17-letter words containing a, s, p, o
- baby-doll pyjamas — frilly pyjamas with short pants and no sleeves
- bacteriorhodopsin — a purple protein containing retinal and found in the plasma membrane of certain bacteria (genus Halobacterium): it directly supplies electrochemical energy from sunlight
- basic proposition — protocol (def 6).
- bent out of shape — very angry, upset, or agitated
- beyond comparison — outstanding, without equal
- binary opposition — a relation between the members of a pair of linguistic items, as a pair of distinctive features, such that one is the absence of the other, as voicelessness and voice, or that one is at the opposite pole from the other, as stridency and mellowness.
- bjarne stroustrup — (person) The father of C++ and author of the C++ bible.
- blasphemous libel — In Britain, previously, the crime committed if a person insults, offends, or vilifies the deity, Christ, or the Christian religion
- blowpipe analysis — a type of chemical analysis in which the intensely hot flame of a blowpipe vaporizes a mineral or other substance with a characteristically colored flame and a unique odor, so as to identify chemical elements in a substance
- boileau-despreaux — Nicolas [nee-kaw-lah] /ni kɔˈlɑ/ (Show IPA), 1636–1711, French critic and poet.
- boothia peninsula — a peninsula of N Canada: the northernmost part of the mainland of North America, lying west of the Gulf of Boothia, an arm of the Arctic Ocean
- boulder raspberry — a shrub, Rubus deliciosus, of Colorado, having large white flowers and purple fruit.
- bradford spinning — a wool-spinning method in which the fibers are oiled prior to combing and subsequently spun into worsted yarn.
- breach of promise — (formerly) failure to carry out one's promise to marry
- brocot escapement — a type of anchor escapement.
- café-au-lait spot — a brown patch on the skin that can occur normally in small numbers or in neurofibromatosis, when they are more numerous
- calcium phosphate — the insoluble nonacid calcium salt of orthophosphoric acid (phosphoric(V) acid): it occurs in bones and is the main constituent of bone ash. Formula: Ca3(PO4)2
- 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
- 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
- cardio striptease — a form of keep-fit exercise in which people move their bodies in the manner of striptease artists
- cardiorespiratory — of, relating to, or affecting the heart and respiratory system.
- 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
- cartesian product — the set of all ordered pairs of members of two given sets. The product A × B is the set of all pairs <a, b> where a is a member of A and b is a member of B
- castor and pollux — the twin sons of Leda: Pollux was fathered by Zeus, Castor by the mortal Tyndareus. After Castor's death, Pollux spent half his days with his half-brother in Hades and half with the gods in Olympus
- catastrophization — The act or process of catastrophizing.
- catholic epistles — the epistles of James, I and II Peter, I John, and Jude, which were addressed to the universal Church rather than to an individual or a particular church
- causality paradox — the hypothetical cause-and-effect of time travel and making changes in the past that would affect current actions.
- checkable deposit — a checking account
- chelsea pensioner — an old ex-soldier resident in the Chelsea Royal Hospital
- chemotherapeutics — chemotherapy.
- chromolithographs — Plural form of chromolithograph.
- clipperton island — an uninhabited atoll in the E Pacific SW of Mexico, under French administration. Area: 6 sq km (2.3 sq miles)
- close corporation — a small private limited company
- close parenthesis — right parenthesis
- close punctuation — punctuation in which many commas, full stops, etc, are used
- closed-captioning — (of a television program, film, or video) distributed with synchronized transcription of speech and written descriptions of other relevant audio elements, as for the hearing-impaired, that are visible only when the option to display them is selected. Abbreviation: CC.
- colour separation — the division of a coloured original into cyan, magenta, yellow, and black so that plates may be made for print reproduction. Separation may be achieved by electronic scanning or by photographic techniques using filters to isolate each colour
- come to handgrips — to engage in hand-to-hand fighting
- companionableness — The state or quality of being companionable.
- company secretary — A company secretary is a person whose job within a company is to keep the legal affairs, accounts, and administration in order.
- compartmentalised — Simple past tense and past participle of compartmentalise.
- compartmentalizes — Third-person singular simple present indicative form of compartmentalize.
- compass deviation — deviation (def 4).
- compassionateness — The state or quality of being compassionate.
- compensated grade — a grade that has been reduced along a curve to offset the additional resistance due to the curve.
- complement clause — a subordinate clause that functions as the subject, direct object, or prepositional object of a verb, as that you like it in I'm surprised that you like it.
- complementariness — forming a complement; completing.
- complementarities — Plural form of complementarity.