17-letter words containing i, b, a
- self-belay device — (in climbing) a device used to pay out a safety rope as required
- 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.
- shopping bag lady — bag lady (def 1).
- shopping-bag lady — bag lady (def 1).
- sinbad the sailor — a merchant in The Arabian Nights who makes seven adventurous voyages
- six-speed gearbox — a gearbox containing a system of six gears
- 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.
- sodium pyroborate — borax1 .
- sorolla y bastida — Joaquín [hwah-keen] /ʰwɑˈkin/ (Show IPA), 1863–1923, Spanish painter.
- 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.
- spiritual bouquet — the spiritual presentation of a good work to another person.
- split keyboarding — the act or practice of editing data from one terminal on another terminal
- spoonbill catfish — flathead catfish.
- squash vine borer — the larva of a clearwing moth, Melittia satyriniformis, that bores into the stems of squash and related plants.
- state the obvious — point out sth already evident
- statue of liberty — a large copper statue, on Liberty Island, in New York harbor, depicting a woman holding a burning torch: designed by F. A. Bartholdi and presented to the U.S. by France; unveiled 1886.
- steamboat springs — a town in NW Colorado: ski resort.
- stymphalian birds — a flock of predacious birds of Arcadia that were driven away and killed by Hercules as one of his labors.
- 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
- subordinated debt — a debt that an unsecured creditor can only claim, in the event of a liquidation, after the claims of secured creditors have been paid
- subscription rate — the price charged for a subscription
- subsidiary ledger — (in accounting) a ledger containing a group of detailed and related accounts the total of which is summarized in the control account.
- substantive right — a right, as life, liberty, or property, recognized for its own sake and as part of the natural legal order of society.
- subtractive color — cyan, yellow, or magenta, as used in the subtractive process of color photography.
- supervisory board — a board of management of which nonmanagerial workers are members, having supervisory powers over some aspects of management decision-making
- surrender to bail — to present oneself at court at the appointed time after having been on bail
- symbolic assembly — (language) An early system on the IBM 705.
- symbolic language — a specialized language dependent upon the use of symbols for communication and created for the purpose of achieving greater exactitude, as in symbolic logic or mathematics.
- synovial membrane — anatomy: connective tissue
- tabernacle mirror — a mirror of c1800, having columns and a cornice, usually gilt, with a painted panel over the mirror.
- taiping rebellion — a movement of religious mysticism and agrarian unrest in China between 1850 and 1864 which weakened the Manchu dynasty but was eventually suppressed with foreign aid
- take some beating — to be difficult to improve upon
- 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
- temporomandibular — of, relating to, or situated near the hinge joint formed by the lower jaw and the temporal bone of the skull.
- terrestrial globe — the planet Earth (usually preceded by the).
- the bag of tricks — every device; everything
- the beehive state — Utah
- the carboniferous — the Carboniferous period or rock system
- the establishment — a group or class of people having institutional authority within a society, esp those who control the civil service, the government, the armed forces, and the Church: usually identified with a conservative outlook
- the tabloid press — (considered as a whole) newspapers with pages about 30 cm (12 inches) by 40 cm (16 inches), usually characterized by an emphasis on photographs and a concise and often sensational style
- the-invisible-man — a novel (1897) by H.G. Wells.
- tibetan highlands — Tibet, Plateau of.
- to be eaten alive — If you say that someone will be eaten alive, you mean that they will be completely destroyed or defeated by someone who is much stronger.
- to eat humble pie — If you eat humble pie, you speak or behave in a way which tells people that you admit you were wrong about something.
- to play it by ear — If you play it by ear, you decide what to say or do in a situation by responding to events rather than by following a plan which you have decided on in advance.
- to read sb's mind — If you can read someone's mind, you know what they are thinking without them saying anything.