17-letter words containing a, c, u, s, l
- musical interlude — an interval in a play, event or occasion during which music is played
- nasolacrimal duct — a membranous canal extending from the lacrimal sac to the nasal cavity, through which tears are discharged into the nose.
- national security — defence of a country
- natural harmonics — harmonics of a note produced on a stringed instrument by lightly touching an open or unstopped sounded string.
- natural resources — a naturally occurring source of wealth, as land or water.
- natural selection — the process by which forms of life having traits that better enable them to adapt to specific environmental pressures, as predators, changes in climate, or competition for food or mates, will tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than others of their kind, thus ensuring the perpetuation of those favorable traits in succeeding generations.
- natural-resources — a naturally occurring source of wealth, as land or water.
- nicholas bourbaki — the pseudonym of a group of mainly French mathematicians that, since 1939, has been producing a monumental work on advanced mathematics, Eléments de Mathématique
- nikolaus von cusa — Nicholas (def 1).
- non-instructional — the act or practice of instructing or teaching; education.
- nonconstitutional — of or relating to the constitution of a state, organization, etc.
- nuclear chemistry — the branch of chemistry concerned with nuclear reactions
- nuclear isomerism — isomerism (def 2).
- nuclear scientist — a scientist who studies nuclear physics
- nuclear submarine — undersea vessel powered by atomic energy
- 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.
- 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
- opportunistically — adhering to a policy of opportunism; practicing opportunism.
- osculating circle — circle of curvature.
- papanicolaou test — Pap test.
- perpetual spinach — a variety of spinach that keeps producing edible leaves
- 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.
- physical pendulum — any apparatus consisting of a body of possibly irregular shape allowed to rotate freely about a horizontal axis on which it is pivoted (distinguished from simple pendulum).
- piccadilly circus — a traffic circle and open square in W London, England: theater and amusement center.
- plastics industry — the industry that makes plastics
- ploughman's lunch — a light lunch consisting of bread and cheese, and sometimes pickled onions.
- pluvius insurance — insurance against rain
- postbaccalaureate — bachelor's degree.
- poststructuralism — a variation of structuralism, often seen as a critique, emphasizing plurality of meaning and instability of concepts that structuralism uses to define society, language, etc.
- procurator fiscal — In the Scottish legal system, the procurator fiscal is a public official who puts people on trial.
- production values — the quality of a media production (such as a film) in regards to elements such as colours, quality, style, etc
- prostatic utricle — a small pouch near the prostate gland that opens into the urethra.
- pseudepigraphical — certain writings (other than the canonical books and the Apocrypha) professing to be Biblical in character.
- pseudo-biological — pertaining to biology.
- pseudo-historical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- pseudo-moralistic — a person who teaches or inculcates morality.
- psychoeducational — designating or of psychological methods, as intelligence tests, used in evaluating learning ability
- public assistance — government aid to the poor, disabled, or aged or to dependent children, as financial assistance or food stamps.
- purple of cassius — a purple pigment precipitated as a sol by the interaction of gold chloride and a solution of stannic acid and stannous chloride: used chiefly in the manufacture of ruby glass, ceramic glazes, and enamels.
- purple shore crab — any of numerous crabs that live along the shoreline between the tidemarks, as Hemigrapsus nudus (purple shore crab) of the Pacific coast of North America.
- 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.
- pyrosulfuric acid — a strong, crystalline acid, H2S2O7, prepared commercially as a heavy, oily, fuming liquid: used in making explosives and dyes, as a sulfating agent, etc.
- qualified success — If you describe something as a qualified success, you mean that it is only partly successful.
- quality assurance — a system for ensuring a desired level of quality in the development, production, or delivery of products and services: Quality assurance for nursing homes begins with a set of standards. Abbreviation: QA.
- quasquicentennial — pertaining to or marking a period of 125 years.
- queen anne's lace — a plant, Daucus carota, the wild form of the cultivated carrot, having broad umbels of white flowers.
- radioluminescence — luminescence induced by nuclear radiation.
- recursion formula — a formula for determining the next term of a sequence from one or more of the preceding terms.