17-letter words containing o, s, b
- barrow-in-furness — an industrial town in NW England, in S Cumbria. Pop: 47 194 (2001)
- bartholin's gland — either of two small glands near the vaginal opening: during sexual excitement they secrete a mucous lubricating substance
- baseboard heating — a heating system by pipes, through which steam or hot water circulates, near the base of the walls of rooms
- basic proposition — protocol (def 6).
- bathroom fittings — plumbing fixtures or accessories suitable for use in a bathroom
- be a box of birds — to be very well indeed
- be off one's head — If you say that someone is off their head, you mean that they have taken so many drugs that they do not know what they are doing.
- be on tenterhooks — If you are on tenterhooks, you are very nervous and excited because you are wondering what is going to happen in a particular situation.
- be one's own boss — If you are your own boss, you work for yourself or make your own decisions and do not have anyone telling you what to do.
- be over sb's head — If something such as an idea, joke, or comment goes over someone's head, it is too difficult for them to understand.
- be well rid of sb — If you say that someone is well rid of someone, you think it is good that the person has gone because you did not like them or you think they caused a lot of problems.
- beat a dead horse — to argue an issue that is already settled
- beat one's brains — to try hard to remember, understand, or solve something
- beat one's breast — to display guilt and remorse publicly or ostentatiously
- beefsteak begonia — an ornamental plant, Begonia erythrophylla, having light-pink flowers and nearly round, thick, fleshy leaves that are red on the underside.
- before one's time — prematurely
- behind one's back — without one's knowledge; secretly or deceitfully
- bell laboratories — One of AT&T's research sites, in Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA. It was the birthplace of the transistor, Unix, C and C++ and the current home of research on Plan 9 and ODE.
- benevolent sexism — a theory that sexism toward women is multidimensional, one form (hostile sexism) reflecting negative views of women who challenge traditional gender roles, and the other form (benevolent sexism) reflecting positive views of women who conform to these roles.
- benjamin-constant — Henri Benjamin [ahn-ree ban-zha-man] /ɑ̃ˈri bɛ̃ ʒaˈmɛ̃/ (Show IPA), (Benjamin Constant) 1767–1830, French statesman and author, born in Switzerland.
- bent out of shape — very angry, upset, or agitated
- betagalactosidase — any of a family of enzymes capable of liberating galactose from carbohydrates.
- between ourselves — in confidence; as a secret
- between two fires — between two attacks; shot at, criticized, etc. from both sides
- beyond comparison — outstanding, without equal
- bicycle motocross — a bicycle race over a rough cross-country course, usually consisting of jumps, obstacles, and turns. Abbreviation: BMX.
- bighorn mountains — range of the Rocky Mountains in N Wyo. and S Mont.: highest peak, 13,165 ft (4,013 m)
- binary opposition — a relation between the members of a pair of linguistic items, as a pair of distinctive features, such that one is the absence of the other, as voicelessness and voice, or that one is at the opposite pole from the other, as stridency and mellowness.
- binet-simon scale — a test comprising questions and tasks, used to determine the mental age of subjects, usually children
- bioelectrogenesis — the production of electricity by organisms.
- biological shield — a protective shield impervious to radiation, esp the thick concrete wall surrounding the core of a nuclear reactor
- biotransformation — the metabolizing of some substance, esp. a drug, in the body
- bite one's tongue — either of the two fleshy parts or folds forming the margins of the mouth and functioning in speech.
- bjarne stroustrup — (person) The father of C++ and author of the C++ bible.
- black forest cake — a torte consisting typically of thin layers of chocolate cake spread with alternating layers of chocolate, cherry, and whipped-cream filling and covered with whipped cream
- black nationalism — a movement advocating the establishment of a separate black nation within the U.S.
- black swallowtail — the tail of a swallow or a deeply forked tail like that of a swallow.
- black swallowwort — celandine (def 1).
- black-box testing — functional testing
- blackout curtains — thick, lined curtains designed to shut out all daylight and keep a room in complete darkness
- bland-allison act — an act of Congress (1878) requiring the federal government to purchase at the market price from two to four million dollars' worth of silver monthly for conversion into silver dollars containing 16 times more silver per coin than gold in dollar coins of gold.
- blank endorsement — an endorsement on a bill of exchange, cheque, etc, naming no payee and thus making the endorsed sum payable to the bearer
- blasphemous libel — In Britain, previously, the crime committed if a person insults, offends, or vilifies the deity, Christ, or the Christian religion
- block association — an association for the residents of a particular block in a neighbourhood to discuss and act on matters of common concern
- blood cholesterol — a measurement of the amount of cholesterol in someone's blood
- blood transfusion — A blood transfusion is a process in which blood is injected into the body of a person who is badly injured or ill.
- blood-drop emlets — a Chilean scrophulariaceous plant, Mimulus luteus, naturalized in Europe, having red-spotted yellow flowers
- blow someone away — to kill by shooting
- blowpipe analysis — a type of chemical analysis in which the intensely hot flame of a blowpipe vaporizes a mineral or other substance with a characteristically colored flame and a unique odor, so as to identify chemical elements in a substance
- blue dot syndrome — (graphics, jargon) The inability to display an image file or text embedded in an image file on your monitor.