17-letter words containing a, t, b, e, k
- monkey bread tree — a bombacaceous tree, Adansonia digitata, native to Africa, that has a very thick trunk, large white flowers, and a gourdlike fruit with an edible pulp called monkey bread
- negative 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.
- on the pig's back — successful; established
- 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
- pocket battleship — a small heavily armed and armored warship serving as a battleship because of limitations imposed by treaty.
- 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.
- 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.
- quarterback sneak — a play in which the quarterback charges into the middle of the line, usually immediately after receiving the ball from the center.
- receiving blanket — a small blanket, usually of cotton, for wrapping an infant, especially following a bath.
- red and the black — a novel (1832) by Stendhal.
- shake one's booty — to dance
- smokeless tobacco — snuff1 (def 9).
- split keyboarding — the act or practice of editing data from one terminal on another terminal
- take some beating — to be difficult to improve upon
- take sth by storm — If someone or something takes a place by storm, they are extremely successful.
- take to one's bed — to remain in bed, esp because of illness
- take years off sb — If you say that something such as an experience or a way of dressing has taken years off someone, you mean that it has made them look or feel much younger.
- tax-bracket creep — bracket creep.
- telephone banking — a facility enabling customers to make use of banking services, such as oral payment instructions, account movements, raising loans, etc, over the telephone rather than by personal visit
- the bag of tricks — every device; everything
- the black country — the formerly heavily industrialized region of central England, northwest of Birmingham
- the buckeye state — a nickname for Ohio
- throw the book at — a handwritten or printed work of fiction or nonfiction, usually on sheets of paper fastened or bound together within covers.
- to be taken aback — If you are taken aback by something, you are surprised or shocked by it and you cannot respond at once.
- to beat the clock — If you beat the clock, you finish doing something or succeed in doing something before the time allowed for doing it has ended.
- to break the bank — If you say that the cost of something will not break the bank, you mean that it will not cost a large sum of money.
- triskaidekaphobia — fear or a phobia concerning the number 13.
- trouble came back — (jargon) (TCB) An IBM term for an intermittent or difficult-to-reproduce problem that has failed to respond to neglect or shotgun debugging. Compare heisenbug.
- wastepaper basket — a standing basket for wastepaper, small items of trash, etc.
- wedding breakfast — meal served at wedding reception
- what does sb know — You can use expressions such as What does she know? and What do they know? when you think that someone has no right to comment on a situation because they do not understand it.
- working substance — a substance, usually a fluid, that undergoes changes in pressure, temperature, volume, or form as part of a process for accomplishing work.