect on the trajectory of a projectile as the varying winds encountered in flight.
- ballot rigging — Ballot rigging is the act of illegally changing the result of an election by producing a false record of the number of votes.
- balto-slavonic — a hypothetical subfamily of Indo-European languages consisting of Baltic and Slavonic. It is now generally believed that similarities between them result from geographical proximity rather than any special relationship
- bamboo curtain — (esp in the 1950s and 1960s) the political and military barrier to communications around the People's Republic of China
- bamboo turning — turning of spindles and framing members to simulate the jointing of bamboo.
- bancroft prize — one of a group of annual awards for literary achievement in American history and biography: administered by Columbia University.
- bang to rights — caught red-handed
- bank annuities — British government bonds; consols
- baptismal font — a large bowl for baptismal water, usually mounted on a pedestal
- baptismal name — Christian name (def 1).
- bargain hunter — A bargain hunter is someone who is looking for goods that are value for money, usually because they are on sale at a lower price than normal.
- base community — (especially in South America) a group of people taking part in religious devotions and Bible study, who seek to apply this in their socioeconomic and political situation.
- basic industry — an industry which is highly important in a nation's economy
- basic training — Basic training is the training that someone receives when they first join the armed forces.
- basso continuo — continuo.
- bastard indigo — a bushy shrub, Amorpha fruticosa, of the legume family, native to North America, having elongated clusters of dull purplish or bluish flowers.
- bastardisation — Alternative form of bastardization.
- bastardization — the act of bastardizing
- basting thread — inexpensive, loosely twisted thread that can be easily pulled out when permanent stitching is in place
- batement light — a compartment of a window with tracery, the bottom of which is formed by the arched head of a compartment or compartments below.
- bathing beauty — an attractive girl in a swimming costume
- bathing trunks — Bathing trunks are shorts that a man wears when he goes swimming.
- batten disease — a rare hereditary disease in which lipids accumulate in the nervous system, leading to mental deterioration, loss of mobility, and blindness that start in early childhood
- batting helmet — a rigid plastic cap with a sidepiece extending down over the ear, worn for protection while batting
- battle station — the place or position that one is assigned to for battle or in an emergency.
- batwing sleeve — a sleeve of a garment with a deep armhole and a tight wrist
- be in the wars — If someone has been in the wars, they have been injured, for example in a fight or in an accident.
- be in the wash — If you say that something such as an item of clothing is in the wash, you mean that it is being washed, is waiting to be washed, or has just been washed and should therefore not be worn or used.
- bead lightning — lightning in which the intensity appears to vary along the path and which thus resembles a string of beads.
- beard-stroking — deep thought
- beaten biscuit — a hard, unleavened biscuit, made to rise by pounding and folding the dough.
- beautification — Making beautiful, beautifying, improving the appearance of something.
- belaying cleat — a cleat used for belaying
- beta geminorum — Pollux
- 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-endorphin — a potent endorphin released by the anterior pituitary gland in response to pain, trauma, exercise, or other forms of stress.
- beta-oxidation — a process by which fatty acids are degraded, involving oxidation of the beta carbons and removal of successive two-carbon fragments from the fatty acid.
- bib and tucker — an outfit of clothes (esp in the phrase best bib and tucker)
- biblical latin — the form of Latin used in versions of the Bible, esp the form used in the Vulgate
- billy no-mates — a person with no friends
- 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.
- binding rafter — a timber for supporting rafters between their extremities, as a purlin.
- binding strake — a very strong, heavy strake of planking, especially one next to a sheer strake.
- bioaeronautics — the use of aircraft in the discovery, development, and protection of natural and biological resources