17-letter words containing a, b
- non-assignability — capable of being specified: The word has no assignable meaning in our language.
- non-biodegradable — capable of decaying through the action of living organisms: biodegradable paper; biodegradable detergent.
- non-subordination — the act of placing in a lower rank or position: The refusal to allow women to be educated was part of society's subordination of women to men.
- 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 a happy bunny — deeply dissatisfied or discontented
- 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.
- office by example — (language) (OBE) A sequel to QBE, described in publications by Moshe Zloof of IBM in the early 1980s but apparently never implemented.
- old orchard beach — a resort town in S Maine.
- old south arabian — a group of four closely related Semitic languages, having a writing system and used from about the eighth to the fifth centuries b.c. in the southern part of Arabia.
- 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.
- otto von bismarck — Otto von [ot-oh von;; German aw-toh fuh n] /ˈɒt oʊ vɒn;; German ˈɔ toʊ fən/ (Show IPA), 1815–98, German statesman: first chancellor of modern German Empire 1871–90.
- out at the elbows — the bend or joint of the human arm between upper arm and forearm.
- outside broadcast — An outside broadcast is a radio or television programme that is not recorded or filmed in a studio, but in another building or in the open air.
- over my dead body — expressing complete refusal
- palaeoethnobotany — the study of fossil seeds and grains to further archaeological knowledge, esp of the domestication of cereals
- paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
- paleobiogeography — the study of the distribution of ancient plants and animals and their relation to ancient geographic features.
- passamaquoddy bay — an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, between Maine and New Brunswick, at the mouth of the St. Croix River.
- passive obedience — unquestioning obedience to authority
- pay-cable channel — a television channel that has to be paid for
- peach bark beetle — a bark beetle, Phloeotribus liminaris, that feeds on and nests in peach and other drupaceous trees.
- peacock butterfly — a European nymphalid butterfly, Inachis io, having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot
- pebbleweave cloth — an irregularly textured material made from twisted yarn
- performance bonus — a monetary bonus paid to staff who have performed well in their job
- phantom limb pain — a phenomenon characterized by the experience of pain, discomfort, or other sensation in the area of a missing limb or other body part, as a breast.
- phonetic alphabet — an alphabet containing a separate character for each distinguishable speech sound.
- pillar-and-breast — room-and-pillar.
- pitot-static tube — a device combining a Pitot tube with a static tube: used to measure airspeed.
- pittsburg landing — a village in SW Tennessee, on the Tennessee River: battle of Shiloh in 1862.
- plains of abraham — a high plain adjoining the city of Quebec, Canada: battlefield where the English under Wolfe defeated the French under Montcalm in 1759.
- plateau's problem — the problem in the calculus of variations of finding the surface with the least area bounded by a given closed curve in space.
- pocket battleship — a small heavily armed and armored warship serving as a battleship because of limitations imposed by treaty.
- political liberty — the right to express oneself freely and effectually regarding the conduct, makeup, and principles of the government under which one lives.
- polyvinyl butyral — a white, water-insoluble, polyvinyl acetal made with butyraldehyde, used chiefly as an interlayer in the manufacture of safety glass.
- portable computer — (computer) (Commonly, "laptop") A portable personal computer you can carry with one hand. Some laptops run so hot that it would be quite uncomforable to actually use them on your lap for long. The term "notebook" is often used to describe these, though it also implies a low weight (less than 2kg). A "luggable" is one you could carry in one hand but is so heavy you wouldn't want to. One that can by easily operated while held in one hand is a "palmtop". The computer considered by most historians to be the first true portable computer was the Osborne 1 but see the link below for other contenders.
- positive 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.