17-letter words containing a, b, e, m
- blasphemous libel — In Britain, previously, the crime committed if a person insults, offends, or vilifies the deity, Christ, or the Christian religion
- blessed sacrament — the consecrated elements of the Eucharist
- blow someone away — to kill by shooting
- blue dog democrat — a fiscally conservative member of the Democratic Party
- board of estimate — a special organ of a municipal government, as of New York City, composed of the mayor, the president of the city council, and the controller, and charged with approving the city's budget and fiscal matters.
- board of managers — a group of people responsible for managing an organization
- bohemian brethren — a Protestant Christian sect formed in the 15th century from various Hussite groups, which rejected oaths and military service and advocated a pure and disciplined spiritual life. It was reorganized in 1722 as the Moravian Church
- bombardier beetle — any of various small carabid beetles of the genus Brachinus, esp B. crepitans of Europe, which defend themselves by ejecting a jet of volatile fluid
- bone marrow donor — a person who donates bone marrow
- brain haemorrhage — bleeding into the brain
- brazilian emerald — a green variety of tourmaline used as a gem: not a true emerald.
- breach of promise — (formerly) failure to carry out one's promise to marry
- british cameroons — a former British trust territory of West Africa
- british-cameroons — German Kamerun. a region in W Africa: a German protectorate 1884–1919; divided in 1919 into British and French mandates.
- brocot escapement — a type of anchor escapement.
- bronze star medal — a U.S. military decoration awarded for heroic or meritorious achievement or service in combat not involving aerial flight
- brownian movement — random movement of microscopic particles suspended in a fluid, caused by bombardment of the particles by molecules of the fluid. First observed in 1827, it provided strong evidence in support of the kinetic theory of molecules
- brzesc nad bugiem — Polish name of Brest Litovsk.
- buckingham palace — the London residence of the British sovereign: built in 1703, rebuilt by John Nash in 1821–36 and partially redesigned in the early 20th century
- bureau of customs — former name of the United States Customs Service.
- bury the tomahawk — to stop fighting; make peace
- bushman's singlet — a sleeveless heavy black woollen singlet, used as working clothing by timber fellers
- butterfly diagram — a graphical butterfly-shaped representation of the sunspot density on the solar disc in the 11-year sunspot cycle
- by the same token — You use by the same token to introduce a statement that you think is true for the same reasons that were given for a previous statement.
- calcium carbonate — a white crystalline salt occurring in limestone, chalk, marble, calcite, coral, and pearl: used in the production of lime and cement. Formula: CaCO3
- camberwell beauty — a nymphalid butterfly, Nymphalis antiopa, of temperate regions, having dark purple wings with cream-yellow borders
- camberwell carrot — a large, almost conical, marijuana cigarette
- camp-fire-members — a U.S. organization for girls and boys that emphasizes the building of character and good citizenship through work, health, and love; originally founded for girls (Camp Fire girls) in 1910, it is now open to both boys and girls (Camp Fire members)
- carbon microphone — a microphone in which a diaphragm, vibrated by sound waves, applies a varying pressure to a container packed with carbon granules, altering the resistance of the carbon. A current flowing through the carbon is thus modulated at the frequency of the sound waves
- carboxyhemoglobin — a compound formed in the blood when carbon monoxide occupies the positions on the hemoglobin molecule normally taken by oxygen, resulting in cellular oxygen starvation
- chamber orchestra — A chamber orchestra is a small orchestra which plays classical music.
- cinisello balsamo — a city in N Italy, near Milan.
- cistern barometer — a mercury barometer in which the lower mercury surface has a greater area than the upper.
- class-b amplifier — an electronic amplifier in which the output flows for half of the input signal cycle
- climbing accident — an accident occurring during climbing
- clumber (spaniel) — a short-legged spaniel with a heavy body and a thick coat of straight, white hair marked with yellow or orange
- code of hammurabi — a Babylonian legal code of the 18th century b.c. or earlier, instituted by Hammurabi and dealing with criminal and civil matters.
- coliform bacteria — a large group of bacteria inhabiting the intestinal tract of humans and animals that may cause disease and whose presence in water is an indicator of faecal pollution
- combe-capelle man — a skeleton of the early Upper Paleolithic Perigordian culture in France.
- combine harvester — A combine harvester is a large machine which is used on farms to cut, sort, and clean grain.
- companionableness — The state or quality of being companionable.
- culpable homicide — manslaughter
- customs brokerage — the work of a customs broker
- denominate number — a number associated with a unit of measurement.
- diabetes mellitus — a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism characterized by excessive thirst and excretion of abnormally large quantities of urine containing an excess of sugar, caused by a deficiency of insulin
- disposable income — the part of a person's income remaining after deducting personal income taxes.
- doberman pinscher — one of a German breed of medium-sized, short-haired dogs having a black, brown, or blue coat with rusty brown markings.
- downwardly mobile — See under vertical mobility (def 1).
- downwardly-mobile — See under vertical mobility (def 1).
- economic blockade — an embargo on trade with a country, esp one which prohibits receipt of exports from that country, with the intention of disrupting the country's economy