17-letter words containing b, e, c, r, u
- probability curve — a curve that describes the distribution of probability over the values of a random variable.
- production number — a specialty number or routine, usually performed by the entire cast consisting of musicians, singers, dancers, stars, etc., of a musical comedy, vaudeville show, or the like.
- public enterprise — economic activity by governmental organizations
- public prosecutor — an officer charged with the conduct of criminal prosecution in the interest of the public.
- publicity officer — a person who is employed to get publicity for an organization, or to provide information about it
- purple chokeberry — See under chokeberry (def 1).
- 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.
- quarterback sneak — a play in which the quarterback charges into the middle of the line, usually immediately after receiving the ball from the center.
- recumbent bicycle — a type of bicycle that is ridden in a reclining position
- 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 yemen — Republic of, a country in S Arabia, formed in 1990 by the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. 207,000 sq. mi. (536,130 sq. km). Capital: Aden.
- republic-of-china — People's Republic of, a country in E Asia. 3,691,502 sq. mi. (9,560,990 sq. km). Capital: Beijing.
- ribonucleoprotein — a substance composed of RNA in close association with protein; a nucleoprotein containing RNA. Abbreviation: RNP.
- saxe-coburg-gotha — a member of the present British royal family, from the establishment of the house in 1901 until 1917 when the family name was changed to Windsor.
- sb could do worse — If you tell someone that they could do worse than do a particular thing, you are advising them that it would be quite a good thing to do.
- sodium bichromate — a red or orange crystalline, water-soluble solid, Na 2 Cr 2 O 7 ⋅2H 2 O, used as an oxidizing agent in the manufacture of dyes and inks, as a corrosion inhibitor, a mordant, a laboratory reagent, in the tanning of leather, and in electroplating.
- squaw huckleberry — deerberry.
- stockbroker tudor — a modern style of architecture popular in affluent suburban areas that is imitative of Tudor architecture
- subclavian artery — either of a pair of arteries, one on each side of the body, that carry the main supply of blood to the arms.
- subclavian groove — either of two grooves in the first rib, one for the main artery (subclavian artery) and the other for the main vein (subclavian vein) of the arm
- subjective spirit — spirit, insofar as it falls short of the attainments of objective spirit.
- subscription rate — the price charged for a subscription
- subtractive color — cyan, yellow, or magenta, as used in the subtractive process of color photography.
- sunday observance — the fact of keeping Sunday as a special day when people go to church
- the black country — the formerly heavily industrialized region of central England, northwest of Birmingham
- the carboniferous — the Carboniferous period or rock system
- torricellian tube — a vertical glass tube partly evacuated and partly filled with mercury, the height of which is used as a measure of atmospheric pressure
- triboluminescence — luminescence produced by friction, usually within a crystalline substance.
- 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.
- tubercle bacillus — the bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, causing tuberculosis.
- tuberculin-tested — (of milk) produced by cows that have been certified as free of tuberculosis
- turbidity current — a turbid, dense current of sediments in suspension moving along the slope and bottom of a lake or ocean.
- turbosupercharger — (formerly) a turbocharger.
- ultramicrobalance — a balance for weighing precisely, to a hundredth of a microgram or less, minute quantities of material.
- uncircumscribable — to draw a line around; encircle: to circumscribe a city on a map.
- uncomfortableness — causing discomfort or distress; painful; irritating.
- unpredictableness — not predictable; not to be foreseen or foretold: an unpredictable occurrence.
- unreconstructible — not capable of being reconstructed.
- wearable computer — a small computer that is worn or carried on the body; a wearable computing device: a wrist-worn wearable computer with a head-mounted display.
- winchester bushel — a unit of dry measure containing 4 pecks, equivalent in the U.S. (and formerly in England) to 2150.42 cubic inches or 35.24 liters (Winchester bushel) and in Great Britain to 2219.36 cubic inches or 36.38 liters (Imperial bushel) Abbreviation: bu., bush.
- working substance — a substance, usually a fluid, that undergoes changes in pressure, temperature, volume, or form as part of a process for accomplishing work.
- zero-coupon bonds — Zero-coupon bonds are bonds with no coupons that do not pay interest, and are sold at a large discount from their face value.