16-letter words containing b, n, r, p
- oversubscription — to subscribe for more of than is available, expected, or required: The charity drive was oversubscribed by several thousand dollars.
- paint-by-numbers — formulaic; showing no original thought or creativity
- pass-band filter — band-pass filter
- performance bond — contract bond.
- personal liberty — the liberty of an individual to do his or her will freely except for those restraints imposed by law to safeguard the physical, moral, political, and economic welfare of others.
- planetary nebula — an expanding shell of thin ionized gas that is ejected from and surrounds a hot, dying star of about the same mass as the sun; the gas absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the central star and reemits it as visible light by the process of fluorescence.
- plant bargaining — a form of bargaining within industry, involving either informal small groups of employees or collective agreements at plant level
- platform-balance — a scale with a platform for holding the items to be weighed.
- pourriture noble — noble rot.
- pre-subscription — a sum of money given or pledged as a contribution, payment, investment, etc.
- presence chamber — the special room in which a great personage, as a sovereign, receives guests, holds audiences, etc.
- presentation box — a specially designed and attractive box to hold a product, and make it look more impressive
- pribilof islands — a group of islands in the Bering Sea, off SW Alaska, belonging to the US: the breeding ground of the northern fur seal. Area: about 168 sq km (65 sq miles)
- prisoner of bill — (humour) (PoB) A derisory term, in use generally among Unix users, for anyone who uses Microsoft products either because they don't know there is anything better (i.e. Unix) or because they would be incapable of working anything more complex (i.e. Unix). The interesting and widespread presumption among users of the term is that (at least at the time of writing, 1998) using anything other than Unix or a Microsoft OS (whether VMS, Macintosh, Amiga) is so eccentric a choice as to be at least somewhat praiseworthy.
- pro bono publico — for the public good or welfare.
- pro-abolitionist — (especially prior to the Civil War) a person who advocated or supported the abolition of slavery in the U.S.
- proboscis monkey — a reddish, arboreal monkey, Nasalis larvatus, of Borneo, the male of which has a long, flexible nose: an endangered species.
- projection booth — a soundproof compartment in a theater where a motion-picture projector is housed and from which the picture is projected on the screen.
- prometheus bound — a tragedy (c457 b.c.) by Aeschylus.
- proslambanomenos — the lowest note of the scale in ancient Greek music
- public ownership — ownership by the state; nationalization
- public relations — (used with a plural verb) the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
- public transport — fare-paying travel
- rainbow seaperch — an embiotocid fish, Hypsurus caryi, living off the Pacific coast of North America, having red, orange, and blue stripes on the body.
- ramen profitable — If a startup business is ramen profitable, it is barely profitable, just enough to allow the founder to live on the cheapest diet.
- republican party — one of the two major political parties in the U.S.: originated 1854–56.
- republican river — a river flowing E from E Colorado through Nebraska and Kansas into the Kansas River. 422 miles (680 km) long.
- responsibilities — the state or fact of being responsible, answerable, or accountable for something within one's power, control, or management.
- robin's plantain — the rattlesnake weed, Hieracium venosum.
- saint petersburg — Also called Russian Empire. Russian Rossiya. a former empire in E Europe and N and W Asia: overthrown by the Russian Revolution 1917. Capital: St. Petersburg (1703–1917).
- self-approbation — approval; commendation.
- southern baptist — a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, founded in Augusta, Georgia, in 1845, that is strictly Calvinistic and active in religious publishing and education.
- subsistence crop — a food plant which is grown by a farmer for consumption by himself and his family, leaving little or nothing to be marketed
- superb blue wren — a small Australian bird, Malurus cyaneus, the adult male of which has bright blue plumage
- telephone number — digits dialled to reach sb by phone
- thrombocytopenia — an abnormal decrease in the number of blood platelets.
- transport number — that fraction of the total electric current that anions and cations carry in passing through an electrolytic solution.
- tridarn cupboard — a Welsh cupboard of the late 17th and 18th centuries, with an open, canopied upper section for display.
- un-reprehensible — deserving of reproof, rebuke, or censure; blameworthy.
- uncomprehensible — capable of being comprehended or understood; intelligible.
- under bare poles — (of a sailing vessel) with no sails set
- under sb's spell — If you are under someone 's spell, you are so fascinated by them that you cannot think about anything else.
- unimpressionable — easily impressed or influenced; susceptible: an impressionable youngster.
- union membership — members of a trade union
- unpredictability — not predictable; not to be foreseen or foretold: an unpredictable occurrence.
- unpublished work — a literary work that has not been reproduced for sale or publicly distributed.
- vapor combustion — Vapor combustion is a closed burn system used for treating liquid waste which contains volatile organic compounds.
- water-base paint — latex paint.
- world bank group — the collective name for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, and the International Development Association, whose headquarters are all in Washington
- writ of subpoena — a legal document commanding the attendance in court, as a witness, of the person on whom it is served, under a penalty