17-letter words containing a, l, b
- 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.
- out at the elbows — the bend or joint of the human arm between upper arm and forearm.
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- postbaccalaureate — bachelor's degree.
- prior probability — the probability assigned to a parameter or to an event in advance of any empirical evidence, often subjectively or on the assumption of the principle of indifference
- probability curve — a curve that describes the distribution of probability over the values of a random variable.
- product liability — the responsibility of a manufacturer for injury or loss caused by its product.
- pseudo-biological — pertaining to biology.
- public accountant — an accountant whose services are available to the public at large, in contrast to one employed on a full-time basis by a company.
- public assistance — government aid to the poor, disabled, or aged or to dependent children, as financial assistance or food stamps.
- purple shore crab — any of numerous crabs that live along the shoreline between the tidemarks, as Hemigrapsus nudus (purple shore crab) of the Pacific coast of North America.
- quality paperback — a softbound book that is usually larger and more expensive than a mass market paperback and is sold primarily in bookstores as a trade book.
- railway timetable — a list of railway journeys arranged according to the time when they begin and end
- rainbow coalition — a political grouping together by several minority parties
- receiving blanket — a small blanket, usually of cotton, for wrapping an infant, especially following a bath.
- recoverable error — a program error that can be corrected and does not cause the program to fail or irretrievably lose data.
- red and the black — a novel (1832) by Stendhal.
- red-billed quelea — any of several African weaverbirds of the genus Quelea, especially Q. quelea (red-billed quelea) noted for its vast flocks that destroy grain crops.
- reference library — A reference library is a library that contains books which you can look at in the library itself but which you cannot borrow.
- reflection nebula — a cloud of interstellar gas and dust that reflects the light of neighboring stars.
- republic of china — People's Republic of, a country in E Asia. 3,691,502 sq. mi. (9,560,990 sq. km). Capital: Beijing.
- republic of korea — a former country in E Asia, on a peninsula SE of Manchuria and between the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea: a kingdom prior to 1910; under Japanese rule 1910–45; now divided at 38° N into North Korea and South Korea. Compare Korean War.
- republic of palau — a republic comprising a group of islands in the W Pacific, in the W Caroline Islands; administratively part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands 1947–87; entered into an agreement of free association with the US (1980); became fully independent in 1994. Chief island: Babelthuap. Capital: Ngerulmud on Babelthuap (functions moved from Koror in 2006). Pop: 21 108 (2013 est). Area: 476 sq km (184 sq miles)
- republic-of-china — People's Republic of, a country in E Asia. 3,691,502 sq. mi. (9,560,990 sq. km). Capital: Beijing.
- rhode island bent — a European pasture grass, Agrostis tenuis, naturalized in North America, having red flower clusters.
- rock of gibraltar — a British crown colony comprising a fortress and seaport located on a narrow promontory near the S tip of Spain. 1.875 sq. mi. (5 sq. km).
- roseate spoonbill — a tropical New World spoonbill, Ajaia ajaja, having rose-colored plumage and a bare head.
- rubber plantation — an estate in a tropical country where rubber trees are grown on a large scale
- russell, bertrand — Bertrand Russell
- sable island pony — a variety of wild pony found on Sable Island, Nova Scotia
- salt-rising bread — a kind of bread leavened with a fermented mixture of salted milk, cornmeal, flour, sugar, and soda.
- sandro botticelli — Sandro [san-droh,, sahn-;; Italian sahn-draw] /ˈsæn droʊ,, ˈsɑn-;; Italian ˈsɑn drɔ/ (Show IPA), (Alessandro di Mariano dei Filipepi) 1444?–1510, Italian painter.
- saved by the bell — a hollow instrument of cast metal, typically cup-shaped with a flaring mouth, suspended from the vertex and rung by the strokes of a clapper, hammer, or the like.
- say the unsayable — to express an opinion thought to be too controversial to mention