17-letter words containing a, n, s, e, r
- back on the rails — If something is back on the rails, it is beginning to be successful again after a period when it almost failed.
- bacon's rebellion — an unsuccessful uprising by frontiersmen in Virginia in 1676, led by Nathaniel Bacon against the colonial government in Jamestown.
- bacteriorhodopsin — a purple protein containing retinal and found in the plasma membrane of certain bacteria (genus Halobacterium): it directly supplies electrochemical energy from sunlight
- baggage screening — the procedure whereby baggage is electronically screened at an airport before it is allowed on the plane
- bankruptcy estate — all of the interests that a debtor has at the start of a bankruptcy case
- barkhausen effect — the phenomenon of short, sudden changes in the magnetism of a ferromagnetic substance occurring when the intensity of the magnetizing field is continuously altered.
- barrel distortion — distortion of an image produced by an optical system that causes straight lines at image margins to bulge outwards
- barren strawberry — a Eurasian plant, Potentilla sterilis, related to the strawberry that does not produce edible fruit
- barrow-in-furness — an industrial town in NW England, in S Cumbria. Pop: 47 194 (2001)
- base lending rate — a minimum interest rate on which financial institutions base the rates they use for lending
- baseboard heating — a heating system by pipes, through which steam or hot water circulates, near the base of the walls of rooms
- basement membrane — a thin, extracellular membrane underlying epithelial tissue.
- be running scared — If you say that a person or group is running scared, you mean that they are frightened of what someone might do to them or what might happen.
- beat one's brains — to try hard to remember, understand, or solve something
- beat one's breast — to display guilt and remorse publicly or ostentatiously
- bed and breakfast — Bed and breakfast is a system of accommodation in a hotel or guest house, in which you pay for a room for the night and for breakfast the following morning. The abbreviation B&B is also used.
- bed-and-breakfast — an accommodation offered by an inn, hotel, or especially a private home, consisting of a room for the night and breakfast the next morning for one inclusive price.
- beer and skittles — enjoyment or pleasure
- bell-hanger's bit — a bit for drilling small holes through studs or the like.
- beyond comparison — outstanding, without equal
- bjarne stroustrup — (person) The father of C++ and author of the C++ bible.
- black renaissance — a renewal and flourishing of black literary and musical culture during the years after World War I in the Harlem section of New York City.
- blank endorsement — an endorsement on a bill of exchange, cheque, etc, naming no payee and thus making the endorsed sum payable to the bearer
- blessed sacrament — the consecrated elements of the Eucharist
- bluegrass country — region in central Ky. where there is much bluegrass
- board of managers — a group of people responsible for managing an organization
- board-and-shingle — a small dwelling with wooden walls and a shingle roof
- branch delay slot — delayed control-transfer
- break one's heart — to grieve or cause to grieve very deeply, esp through love
- breakdown service — a service that provides assistance to motorists who break down
- 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.
- broderie anglaise — open embroidery on white cotton, fine linen, etc
- bronze star medal — a U.S. military decoration awarded for heroic or meritorious achievement or service in combat not involving aerial flight
- brzesc nad bugiem — Polish name of Brest Litovsk.
- buncher resonator — See under Klystron.
- buyers' inflation — inflation in which rising demand results in a rise in prices.
- caesarean section — A Caesarean or a Caesarean section is an operation in which a baby is lifted out of a woman's womb through an opening cut in her abdomen.
- call-and-response — a form of interaction between a speaker and one or more listeners, in which every utterance of the speaker elicits a verbal or non-verbal response from the listener or listeners
- calorie-conscious — aware of the calorie content of one's diet
- campus university — a university in which the buildings, often including shops and cafés, are all on one site
- cancer specialist — a medical professional who specializes in the treatment or study of malignant growths or tumours
- canine parvovirus — a highly contagious viral disease of dogs characterized by vomiting, haemorrhagic diarrhoea, depression, and, in severe cases, death
- cape barren goose — a greyish Australian goose, Cereopsis novaehollandiae, having a black bill with a greenish cere
- carbon disulphide — a colourless slightly soluble volatile flammable poisonous liquid commonly having a disagreeable odour due to the presence of impurities: used as an organic solvent and in the manufacture of rayon and carbon tetrachloride. Formula: CS2
- carbon offsetting — a program in which a company, country, etc., reduces or offsets its carbon emissions through the funding of activities and projects that improve the environment: Carbon offsetting does not always have a quantifiable impact on the planet.
- cardinal grosbeak — any of various mostly tropical American buntings, such as the cardinal and pyrrhuloxia, the males of which have brightly coloured plumage
- cardiogenic shock — a type of shock caused by decreased cardiac output despite adequate blood volume, owing to a disease of the heart itself, as myocardial infarction, or any other factor that interferes with the filling or emptying of the heart.
- carolina allspice — any of a genus (Calycanthus) of hardy shrubs (family Calycanthaceae) of a dicotyledonous order (Laurales) of plants, bearing reddish-brown, sweet-smelling flowers