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20-letter words containing a, b, i

  • proactive inhibition — the tendency for earlier memories to interfere with the retrieval of material learned later
  • probability function — the function the values of which are probabilities of the distinct outcomes of a discrete random variable
  • prohibited substance — a substance, such as a drug, etc, that is banned or forbidden by law or other authority
  • public administrator — an official of a city, county, or state government.
  • quantum bogodynamics — /kwon'tm boh"goh-di:-nam"iks/ A theory that characterises the universe in terms of bogon sources (such as politicians, used-car salesmen, TV evangelists, and suits in general), bogon sinks (such as taxpayers and computers), and bogosity potential fields. Bogon absorption causes human beings to behave mindlessly and machines to fail (and may also cause both to emit secondary bogons); however, the precise mechanics of bogon-computron interaction are not yet understood. Quantum bogodynamics is most often invoked to explain the sharp increase in hardware and software failures in the presence of suits; the latter emit bogons, which the former absorb.
  • quasi-stellar object — quasar. Abbreviation: QSO.
  • queen elizabeth land — an area of British Antarctic Territory, situated south of Weddell Sea and between longitudes 20°W and 80°W, stretching from Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf to the South Pole. Area: 437 000 sq km (169 000 sq miles)
  • receivables turnover — A receivables turnover is a measure of cash flow that is calculated by dividing net credit sales by average accounts receivable.
  • red-winged blackbird — a North American blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, the male of which is black with scarlet patches, usually bordered with buff or yellow, on the bend of the wing.
  • reductio ad absurdum — a reduction to an absurdity; the refutation of a proposition by demonstrating the inevitably absurd conclusion to which it would logically lead.
  • regenerative braking — Regenerative braking is a form of braking in electric vehicles in which the loss of kinetic energy from braking is stored and then fed back later to provide power to the electric motor.
  • relative probability — a measure or estimate of the degree of confidence one may have in the occurrence of an event, defined as the limit of the proportion observed in a sample as the sample size tends to infinity
  • republic of maldives — a republic occupying an archipelago of 1087 coral islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Sri Lanka: came under British protection in 1887; became independent in 1965 and a republic in 1968; member of the Commonwealth (1982–2016). The economy and infrastructure were severely damaged in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. Official language: Divehi. Official religion: (Sunni) Muslim. Currency: rufiyaa. Capital: Malé. Pop: 393 988 (2013 est). Area: 298 sq km (115 sq miles)
  • rocky mountain basic — (language)   The BASIC language used by Hewlett Packard on their 680x0-based computers. Rocky Mountain Basic is good for interfaces to IEEE 488 controls and contains many mathematical and matrix functions. It has about 600 commands. Typical applications include automatic test stations.
  • royal british legion — an organization founded in 1921 to provide services and assistance for former members of the armed forces
  • sailor's breastplate — a knot consisting of three overlapping loops formed by a single rope passed alternately over and under itself at crossings.
  • saint john ambulance — an organization that provides first aid and first-aid training
  • self-belaying system — (in climbing) equipment used to pay out rope as required and thus enable a climber to self-belay
  • sell a bill of goods — a quantity or consignment of salable items, as an order, shipment, etc.
  • semiautobiographical — pertaining to or being a fictionalized account of an author's own life.
  • set the ball rolling — to open or initiate (an action, discussion, movement, etc)
  • seven against thebes — (used with a plural verb) Classical Mythology. seven heroes, Amphiaraus, Capaneus, Eteoclus, Hippomedon, Parthenopaeus, Polynices, and Tydeus, who led an expedition against Thebes to depose Eteocles in favor of his brother Polynices: the expedition failed, but the Epigoni, the sons of the Seven against Thebes, conquered the city ten years later.
  • shibah asar betammuz — Shivah Asar Betammuz.
  • shivah asar betammuz — a Jewish fast day observed on the 17th day of Tammuz in memory of the breach of the walls of Jerusalem by the Romans in a.d. 70.
  • short back and sides — If a man has a short back and sides, his hair is cut very short at the back and sides with slightly thicker, longer hair on the top of the head.
  • sir william berkeley — Busby [buhz-bee] /ˈbʌz bi/ (Show IPA), (William Berkeley Enos) 1895–1976, U.S. choreographer and musical-film director.
  • sodium metabisulfite — Sodium metabisulfite is a crystalline compound used as an antioxidant.
  • special boat service — a unit of the Royal Marines specializing in reconnaissance and sabotage
  • spectroscopic binary — a binary star having components that are not sufficiently separated to be resolved by a telescope, known to be a binary only bythe variations in wavelength of emitted light that are detected by a spectroscope.
  • spherical aberration — variation in focal length of a lens or mirror from center to edge, due to its spherical shape.
  • splice the mainbrace — to issue and partake of an extra allocation of alcoholic spirits
  • spontaneous abortion — miscarriage (def 1).
  • spontaneous-abortion — Also called voluntary abortion. the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy.
  • spotted crane's-bill — the American wild geranium, Geranium maculatum.
  • st. james-assiniboia — a city in SE Manitoba, in S central Canada: suburb of Winnipeg.
  • stare sb in the face — If a situation or the answer to a problem is staring you in the face, it is very obvious, although you may not be immediately aware of it.
  • step into the breach — If you step into the breach, you do a job or task which someone else was supposed to do or has done in the past, because they are suddenly unable to do it.
  • straight-cut tobacco — tobacco that is cut in such a way that it will lie flat.
  • subjective idea-list — a doctrine that the world has no existence independent of sensations or ideas.
  • subscription library — a commercial lending library
  • switchboard operator — a person who operates an installation in a telephone exchange, office, hotel, etc, at which the interconnection of telephone lines is manually controlled
  • take sides/sb's side — If you take sides or take someone's side in an argument or war, you support one of the sides against the other.
  • tchebycheff equation — a differential equation of the form (1 − x 2) d 2 y/dx 2 − x dy/dx + n 2 y = 0, where n is any nonnegative integer.
  • television broadcast — sth shown on tv
  • tetrahydrocannabinol — a compound, C 21 H 30 O 2 , that is the physiologically active component in cannabis preparations (marijuana, hashish, etc.) derived from the Indian hemp plant or produced synthetically. Abbreviation: THC.
  • that will be the day — I look forward to that
  • the beautiful people — rich, fashionable people in international high society
  • therapeutic abortion — abortion performed when a woman's pregnancy endangers her health.
  • to be a warning shot — to be a warning
  • to be walking on air — If you say that you are walking on air or floating on air, you mean that you feel extremely happy about something.
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