16-letter words containing p, u, b, l
- limited-stop bus — a bus which only stops at a small number of predetermined stops, rather than on request
- mari el republic — a constituent republic of W central Russia, in the middle Volga basin. Capital: Yoshkar-Ola. Pop: 728 000 (2002). Area: 23 200 sq km (8955 sq miles)
- niche publishing — publishing books that are intended for a very specialized market
- non-reproducible — to make a copy, representation, duplicate, or close imitation of: to reproduce a picture.
- outboard profile — an exterior side elevation of a vessel, showing all deck structures, rigging, fittings, etc.
- paratuberculosis — Johne's disease.
- photograph album — bound book for photos
- pit bull terrier — American Staffordshire terrier.
- planetary nebula — an expanding shell of thin ionized gas that is ejected from and surrounds a hot, dying star of about the same mass as the sun; the gas absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the central star and reemits it as visible light by the process of fluorescence.
- plumber's helper — plunger (def 3).
- pourriture noble — noble rot.
- powerfully built — (of a person, esp a man) big and physically strong, with large muscles
- pro bono publico — for the public good or welfare.
- public ownership — ownership by the state; nationalization
- public relations — (used with a plural verb) the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
- public schoolboy — a boy attending a public school, or a man who attended one
- public transport — fare-paying travel
- publication date — the date on which a book or periodical is or is planned to be published.
- publicity agency — an advertising agency; a firm that gets publicity for people or products
- publishing house — a company that publishes books, pamphlets, engravings, or the like: a venerable publishing house in Boston.
- put in mothballs — to postpone work on (a project, activity, etc)
- query by example — (database, language) (QBE) A user-friendly query language developed by Moshé Zloof of IBM in 1975.
- republican party — one of the two major political parties in the U.S.: originated 1854–56.
- republican river — a river flowing E from E Colorado through Nebraska and Kansas into the Kansas River. 422 miles (680 km) long.
- schaumburg-lippe — a former state in NW Germany.
- spanish bluebell — a bulbous plant, Endymion hispanicus, of the lily family, native to Spain and Portugal, having blue, white, or pink, bell-shaped flowers.
- stalked puffball — a puffball-like mushroom of the genus Tulestoma, maturing in early winter.
- subtropical high — one of several highs, as the Azores and Pacific highs, that prevail over the oceans at latitudes of about 30 degrees N and S. Also called subtropical anticyclone. Compare high (def 37).
- superb blue wren — a small Australian bird, Malurus cyaneus, the adult male of which has bright blue plumage
- superserviceable — overly disposed to be of service; officious.
- susceptibilities — emotional sensibilities; feelings
- telephone number — digits dialled to reach sb by phone
- the public purse — money from or controlled by the government
- to bite your lip — If you bite your lip or your tongue, you stop yourself from saying something that you want to say, because it would be the wrong thing to say in the circumstances.
- to blow your top — If someone blows their top, they become very angry about something.
- typhoid bacillus — the bacterium Salmonella typhosa, causing typhoid fever.
- un-reprehensible — deserving of reproof, rebuke, or censure; blameworthy.
- unaccomplishable — to bring to its goal or conclusion; carry out; perform; finish: to accomplish one's mission.
- uncomprehensible — capable of being comprehended or understood; intelligible.
- under bare poles — (of a sailing vessel) with no sails set
- under sb's spell — If you are under someone 's spell, you are so fascinated by them that you cannot think about anything else.
- unimpressionable — easily impressed or influenced; susceptible: an impressionable youngster.
- unpredictability — not predictable; not to be foreseen or foretold: an unpredictable occurrence.
- unpublished work — a literary work that has not been reproduced for sale or publicly distributed.
- up to the elbows — deeply engaged (in work, etc.)
- visible spectrum — the range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation that is normally visible, from 380 to 760 nm.
- world bank group — the collective name for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, and the International Development Association, whose headquarters are all in Washington