17-letter words containing s, a, o
- nonunderstandable — Not understandable.
- nord-ostsee kanal — German name of Kiel Canal.
- north lanarkshire — a council area of central Scotland: consists mainly of the NE part of the historical county of Lanarkshire; formerly (1974–96) part of Strathclyde Region: engineering and metalworking industries. Administrative centre: Motherwell. Pop: 321 820 (2003 est). Area: 1771 sq km (684 sq miles)
- northeast by east — a point on the compass 11°15′ east of northeast. Abbreviation: NEbE.
- northeast passage — a ship route along the N coast of Europe and Asia, between the North Sea and the Pacific.
- northern rhodesia — former name of Zambia.
- northern sporades — a group of Greek islands in the Aegean, lying northeast of Euboea
- northwest passage — a ship route along the Arctic coast of Canada and Alaska, joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
- not mince matters — to speak frankly
- not one's idea of — not what one regards as (hard work, a holiday, etc)
- not spare oneself — to exert oneself to the full
- nothing less than — You can use nothing less than to emphasize your next words, often indicating that something seems very surprising or important.
- nuclear isomerism — isomerism (def 2).
- nuclear threshold — the point in war at which a combatant brings nuclear weapons into use
- nuclear-isomerism — Chemistry. the relation of two or more compounds, radicals, or ions that are composed of the same kinds and numbers of atoms but differ from each other in structural arrangement (structural isomerism) as CH 3 OCH 3 and CH 3 CH 2 OH, or in the arrangement of their atoms in space and therefore in one or more properties. Compare optical isomerism, stereoisomerism.
- nursery education — education provided at a school for young children, usually from three to five years old
- objectionableness — The quality of being objectionable.
- observation tower — lookout, observation point
- odds-on favourite — a person, team, horse, etc that is regarded as the most likely to win a competition
- odour of sanctity — sanctimoniousness
- of its own accord — If something happens of its own accord, it seems to happen by itself, without anyone making it happen.
- off one's own bat — If someone does something off their own bat, they do it without anyone else suggesting it.
- off-site facility — An off-site facility is a facility which is not at the main industrial or commercial site.
- old age pensioner — An old age pensioner is a person who is old enough to receive an pension from their employer or the government.
- old red sandstone — a thick sequence of sedimentary rock (generally, but not always, red) deposited in Britain and NW Europe during the Devonian period
- old south arabian — a group of four closely related Semitic languages, having a writing system and used from about the eighth to the fifth centuries b.c. in the southern part of Arabia.
- old spanish trail — an overland route from Santa Fe, N. Mex., to Los Angeles, Calif., first marked out in 1776 by Spanish explorers and missionaries.
- olympic mountains — a mountain range in NW Washington: part of the Coast Range. Highest peak: Mount Olympus, 2427 m (7965 ft)
- olympic peninsula — a large peninsula of W Washington
- omphalomesenteric — (anatomy) Of or pertaining to the umbilicus and mesentery.
- on a razor's edge — in an acute dilemma
- on one's deathbed — about to die
- on someone's back — criticizing or pestering someone
- on someone's tail — following or shadowing someone closely
- on speaking terms — the act, utterance, or discourse of a person who speaks.
- on the half shell — served raw, with seasonings, on a half shell
- on the heavy side — tending to be too heavy
- on the pig's back — successful; established
- on-street parking — parking (of a car, vehicle, etc) that is or is allowed to be done on a street
- one of these days — at some future time
- one size fits all — (of clothing) designed to fit people of a wide range of sizes.
- one-size-fits-all — (of clothing) designed to fit people of a wide range of sizes.
- one-time password — (security) (OTP) A security system that requires a new password every time a user authenticates themselves, thus protecting against an intruder replaying an intercepted password. OTP generates passwords using either the MD4 or MD5 hashing algorithms. The equivalent term "S/Key", developed by Bellcore, is a trademark of Telcordia Technologies, so the name OTP is used increasingly. See RFC 1760 - "The S/KEY One-Time Password System" and RFC 1938 - "A One-Time Password System".
- opening arguments — the statements or arguments provided by lawyers at the beginning of a trial
- operation sealion — the codename for Hitler's proposed invasion (1940) of Great Britain
- operations centre — a centre where activities of a business, organization, etc, are administrated and take place
- opisthobranchiate — (zoology) Of or pertaining to the Opisthobranchiata.
- opportunistically — adhering to a policy of opportunism; practicing opportunism.
- optical astronomy — the branch of observational astronomy using telescopes to observe or photograph celestial objects in visible light.
- optical isomerism — stereoisomerism in which the isomers are identical in molecular weight and most chemical and physical properties but differ in their effect on the rotation of polarized light.