17-letter words containing b, i, p, o
- hyperbolic secant — a hyperbolic function that is the reciprocal of cosh; sech
- hyperbolic spiral — rθ = a, (where a is a constant)
- i beg your pardon — You say 'Pardon?' or 'I beg your pardon?' or, in American English, 'Pardon me?' when you want someone to repeat what they have just said because you have not heard or understood it.
- impossible figure — a picture of an object that at first sight looks three-dimensional but cannot be a two-dimensional projection of a real three-dimensional object, for example a picture of a staircase that re-enters itself while appearing to ascend continuously
- impressionability — easily impressed or influenced; susceptible: an impressionable youngster.
- incompatibilities — not compatible; unable to exist together in harmony: She asked for a divorce because they were utterly incompatible.
- incompressibility — The quality of being incompressible, of not compressing under pressure.
- incubation period — the period between infection and the appearance of signs of a disease.
- insupportableness — The state of being insupportable; insufferableness.
- invisible exports — services sold to a foreign country or countries
- invisible imports — imports of services rather than goods
- irreproducibility — The quality of not being reproducible.
- job specification — a detailed description of the qualifications, skills, and experience required for a particular post of employment
- lambda expression — (mathematics) A term in the lambda-calculus denoting an unnamed function (a "lambda abstraction"), a variable or a constant. The pure lambda-calculus has only functions and no constants.
- liberty of speech — freedom of speech.
- metabolic pathway — biochemistry: sequence of reactions within a cell or organism
- mind-body problem — the problem of explaining the relation of the mind to the body.
- office by example — (language) (OBE) A sequel to QBE, described in publications by Moshe Zloof of IBM in the early 1980s but apparently never implemented.
- old contemptibles — the British expeditionary force to France in 1914
- on the pig's back — successful; established
- opisthobranchiate — (zoology) Of or pertaining to the Opisthobranchiata.
- paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
- paleobiogeography — the study of the distribution of ancient plants and animals and their relation to ancient geographic features.
- passive obedience — unquestioning obedience to authority
- percussion bullet — a bullet that is exploded by percussion
- petit bourgeoisie — The petit bourgeoisie are people in the lower middle class.
- petite bourgeoise — a woman who belongs to the petite bourgeoisie.
- petty bourgeoisie — the section of the middle class with the lowest social status, generally composed of shopkeepers, lower clerical staff, etc
- phantom limb pain — a phenomenon characterized by the experience of pain, discomfort, or other sensation in the area of a missing limb or other body part, as a breast.
- phonetic alphabet — an alphabet containing a separate character for each distinguishable speech sound.
- piece of business — business (def 10).
- pitot-static tube — a device combining a Pitot tube with a static tube: used to measure airspeed.
- plains of abraham — a high plain adjoining the city of Quebec, Canada: battlefield where the English under Wolfe defeated the French under Montcalm in 1759.
- pocket battleship — a small heavily armed and armored warship serving as a battleship because of limitations imposed by treaty.
- political liberty — the right to express oneself freely and effectually regarding the conduct, makeup, and principles of the government under which one lives.
- polyvinyl butyral — a white, water-insoluble, polyvinyl acetal made with butyraldehyde, used chiefly as an interlayer in the manufacture of safety glass.
- 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.
- potassium bromate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, KBrO 3 , used chiefly as an oxidizing agent and as an analytical reagent.
- potassium bromide — a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, KBr, having a bitter saline taste: used chiefly in the manufacture of photographic papers and plates, in engraving, and in medicine as a sedative.
- precision bombing — aerial bombing in which bombs are dropped, as accurately as possible, on a specific, usually small, target.
- prior probability — the probability assigned to a parameter or to an event in advance of any empirical evidence, often subjectively or on the assumption of the principle of indifference
- probability curve — a curve that describes the distribution of probability over the values of a random variable.
- probation officer — an officer who investigates and reports on the conduct of offenders who are free on probation.
- product liability — the responsibility of a manufacturer for injury or loss caused by its product.
- 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.
- proficiency badge — an insignia or device granted by the Girl Scouts and worn especially on a uniform to indicate special achievement.
- prohibition party — a U.S. political party organized in 1869, advocating the prohibition of the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.
- proprietary brand — a brand of product that is privately owned and controlled
- pseudo-biological — pertaining to biology.
- public accountant — an accountant whose services are available to the public at large, in contrast to one employed on a full-time basis by a company.