17-letter words containing a, b, e, n
- loose-leaf binder — a hard cover with metal rings inside which is used to hold loose pieces of paper
- macfarlane burnet — Sir (Frank) Macfarlane [muh k-fahr-luh n] /məkˈfɑr lən/ (Show IPA), 1899–1985, Australian physician: Nobel Prize in Physiology 1960.
- macroinvertebrate — (zoology) An invertebrate that is large enough to be seen without the use of a microscope.
- madiba generation — the generation born around 1994, when Nelson Mandela became the first president of a multiracial South Africa
- magellan barberry — an evergreen shrub, Berberis buxifolia, of southern Chile, having prickle-tipped leaves, dark-purple fruit, and orange-yellow flowers, rarely flowering in cultivation.
- make noises about — to give indications of one's intentions
- man's best friend — a dog, especially as a pet.
- management buyout — A management buyout is the buying of a company by its managers. The abbreviation MBO is also used.
- maternity benefit — government allowance
- medical librarian — a person who works in a library of medical information kept for reference in a teaching hospital
- medulla oblongata — the lowest or hindmost part of the brain, continuous with the spinal cord.
- membrane recovery — Membrane recovery is a process which uses membranes to obtain hydrogen from refinery fuel gas, hydrocrackers, and chemical processes such as methanol production.
- mental disability — a general or specific intellectual handicap, resulting directly or indirectly from injury to the brain or from abnormal neurological development
- mesembryanthemums — Plural form of mesembryanthemum.
- methemoglobinemia — (medicine) A form of toxic anemia characterized by the presence of methemoglobin in the blood.
- microdermabrasion — A cosmetic treatment in which the face is sprayed with exfoliant crystals to remove dead epidermal cells.
- microinvertebrate — An invertebrate of microscopic size.
- misunderstandable — Capable of being misunderstood.
- monarch butterfly — a large, deep-orange butterfly, Danaus plexippus, having black and white markings, the larvae of which feed on the leaves of milkweed.
- monkey bread tree — a bombacaceous tree, Adansonia digitata, native to Africa, that has a very thick trunk, large white flowers, and a gourdlike fruit with an edible pulp called monkey bread
- nashville warbler — a North American wood warbler, Vermivora ruficapilla, having a gray head, an olive-green back, and yellow underparts.
- national assembly — the body constituted by the French Third Estate in June 1789 after the calling of the Estates General. It was dissolved in Sept 1791 to be replaced by the new Legislative Assembly
- naval observatory — an astronomical observatory located in Washington, D.C., operated by the U.S. government, and responsible for the U.S. time service.
- near-earth object — a comet or asteroid pushed by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into an orbit that allows it to enter the earth's orbit and thereby pose a danger of collision. Abbreviation: NEO.
- neath port talbot — a county borough in S Wales, created from part of West Glamorgan in 1996. Administrative centre: Port Talbot. Pop: 135 300 (2003 est). Area: 439 sq km (169 sq miles)
- negative feedback — Electronics. the process of returning part of the output of a circuit, system, or device to the input, either to oppose the input (negative feedback) or to aid the input (positive feedback) acoustic feedback.
- negotiating table — If you say that people are at the negotiating table, you mean that they are having discussions in order to settle a dispute or reach an agreement.
- nervous breakdown — (not in technical use) any disabling mental disorder requiring treatment.
- neurobiologically — In terms of or by means of neurobiology.
- neurofibromatosis — a dominantly inherited genetic disorder characterized by flat brown patches on the skin, neurofibromas of the skin and internal organs, and in some cases skeletal deformity.
- never looked back — If you say that someone did something and then never looked back, you mean that they were very successful from that time on.
- non-biodegradable — capable of decaying through the action of living organisms: biodegradable paper; biodegradable detergent.
- nonalcoholic beer — Nonalcoholic beer is beer that does not contain any alcohol.
- nonsense syllable — any of numerous letter combinations without meaning, used in learning experiments.
- nonunderstandable — Not understandable.
- north miami beach — a city in SE Florida.
- northeast by east — a point on the compass 11°15′ east of northeast. Abbreviation: NEbE.
- not bat an eyelid — When something surprising or shocking happens, if someone doesn't bat an eyelid in British English, or doesn't bat an eye in American English, they remain calm and do not show any reaction.
- nuclear submarine — undersea vessel powered by atomic energy
- numbering machine — a handheld device for stamping numbers onto objects
- objectionableness — The quality of being objectionable.
- observation tower — lookout, observation point
- off one's own bat — If someone does something off their own bat, they do it without anyone else suggesting it.
- on one's deathbed — about to die
- on someone's back — criticizing or pestering someone
- on the barrelhead — upon being presented for sale; at the time of delivery
- on the pig's back — successful; established
- opisthobranchiate — (zoology) Of or pertaining to the Opisthobranchiata.
- oregon crab apple — a shrub or small tree, Malus fusca, of the rose family, of the northwestern coast of North America, having hairy leaves, white flowers, and yellow or green oblong fruit.
- palaeoethnobotany — the study of fossil seeds and grains to further archaeological knowledge, esp of the domestication of cereals