17-letter words containing e, p, i, b, l
- incompressibility — The quality of being incompressible, of not compressing under pressure.
- indecipherability — Quality of being indecipherable.
- indispensableness — The characteristic of being indispensable; indispensability.
- insupportableness — The state of being insupportable; insufferableness.
- intestinal bypass — the surgical circumvention, by anastomosis, of a diseased portion of the intestine; also sometimes used to reduce nutrient absorption in morbidly obese patients.
- 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.
- karelian republic — a constituent republic of NW Russia between the White Sea and Lakes Onega and Ladoga. Capital: Petrozavodsk. Pop: 716 700 (2002). Area: 172 400 sq km (66 560 sq miles)
- 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.
- ligurian republic — the republic in NW Italy set up by Napoleon in 1797, incorporated into France in 1805, and united with the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1814.
- malagasy republic — former name of Madagascar.
- 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
- 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.
- percussion bullet — a bullet that is exploded by percussion
- phonetic alphabet — an alphabet containing a separate character for each distinguishable speech sound.
- pied-billed grebe — an American grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, having a whitish bill with a black band around it.
- pillar-and-breast — room-and-pillar.
- plumbing fixtures — things such as pipes, sinks, toilets that are fixed in position in a building
- 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.
- probability curve — a curve that describes the distribution of probability over the values of a random variable.
- pseudo-biological — pertaining to biology.
- public assistance — government aid to the poor, disabled, or aged or to dependent children, as financial assistance or food stamps.
- public enterprise — economic activity by governmental organizations
- public prosecutor — an officer charged with the conduct of criminal prosecution in the interest of the public.
- public television — a type of noncommercial, usually educational, television programming funded by the government, grants, viewers, and corporations. Compare educational television.
- publicity officer — a person who is employed to get publicity for an organization, or to provide information about it
- publicity-seeking — eager to attract publicity
- 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.
- 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.
- roseate spoonbill — a tropical New World spoonbill, Ajaia ajaja, having rose-colored plumage and a bare head.
- rubber plantation — an estate in a tropical country where rubber trees are grown on a large scale
- sable island pony — a variety of wild pony found on Sable Island, Nova Scotia
- self-incompatible — not capable of self-pollination.
- semi-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
- semi-permeability — permeable only to certain small molecules: a semipermeable membrane.
- sleeping problems — difficulties in getting to sleep or in staying asleep
- special constable — a person recruited for temporary or occasional police duties, esp in time of emergency
- spiral bevel gear — a bevel gear having curved teeth tending to converge on the axis of rotation.