17-letter words containing n, p, l
- 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 television — a type of noncommercial, usually educational, television programming funded by the government, grants, viewers, and corporations. Compare educational television.
- publicity-seeking — eager to attract publicity
- pull one's weight — the amount or quantity of heaviness or mass; amount a thing weighs.
- pull your head in — be quiet!
- pulsejet (engine) — a jet engine without a compressor or turbine, in which intermittent combustion provides the thrust
- purely and simply — You use purely and simply to emphasize that the thing you are mentioning is the only thing involved.
- purple granadilla — the edible fruit of any of several species of passionflower, especially Passiflora edulis (purple granadilla) or P. quadrangularis (giant granadilla)
- push the envelope — a flat paper container, as for a letter or thin package, usually having a gummed flap or other means of closure.
- put on a pedestal — an architectural support for a column, statue, vase, or the like.
- put on the gloves — to box
- pyroligneous acid — a yellowish, acidic, water-soluble liquid, containing about 10 percent acetic acid, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood: used for smoking meats.
- pythagorean scale — the major scale as derived acoustically by Pythagoras from the perfect fifth.
- quality newspaper — a more serious newspaper which gives detailed accounts of world events, as well as reports on business, culture, and society
- quasiexperimental — (medicine) Describing a trial in which the assignment to a group is based upon an experimental condition.
- radio in the loop — Wireless Local Loop
- reality principle — the motivating force or mechanism by which the child, who has previously sought immediate gratification of all wishes, realizes that gratification must sometimes be deferred or forgone.
- recoil escapement — anchor escapement.
- reflexive pronoun — A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun such as 'myself' which refers back to the subject of a sentence or clause. For example, in the sentence 'He made himself a cup of tea', the reflexive pronoun 'himself' refers back to 'he'.
- reformed spelling — a revised orthography intended to simplify the spelling of English words, especially to eliminate unpronounced letters, as by substituting thru for through, tho for though, slo for slow, etc.
- register spilling — (programming, compiler) (By analogy with spilling the contents of an overfull container) When a compiler is performing the register allocation phase of generating machine code and there are more live variables than the machine has registers and it has to transfer or "spill" some variables from registers to memory.
- rehospitalization — the act, process, or state of being hospitalized.
- relative pathname — (file system) A path relative to the working directory. Its first character can be anything but the pathname separator.
- repeating decimal — a decimal numeral that, after a certain point, consists of a group of one or more digits repeated ad infinitum, as 2.33333 …. or 23.0218181818 ….
- replacement value — insurance: sum required to replace sth
- 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 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.
- reticulate python — a python, Python reticulatus, of southeastern Asia and the East Indies, sometimes growing to a length of 32 feet (10 meters): usually considered to be the largest snake in the world.
- return of capital — A return of capital is a situation in which you receive back money that was previously invested.
- return on capital — A return on capital is any earnings that you receive from the capital that you have invested.
- ribonucleoprotein — a substance composed of RNA in close association with protein; a nucleoprotein containing RNA. Abbreviation: RNP.
- rocket propulsion — propulsion of an object by thrust developed by a rocket.
- role-playing game — a game in which participants adopt the roles of imaginary characters in an adventure under the direction of a Game Master.
- roll with a punch — to move in the same direction as a punch thrown at one so as to lessen its force
- 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
- rural development — social or economic activities or initiatives designed to improve the standard of living in areas far away from large towns or cities
- sable island pony — a variety of wild pony found on Sable Island, Nova Scotia
- san pedro channel — a strait between the mainland of SW California and Santa Catalina Island. About 20 miles (32 km) wide.
- scarlet pimpernel — a plant belonging to the genus Anagallis, of the primrose family, especially A. arvensis (scarlet pimpernel) having scarlet or white flowers that close at the approach of bad weather.
- school playground — school's outdoor recreation area
- self-appreciation — gratitude; thankful recognition: They showed their appreciation by giving him a gold watch.
- self-depreciating — self-deprecating.
- self-emancipation — the act of emancipating.
- self-impregnating — to make pregnant; get with child or young.
- self-incompatible — not capable of self-pollination.
- self-interpreting — to give or provide the meaning of; explain; explicate; elucidate: to interpret the hidden meaning of a parable.
- self-perpetuating — continuing oneself in office, rank, etc., beyond the normal limit.