17-letter words containing s, a, o
- orange free state — a province in central Republic of South Africa: a Boer republic 1854–1900; a British colony (Orange River Colony, ) 1900–10. 49,647 sq. mi. (128,586 sq. km). Capital: Bloemfontein.
- organ-pipe cactus — a treelike or columnar cactus, Lemaireocereus marginatus, of Mexico, having a central, erect spine surrounded by spreading spines in clusters of five to eight, and funnel-shaped, brownish-purple flowers.
- organic chemistry — the branch of chemistry, originally limited to substances found only in living organisms, dealing with the compounds of carbon.
- organic psychosis — a severe mental illness produced by damage to the brain, as a result of poisoning, alcoholism, disease, etc
- organophosphorous — Misspelling of organophosphorus.
- orifice discharge — Orifice discharge is a model for calculating how quickly a fluid will come out of a punctured vessel or pipe.
- osculating circle — circle of curvature.
- otolaryngologists — Plural form of otolaryngologist.
- otto von bismarck — Otto von [ot-oh von;; German aw-toh fuh n] /ˈɒt oʊ vɒn;; German ˈɔ toʊ fən/ (Show IPA), 1815–98, German statesman: first chancellor of modern German Empire 1871–90.
- out at the elbows — the bend or joint of the human arm between upper arm and forearm.
- out of all reason — unreasonable
- out of harm's way — If someone or something is out of harm's way, they are in a safe place away from danger or from the possibility of being damaged.
- out of one's head — the upper part of the body in humans, joined to the trunk by the neck, containing the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
- outside broadcast — An outside broadcast is a radio or television programme that is not recorded or filmed in a studio, but in another building or in the open air.
- over-compensation — a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
- over-conservative — disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
- overhead camshaft — a camshaft in an automotive engine that is located in the cylinder head over the engine block rather than in the block. Abbreviation: OHC.
- overreach oneself — to fail because of trying to do more than one can
- oversquare engine — An oversquare engine is an engine which has a cylinder bore that is larger than its stroke.
- overstep the mark — If someone oversteps the mark, they behave in a way that is considered unacceptable.
- oystershell scale — a scale insect, Lepidosaphes ulmi, having a scale shaped like the shell of an oyster, which infests various deciduous trees and shrubs.
- pacific northwest — the region of North America lying north of the Columbia River and west of the Rockies
- pair of compasses — compass (def 7)
- paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
- paleoconservative — a person advocating an older, traditional type of conservatism, especially in politics.
- papanicolaou test — Pap test.
- paradoxical sleep — REM sleep.
- parents anonymous — (in Britain) an association of local voluntary self-help groups offering help through an anonymous telephone service to parents who fear they will injure their children, or who have other problems in managing their children
- parker house roll — a soft dinner roll made by folding a flat disk of dough in half.
- parts of kesteven — an area in E England constituting a former administrative division of Lincolnshire
- parts per million — the number of units (of a substance) present in a million units of another substance
- pashmina politics — the adoption of political policies immediately after they have gone out of fashion
- passamaquoddy bay — an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, between Maine and New Brunswick, at the mouth of the St. Croix River.
- passenger station — a station used by passengers
- passive obedience — unquestioning obedience to authority
- pastoral symphony — the Symphony No. 6 in F major (1807–08) by Ludwig van Beethoven.
- pastoral theology — the branch of theology dealing with the responsibilities of members of the clergy to the people under their care.
- pate de foie gras — See under foie gras.
- patriarchal cross — a Latin cross having a shorter crosspiece above the customary one.
- pay someone's way — to pay someone's share of the expenses
- peloponnesian war — a war between Athens and Sparta, 431–404 b.c., that resulted in the transfer of hegemony in Greece from Athens to Sparta.
- penalty shoot-out — In football, a penalty shoot-out is a way of deciding the result of a game that has ended in a draw. Players from each team try to score a goal in turn until one player fails to score and their team loses the game.
- performance bonus — a monetary bonus paid to staff who have performed well in their job
- performance drugs — the drugs that are taken illegally by athletes to enhance their sporting performance
- peripheral vision — all that is visible to the eye outside the central area of focus; side vision.
- pernicious anemia — Pernicious anemia is a very severe blood disease.
- persona non grata — a person who is not welcome: He has become persona non grata in our club since his angry outburst.
- personal computer — a compact computer that uses a microprocessor and is designed for individual use, as by a person in an office or at home or school, for such applications as word processing, data management, financial analysis, or computer games. Abbreviation: PC.
- personal distance — personal space.
- personal equation — the tendency to personal bias that accounts for variation in interpretation or approach and for which allowance must be made.