17-letter words containing a, n, t, e, l
- 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.
- not lift a finger — any of the terminal members of the hand, especially one other than the thumb.
- not spare oneself — to exert oneself to the full
- nothing less than — You can use nothing less than to emphasize your next words, often indicating that something seems very surprising or important.
- nuclear chemistry — the branch of chemistry concerned with nuclear reactions
- nuclear deterrent — a country's nuclear weapons viewed as a deterrent to other countries from attacking
- nuclear radiation — Physics. radiation in the form of elementary particles emitted by an atomic nucleus, as alpha rays or gamma rays, produced by decay of radioactive substances or by nuclear fission.
- nuclear scientist — a scientist who studies nuclear physics
- nuclear threshold — the point in war at which a combatant brings nuclear weapons into use
- numerical control — control of a machine tool, or other device used in a manufacturing process, by a computer, other control circuitry, or recorded digital commands.
- objectionableness — The quality of being objectionable.
- occipital condyle — a protrusion on the occipital bone of the skull that forms a joint with the first cervical vertebra, enabling the head to move relative to the neck.
- off-year election — (in the US) an election held in a year when a presidential election does not take place
- old red sandstone — a thick sequence of sedimentary rock (generally, but not always, red) deposited in Britain and NW Europe during the Devonian period
- omphalomesenteric — (anatomy) Of or pertaining to the umbilicus and mesentery.
- on someone's tail — following or shadowing someone closely
- on the barrelhead — upon being presented for sale; at the time of delivery
- on the half shell — served raw, with seasonings, on a half shell
- one size fits all — (of clothing) designed to fit people of a wide range of sizes.
- one-parent family — A one-parent family is a family that consists of one parent and his or her children living together.
- one-size-fits-all — (of clothing) designed to fit people of a wide range of sizes.
- online dictionary — a dictionary that is available on the Internet or World Wide Web and accessed through a Web browser using a computer or a mobile device, primarily by typing a query term into a search box on the site. Online dictionaries like Dictionary.com offer immediate, direct access through large databases to a word's spelling and meanings, plus a host of ancillary information, including its variant spellings, pronunciation, inflected forms, origin, and derived forms, as well as supplementary notes on matters of interest or concern about how the word is used: Some people think online dictionaries will make print dictionaries obsolete.
- onomatopoetically — the formation of a word, as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.
- operation sealion — the codename for Hitler's proposed invasion (1940) of Great Britain
- optical carrier n — (networking) (OC-n) A SONET rate of n times 51.84 megabits per second.
- organized militia — a former military organization functioning under both state and federal authority.
- osculating circle — circle of curvature.
- out of all reason — unreasonable
- outline agreement — a contract, etc, setting out the preliminary terms or guidelines for an agreement; a preliminary agreement
- overhead lighting — lighting which throws light downwards by being situated on the ceiling or having a downward shade, etc
- painted greenling — a greenling, Oxylebius pictus, inhabiting the Pacific coastal waters of North America, having a whitish body marked with black bands.
- palace revolution — a challenge to or overthrow of a sovereign or other leader by members of the ruling family or group.
- palaeoethnobotany — the study of fossil seeds and grains to further archaeological knowledge, esp of the domestication of cereals
- paleoanthropology — the study of the origins and predecessors of the present human species, using fossils and other remains.
- paleoconservative — a person advocating an older, traditional type of conservatism, especially in politics.
- palette of narmer — a king of Egypt identified by modern scholars as the Menes of tradition and depicted as the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt on an ancient slate tablet (Narmer Palette or Palette of Narmer) c3200 b.c. with relief carvings on both sides.
- pan and tilt head — a mounting device on which a camera may be rotated in a horizontal plane (pan) or in a vertical plane (tilt)
- papanicolaou test — Pap test.
- parliamentary law — the body of rules, usages, and precedents that governs proceedings of legislative and deliberative assemblies.
- particle kinetics — Particle kinetics is the study of the movement of particles and the forces that cause this movement.
- parts per million — the number of units (of a substance) present in a million units of another substance
- pascal's triangle — a triangular arrangement of the binomial coefficients of the expansion (x + y) n for positive integral values of n.
- paternalistically — the system, principle, or practice of managing or governing individuals, businesses, nations, etc., in the manner of a father dealing benevolently and often intrusively with his children: The employees objected to the paternalism of the old president.
- paymaster general — a government minister responsible for making payments by government departments
- penalty shoot-out — In football, a penalty shoot-out is a way of deciding the result of a game that has ended in a draw. Players from each team try to score a goal in turn until one player fails to score and their team loses the game.
- penitential psalm — any of the Psalms (the 6th, 32nd, 38th, 51st, 102nd, 130th, and 143rd) that give expression to feelings of penitence and that are used in various Christian liturgical services.
- pentachlorophenol — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble powder, C 6 Cl 5 OH, used chiefly in fungicides, disinfectants, and wood preservatives.
- pentylenetetrazol — a white, crystalline, bitter-tasting, water-soluble powder, C 6 H 1 0 N 4 , used as a respiratory and circulatory stimulant, especially in the treatment of barbiturate poisoning, and to induce a convulsive state in the treatment of certain mental diseases.
- perpetual spinach — a variety of spinach that keeps producing edible leaves
- personal computer — a compact computer that uses a microprocessor and is designed for individual use, as by a person in an office or at home or school, for such applications as word processing, data management, financial analysis, or computer games. Abbreviation: PC.