20-letter words containing l, o, b, u
- potassium binoxalate — a white, crystalline, hygroscopic, poisonous solid, KHC 2 O 4 , that is usually hydrated: used chiefly for removing ink stains, cleaning metal and wood, and in photography.
- probability function — the function the values of which are probabilities of the distinct outcomes of a discrete random variable
- public administrator — an official of a city, county, or state government.
- public record office — an institution in which official records are stored and kept available for inspection by the public
- quasi-stellar object — quasar. Abbreviation: QSO.
- receivables turnover — A receivables turnover is a measure of cash flow that is calculated by dividing net credit sales by average accounts receivable.
- republic of maldives — a republic occupying an archipelago of 1087 coral islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Sri Lanka: came under British protection in 1887; became independent in 1965 and a republic in 1968; member of the Commonwealth (1982–2016). The economy and infrastructure were severely damaged in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. Official language: Divehi. Official religion: (Sunni) Muslim. Currency: rufiyaa. Capital: Malé. Pop: 393 988 (2013 est). Area: 298 sq km (115 sq miles)
- ring of the nibelung — Richard Wagner's tetralogy of music dramas: Das Rheingold (completed 1869), Die Walküre (completed 1870), Siegfried (completed 1876), and Götterdämmerung (completed 1876): the cycle was first performed at Bayreuth, 1876.
- roller-blind shutter — curtain shutter.
- rough-legged buzzard — a buzzard, Buteo lagopus, of Europe, Asia, and North America, having feathers covering its legs
- ruby-crowned kinglet — an olive-gray, American kinglet, Regulus calendula, the male of which has an erectile, ruby crest.
- saint john ambulance — an organization that provides first aid and first-aid training
- scream bloody murder — Law. the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered in law. In the U.S., special statutory definitions include murder committed with malice aforethought, characterized by deliberation or premeditation or occurring during the commission of another serious crime, as robbery or arson (first-degree murder) and murder by intent but without deliberation or premeditation (second-degree murder)
- semiautobiographical — pertaining to or being a fictionalized account of an author's own life.
- skull and crossbones — a representation of a front view of a human skull above two crossed bones, originally used on pirates' flags and now used as a warning sign, as in designating substances as poisons.
- sodium metabisulfite — Sodium metabisulfite is a crystalline compound used as an antioxidant.
- subscription library — a commercial lending library
- telephone subscriber — a person who subscribes to a telephone service
- the beautiful people — rich, fashionable people in international high society
- to burst into flames — If something bursts into flames or bursts into flame, it suddenly starts burning strongly.
- to keep your balance — If you keep your balance, for example, when standing in a moving vehicle, you remain steady and do not fall over. If you lose your balance, you become unsteady and fall over.
- to tighten your belt — If you have to tighten your belt, you have to spend less money and manage without things because you have less money than you used to have.
- tropical disturbance — a very weak, or incipient, tropical cyclone.
- twiddle one's thumbs — to turn about or play with lightly or idly, especially with the fingers; twirl.
- under/below strength — If an army or team is under strength or below strength, it does not have all the members that it needs or usually has.
- unemployment benefit — an allowance of money paid, usually weekly, to an unemployed worker by a state or federal agency or by the worker's labor union or former employer during all or part of the period of unemployment.
- wardrobe malfunction — an embarrassing situation caused by the clothes a person is wearing
- wet-bulb thermometer — a thermometer having a bulb that is kept moistened when humidity determinations are being made with a psychrometer.
- white bush (scallop) — a variety of summer squash having a saucer-shaped white fruit, scalloped around the edges
- wilson cloud chamber — cloud chamber.
- would you believe it — If you say would you believe it, you are emphasizing your surprise about something.
- yellow-billed cuckoo — a North American cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, that has a yellow bill and, unlike many cuckoos, constructs its own nest and rears its own young.